Many have heard of the popular L.A.Canyon neighborhood, Laurel Canyon. It is where many famous people have lived and loved. This community is focused on the major thoroughfare called Laurel Canyon Blvd. The fact is, this area has attracted many musicians, actresses, and actors for several decades due to it’s secluded nature. The Blvd. has it’s houses lining one side of the main street most of which are not through streets, which reinforces the self-contained nature of the neighborhood. The main side streets are Mount Olympus, Kirkwood, Wonderland, and Lookout Mountain Avenue which is an important transit corridor between West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley,specifically Studio City. The most notorious of the above side streets is Wonderland Avenue.

This area was the nexus of the counterculture activities and attitudes of the heady 1960’s.It was home to the Frank Zappa clan whom occupied a log cabin home there. Directly across the street from them is a legendary home that magician Harry Houdini, may or may not have lived in. Famous rock bands that lived in Laurel Canyon include but, are not limited to, “The Birds”,”Buffalo Springfield” and his love, Joni Mitchell living in the home in the canyon that was immortalized in the song ” Our House” written by then lover , Graham Nash. Joni used the area and it’s denizens as inspiration for her third album “Ladies of the Canyon”. There are also mentions of this area in several films and novels about L.A.

It was prominently featured in the 2003 film ” Wonderland” which is based on one of the bloodiest mass murders in California history. The film chronicled these 1981 murders which occurred at 8763 Wonderland Ave. located in Laurel Canyon. These murders were very difficult to solve and in fact, were not officially solved until 2001. The murders gained such notoriety because they involved porn film star John C. Holmes and reputed gangster and night club owner Eddie Nash. It was all centered around a group given the name ” The Wonderland Gang”. This organization of drug dealers dominated the L.A. cocaine trade in the late 70’s and early 80’s. This is the story of these gruesome murders.

The Wonderland gang consisted of Tracy McCourt, Ron Launius, David Richardson, and John Curtis and Holmes. On July 1, 1981 the aforementioned gang met it’s demise when 4 of then were killed in a drug related plot involving John Holmes and masterminded by Eddie Nash. The Wonderland Gang was based around three people who lived in a rented house and were all involved in drug use and dealing. Their supplier being business man Eddie Nash.

On June 28, they were meeting with David Lind and Tracy McCourt, 2 other criminals, and John Holmes who bought drugs from the Wonderland Gang and was also well-liked by Eddie Nash. During this ill-fated meeting they decided to rob the home of Eddie Nash . Since Eddie Nash liked Holmes and Holmes was a regular visitor to his home, the group decided that Holmes would go to Nash’s to buy drugs, which was not unusual and in the process leave the back door unlocked then report back to the gang. This all went according to the plan and the next morning ( June 28,) DeVerell, Lanius, Lind, and McCourt went to Nash’s house .McCourt stayed in the car , a stolen Ford Grenada. The others entered through the unlocked door. They took Nash and his live in bodyguard by surprise and handcuffed them. They preceded to steal money, drugs, and jewelry and threatened to kill Nash and his bodyguard Gregory Dewitt Diles. They all returned to Wonderland Ave. to split up the money and apparently short changed Holmes and McCourt.

Eddie Nash was sure he knew that Holmes was involved and sent out his bodygaurd to hunt Holmes down and bring him to his house. Holmes was found on the streets of Hollywood wearing one of the rings that had been stolen from Nash. Nash and Diles beat Holmes until he identified the people behind the robbery.

In the early morning hours of July 1, 1981 two days after the robbery at Nash’s, the Wonderland House was entered. Miller, DeVerell, and Lanuis were present along with Launius’ wife Susan and Barbara Richardson( Linds’ Girlfriend). David Lind was not home because he had spent the night at a San Fernando Valley hotel consuming drugs with a prostitute.The others were bludgeoned repeatedly with striated steel pipes. Susan Launius actually survived with serious injuries but, the remaining died. John Holmes was present at the site of the murders, as was evidenced by his fingerprints, but at first it was unknown whether he participated on his own will or was forced.

After the news media reported the murders Lind contacted the police and pointed the finger at Nash and Holmes. This gave the police an initial start to a long and rigorous investigation. Police searched Nash’s house and discovered more then a million dollars worth of cocaine and subsequently Nash had to serve 2 yrs. in prison. Holmes was then charged with the Wonderland Murders. The prosecutors tried to show Holmes as a willing participant, who betrayed “The Wonderland Gang” after not getting his full share of the loot from the robbery of Nash’s house.

Holmes’ court appointed defense lawyers successfully presented Holmes’ as one of the victims having to be forced against his will by the real killers ,to give them entry to the house where the murders took place ,he avoided implicating Eddie Nash. Holmes’ was acquitted on June 16, 1982 after refusing to testify and cooperate with authorities .He spent time in jail for contempt of court and died 6yrs. later of AIDS, hence his carreer as a porn star. He died in a V.A. Hospital in L.A.

After his death his first wife, Sharon Gebenini Holmes came forward to say he had come to her house on the morning after the killings and was covered in splattered blood. Holmes refused to explain what had happened. In 1990 Nash was finally charged in State Court with having planned the murders and the bodyguard Diles, was charged with participating in the murders. Thorson testified against them,( he had apparently witnessed the robbery) but the trail ended with an 11-1 hung jury. The second trail in 1991 ended in acquittal, Diles died in 1995.

In 2000, after a long investigation involving both local and federal authorities Nash was arrested and indicted on federal charges under the Rico act for running and dealing drugs, money laundering, and conspiring to carry out the Wonderland Murders. He was also charged with bribing one of the jurors from his first trail with 50,000 dollars. Nash was well into his 70’s and suffering from emphysema and several other ailments. He agreed to a plea bargain in Sept. of 2001. He pleaded guilty to the Rico charges and money laundering, admitted to having ordered his associated to retrieve stolen property from the Wonderland house,which might have resulted in violence including murder,yet he denied having planned the murders. He received 4 1/2 yrs. in prison and a 250,000 dollar fine.

The L.A. detective who cracked the case ended up getting honored for his outstanding investigative work leading up to the arrest and conviction of the notorious drug kingpin Eddie Nash. This crime had no major effect on the Laurel Hills Community .After all these years it is still a popular haven for the rich and famous and will continue to make history.