Face of Ron Launius (May 18, 1944 - July 1, 1981) Ronald Lee "Ron" Launius was the leader of the Wonderland Gang, a squad of drug dealers that operated out of a dope house at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, California, moving large amounts of cocaine and small amounts of heroin. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. As a result, she suffered permanent amnesia and had a part of her skull and portions of a finger surgically removed. Charlie told the driver to head to Los Feliz, with which he was familiar after spending a drug-fueled evening there a year before. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. She is the sole survivor of the brutal Wonderland attack the night of July 1, 1981; she suffered severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger following the attack. Valhalla-Gaerdner-Holten Funeral Home & Valhalla Gardens, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. This time, flipping the script, Holmes would gain access to Launiuss Wonderland Avenue pad for Nashs ultraviolent retribution. , neither was she a prostitute. The objective of the robbery was to steal a hoard of cash, heroin, and cocaine that Holmes claimed was in a safe embedded in Nash's bedroom floor, as well as to retrieve some antique guns the Wonderland Gang had stolen from another businessman and then subsequently, using Holmes as an intermediary, sold to Nash in exchange for drugs. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. Charlie and Watson tied the LaBiancas up, convincing the couple theyd be safe if they cooperated. Holmes was acquitted in June 1982, after a three-week trial. According to her testimony shed never seen the residence before the day of June 30, 1981. Hanson said Holmes never told his attorneys what happened the night of the killings. So, Nash became the target of a harebrained idea. The address: Waverly Drive. Neighbors in the canyon, where a conversation at night can be overheard blocks away, said they were used to rowdy, all-night parties in the house. from the masses of young, aimless drifters who had descended upon the West Coast in the late 1960s, entranced by the supposedly good vibes of a scene populated with other young people, hippies, and freaks not to mention, crooks and hustlers peddling free love and other illusions. The house at 8763 Wonderland Avenue was well-known in the neighborhood, and for all the wrong reasons. . We have never heard the whole truth (about the killings) and we never will hear the whole truth, said attorney Earl L. Hanson, who, along with partner Mitchell W. Egers, successfully defended Holmes against the murder charges. I was involved. Elizabeth Short became known as "The Black Dahlia" after her brutal murder. . Funeral, time pending, Friday at First Presbyterian. LOS ANGELES -- The lone survivor of the massacre of four people in the swank Laurel Canyon home of an attractive blonde woman suspected of dealing in drugs was under a 24-hour hospital guard Friday as the star witness in the case. Less-lucky losers might wind up at the bottom of a lake. Although he was often away from home, I was his safe place, Sharon Holmes said. (But) we have a certain set of rules to follow that the people who go out and perpetrate crimes dont.. In their comfortable Los Feliz dwelling, constructed in 1922 and situated near the crest of a hill. On December 17, 1948 in Sikeston, MO. At 71 years old, Susan Launius height not available right now. Susan Launius was born on 1951. The scene: A tract of land being developed into new homes to accommodate young working-class families in postwar L.A. Ronald S. Coen, now a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, argued that the fatal beatings were intended to avenge the humiliating armed robbery of Los Angeles nightclub owner Adel Nasrallah, also known as Eddie Nash. Susan Bell Launius, nee Haywood, 70, of Belleville, born in Belleville on 9-14-1943, died Sunday August 10, 2014 at her residence, surrounded by her husband and children. Holmes would visit Nash at his home in Studio City and quietly leave a sliding backdoor ajar, through which the Launius crew would later (after Holmes departed) invade the house and relieve Nash of vast quantities of drugs and other valuables. . Susan was a lifelong member of First United Presbyterian Church in Belleville, Ill Read More, SUSAN LAUNIUS Susan Bell Launius, nee Haywood, 70, of Belleville died Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014. And yet. Detectives said they had talked to Susan Murphy Launius, 29, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where she is in critical condition with gashes in her head and neck. Select boxes below to reduce the number of results. The scene: A long-settled middle-class area on L.A.s Eastside, this neighborhood was largely developed with apartments and single-family homes in the 1920s and 30s. For a much deeper examination of the twisted world of Charles Manson and his infamous band of followers, take a look at The Family: Inside the Manson Cult on MagellanTV. One woman survived the attack. They all took part in the constant cocaine transactions and, violating the first rule of drug dealers not to get high on their own supply, they were all users too. And the character that caused all this trauma? Or you could climb the literal heights of the Hollywood sign, as Peg Entwistle did in 1932, peering over the edge at the expanse of Los Angeles as you prepare to leap to your undying infamy. