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The Wonderland Murders - An Unresolved Quadruple Homicide in Hollywood · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: A horrific quadruple homicide took place in the hills of
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  Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, on July first, nineteen eighty one,
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  and the Wonderland murders continue to be an unsolved case
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  even now. Currently eighty six three Wonderland Avenue in Laurel
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  Canyon features a charming split level residence, complete with a carport,
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  an iron framework balcony, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. The
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  exterior gives no indication that four bodies were found there
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  on July first, nineteen eighty one, so severely beaten and
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  bloodied that the LAPD likened the scene to the notorious
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  Tate LaBianca murders carried out by the Manson family just
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  twelve years prior. The Wonderland murders are still regarded as
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  some of the most unsettling incidents in American criminal history.
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  On that fateful summer night in the Hollywood Hills, three
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  members and one associate of the Wonderland Gang, known for
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  their drug trafficking and armed robberies in Los Angeles, were
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  viciously killed by unidentified assailants. Although various suspects emerged, including
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  local organized crime figure Eddie Nash, and adult film actor
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  John Holmes. The case remains officially unresolved to this day.
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  The story of the Wonderland Gang before the Laurel Canyon
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  Murders during the late nineteen seventies, the residents, located at
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  eighteen sixty three Wonderland Avenue, functioned as the central hub
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  for the Wonderland Gang. Recognized as one of the most
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  prominent cocaine distributors in Los Angeles, their expanding enterprise had
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  nearly monopolized the market until the tragic events of the
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  Wonderland Murders abruptly concluded their operations. The property was officially
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  registered under Joy Miller's name, However, it hosted a diverse
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  array of individuals. Miller, a longtime heroin addict, became involved
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  with the gang following her separation from her affluent husband
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  and her life in Beverly Hills. The Wonderland Gang derived
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  income from more than just cocaine. Heroines served as their
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  personal interest, while armed robbery functioned as an additional means
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  of profit. Targeting their adversaries not only provided financial gain,
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  but also served as a strategic method to eliminate competition,
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  until a disastrous and violent incident turned the tide against
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  them one fateful night, the brazen crime that led to
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  the Wonderland murders. On June twenty ninth, just days prior
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  to the Wonderland murders, four individuals associated with the Wonderland
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  Gang executed a robbery at the residence of the infamous
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  club owner and gang leader Eddie Nash. Disguised as law
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  enforcement officers, Lawneous and Deverell facilitated the entry of their
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  fellow gang members David Lynde and Tracy McCourt into Nash's home,
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  where they proceeded to restrain Nash and his bodyguard, Gregory
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  Dials with handcuffs. During the course of the robbery, while
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  Nash was compelled to access his safe, Lynde inadvertently discharged
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  his weapon, injuring Dials in the process. The gang departed
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  the scene without being recognized, absconding with a substantial haul
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  valued at over one million dollars, which included illegal drugs, cash, jewelry,
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  and firearms items that had recently been sold to Nash
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  by the Wonderland Gang itself. Although law enforcement did not
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  initially identify any suspects, Nash implicated several individuals he was
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  aware had visited his residence on the day of the incident.
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  At the forefront of his accusations was John Holmes, who
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  had reportedly returned to the property three times that morning,
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  presumably to ensure that the patio door through which the
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  gang ultimately gained entry was left unlocked. The grisly scene
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  of the Wonderland murders is discovered. At four p m.
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  On July first, law enforcement received an urgent phone call
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  from two furniture movers. While they were engaged in their
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  work at the residence adjacent to eighty seven sixty three
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  Wonderland Avenue. They reported hearing agonizing and distressing moans emanating
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  from the suspected drug house. Upon arrival, investigators were confronted
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  with the gruesome scene of the Wonderland murders. The lifeless
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  body of Barbara Butterfly Richardson, the girlfriend of David Lynde,
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  was discovered on the flaw beside the couch where she
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  had been resting, her body stained with blood. In the
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  adjacent bedroom, Ron Launius, the leader of the Wonderland gang,
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  was discovered deceased, his body bloodied and so severely beaten
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  that he was nearly unrecognizable. One of the most chilling
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  aspects of the Wonderland Murders was the condition of Lornius's wife, Susan.
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  She was found lying on the floor beside her husband's
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  lifeless body, drenched in blood and with a severely fractured skull,
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  yet astonishingly, she was still alive. The moans that the
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  moving company had heard originated from her. Although she would
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  ultimately survive the brutal attack and achieve a full recovery,
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  the brain injuries she suffered resulted in permanent amnesia, rendering
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  her unable to remember the details surrounding the Wonderland Murders.
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  The Wonderland Murders are now regarded as one of the
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  most horrific crimes in Hollywood's history, a chilling tale that
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  has persisted in unsettling the community long after the