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. Lind and his girlfriend, Barbara Richardson, rode down to the Wonderland house on Lind's motorcycle and slept on the living room sofa. They forcefully followed his barbaric plan. Gov. . Through his attorney, Nash has consistently denied any involvement in the Wonderland Avenue killings. 'When you're talking about the star witness in a case like this I think you can safely assume that we've got her pretty well guarded,' a pllice spokesman said. Cecelia passed away on January 22, 2012, and is buried in Marlin, TX. John Holmes recounted how he led three thugs to the tightly secured drug house on Wonderland Avenue, escorted them in, and stood by as they bludgeoned the five people inside, spattering Holmes with blood. She was later unable to identify her attackers. of Cabot, AR. The neighborhood: Los Feliz. John Holmes died of AIDS complications in 1988. Susan. Clyde Alan Vaughn (Carol), Susan Lynne Vaughn of Jefferson City, MO and Dwight Thomas Vaughn of New Orleans, LA. COVID origins? (Image Credit: Wikimedia). But the new accounts cast doubt on the story Holmes told a biographer before his death March 13. But before they headed east, Holmes paid a final, early morning visit to his wife. In a recent interview with The Times, Sharon Holmes, who divorced the late actor in 1984, described for the first time the story her husband told her less than three weeks after the July 1 killings. is robert peston married to charlotte edwardes. Would you like to offer William E. Launius Sr.s loved ones a condolence message? he married Edith Morris Launius who preceded him in death on May 30, 2013. . No visits to agents, no casting call appearances, no registration in acting classes have been discovered. At the house, Holmes told his wife, Nash pored over Holmes address book, and stopped when he came to the pages that listed addresses in Ohio, where Holmes was born and where his mother and other relatives still lived. John Holmes himself never offered a public account of what happened on that July night. Or you could climb the literal heights of the Hollywood sign, as. Joy Audrey Miller, 46, who rented the house, had a record of six arrests -- three for peddling dope -- and had been under surveillance since Jan. 7, 1980, by narcotics officers who saw her selling drugs in front of the house at least eight times, affidavits said. Visitation: 4 8pm Thursday August 14, 2014 at Valhalla-Gaerdner-Holten Funeral Home, Belleville IL, and 9 10am Friday August 15, 2014 at First United Presbyterian Church, Belleville IL. There was a lot of screaming going on, Holmes told his wife. She narrowly survived the Wonderland murders, being beaten so badly that she could not remember anything about the incident. Perhaps youd be discovered, like Brad Pitt; or perhaps youd be discovered buried in a pit. He was one of 5 children born during the depression and times were hard. Breaking into Hollywood And Breaking Apart, Doing Harm: Doctors Who Murder and Maim Their Patients, Jim Jones: The Twisted Story of the Man behind the Jonestown Massacre. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. Once you find the obituary you are looking for, you can get important information about upcoming services, share a favorite photo or memory, and send flowers or gifts to the family. She was the only survivor of the Wonderland murders, although she suffered severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger following the attack. But Sharon Holmes and Jeanna Sellers insist that it is true. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. The neighborhood: Laurel Canyon. Visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. There is no photo or video of Susan Miller-Preciado.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. December 23, 2018 The closest snow gets to the streets of L.A. is the glimpse of faraway, snow-capped mountains in the San Bernardino range thats visible from certain parts of town. Search by Name. Send Flowers. And yet, virtually since its founding as an entertainment capital of the world, misfortune and misadventure have stalked far more of its denizens than Dame Fortune has smiled upon. Tracy Raymond McCourt was the driver of the stolen 1975 Ford Granada that carried the Wonderland Gang to Eddie Nash's home on the night of the robbery. She was scheduled to appear in court this month on drug charges. Then Holmes hit on a more direct way to make money. Sign the Guest Book. Special thanks to Hospice of Southern IL for their care and compassion. Theres somebody out there who wants to kill me, Holmes told Sharon, his wife of 16 years. She is survived by : her parents, Clyde Crandall and Fern Crandall. . Launius was married in November 1954 to the love of his life, Cecelia Irene Rutkoski from Marlin, TX. No visits to agents, no casting call appearances, no registration in acting classes have been discovered. Susan was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Mary, nee Bell, Haywood; a sister Mary Jane Haywood; and a sister-in-law Nancy Kraft. Perhaps youd be discovered, like Brad Pitt; or perhaps youd be discovered buried in a pit. Together, the womens descriptions of what Holmes told them largely corroborate the Los Angeles Police Departments theory of what happened on Wonderland Avenue. In their comfortable Los Feliz dwelling, constructed in 1922 and situated near the crest of a hill, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca relaxed uneasily at the end of their Saturday. The day after the robbery, someone who knew Nash apparently spotted Holmes in Hollywood, wearing a piece of jewelry that had been stolen from Nashs home, he told his wife. She was an associate of the Wonderland Gang, hanging around the Wonderland apartment, where she was savagely beaten by criminals with lead pipes on the night of 1 July 1981. Visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Write your message of sympathy today. Its been proven true again and again over the years: Los Angeles attracts dreamers, starry-eyed souls who come into the Canyon, as the Mamas and Papas sang, only to be disillusioned. Manson had collected his death cult from the masses of young, aimless drifters who had descended upon the West Coast in the late 1960s, entranced by the supposedly good vibes of a scene populated with other young people, hippies, and freaks not to mention, crooks and hustlers peddling free love and other illusions. You could hit the lofty heights of stardom, like Tom Cruise. She enjoyed bowling, cross-stitching, and shopping. Less-lucky losers might wind up at the bottom of a lake. That year, however, Launius was convicted of smuggling heroin and cocaine across the US/Mexico border and eventually served three years of an eight-year sentence in a federal prison. Inside was Ronald Launius, considered the leader of the group, his wife Susan, William Raymond "Billy" Deverell, his . The grotesque mass murder shocked and horrified the entire neighborhood. Susan was a lifelong member of First United Presbyterian Church in Belleville, IL. after spending a drug-fueled evening there a year before. (Image Credit: The Village Voice). She served as a deacon and Read More, Submit an obit for publication in any local newspaper and on Legacy. fishing with canned anchovies; pros and . Holmes died on March 13, 1988, from AIDS complications in Los Angeles. Ill never forget that as long as I live, she said. He was never convicted of the Wonderland murders. . Ronald Launius had a kind of second family there in Laurel Canyon, a cohort that included friends, accomplices, and hangers-on. In the years following the Wonderland murders, McCourt was reported to have moved to Colorado. It changed the nature of Laurel Canyon. John Holmes was arrested and charged with four counts of murder in March 1982, after his handprint was found in one of the bedrooms. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. She is survived by her loving husband of 48 years, William Launius Sr.; her son William (Joan) Launius Jr. of Millstadt; her daughter Lori (Ken) Harris of Waterloo; her grandchildren William Trey Launius III, Kasey Launius, Hunter Harris, Carter Harris, Tanner Harris, and Cooper Harris; brother-in-law Darwin Kraft; beloved nieces Lisa (Craig) DeBeaumont, Rebecca (Art) Fudge, beloved nephews Todd Kraft, and Karl Eric (Sue) Kraft, great nieces, great nephews, cousins, lifelong friend Theresa Painter, and many other friends. Susan Launius, who lay wounded with severe head injuries for hours before being discovered in the house by neighbors last July 1, testified during Holmes' preliminary hearing that she could. Reportedly, at the time of his death, police investigators throughout California, largely in the Sacramento area, had 27 open homicide cases they believed were perpetrated by Launius. . But Nash had a sneaking suspicion about his friend Johnny Wadd, who had visited the home only hours before the robbery. The case against Holmes was built largely on two pieces of evidence: An admission that Holmes allegedly made to Los Angeles Police Detective Frank Tomlinson after his arrest in Miami in December, 1981, and a bloody palm print left by Holmes on the rail of a bed on which one of the victims, drug dealer Ronald Launius, died. In 2001, he reportedly had been wanted by the Colorado Springs Police Department for "assault with a deadly weapon and failure to comply on the original charge of distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance". Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. June 21, 1945 - A survivor, Susan Launius, 25 at the time, suffered brain damage and has been unable to identify her assailants. But we have more depraved murders to investigate in this ghastly, time-traveling tour of Hollywood-Land. 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