Porn star John Holmes ‘took many secrets to his grave’: author

It’s been 43 years since the Wonderland murders occurred in California, and one author believes adult film star John Holmes knew the truth.

“The short answer is yes – he took a lot of secrets to his grave,” crime writer Michael Connelly told Fox News Digital.

“He was very involved in it… and it was about a drug scandal,” Connelly shared. “But to think that he was the only person involved – or he was the only person who knew (what happened) – I don’t believe it. I think he knew a lot of things and got away with it.”

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The subject is the 1981 case which is still unresolved Of a new true-crime documentary On MGM+, “The Wonderland Murders and the Secret History of Hollywood.” It is based on Conley’s Audible podcast of the same name.

The show features new interviews with surviving key players, including the original detectives, prosecutors and undercover police involved with the case. It also includes a final meeting with Scott Thorson, Liberace’s lover and a key figure in the trial.

Thorson died on August 16 in Los Angeles. He was 65 years old.

Liberace’s boyfriend Scott Thorson spoke in the documentary shortly before his death. (MGM+)

Connelly said, “There have been films, other documentaries and books… (but) I don’t think there’s been anything that gives the whole story.” “I think we do that. We’re presenting some interesting character studies of tireless detectives who, for the most part, have never really had their stories told. …And then I think we Will delve deeper into who our main villain was – Eddie Nash – like no one has ever done before.

The case of the Wonderland Massacre is being explored in a new true-crime documentary. (MGM+)

“It’s a very complex issue… and I think this is a new take on it.”

On July 1, 1981, the bodies of Ron Launius, William “Billy” Deverell, Joey Miller, and Barbara Richardson were found inside a home. Laurel Canyon home on Wonderland Avenue.

Police believe the victims were beaten with hammers and metal pipes. The LAPD compared these murders to the Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the Manson Family only 12 years earlier.

Michael Connelly is seen here interviewing Scott Thorson. (MGM+)

Launius’s wife, Susan Launius, was the only survivor of the attack. Her screams were heard by movers working on a house next door, the US Sun reports. He called the police.

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According to the LAPD at the time, the murders appeared to be similar to those committed by the Manson Family. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Suzanne suffered serious head injuries. A portion of his skull was removed during emergency surgery. He later testified that he only remembered seeing “shadowy figures”.

a palm print was discovered at the crime sceneIt was Holmes’s.

The original detectives on the case spoke in the documentary. (MGM+)

Executive producer Alison Ellwood told Fox News Digital that before the murders occurred, Laurel Canyon was known as a haven for musicians in the ’60s and ’70s. Artists such as Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Mama Cass and James Taylor were among those who once called it home.

The house where the horrific murders took place. (Kevin P. Casey/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“The story was a negative image of what was once this busy place full of beautiful music,” Ellwood said. “It had turned into a den of drug thieves. It was a very different environment. And L.A. had changed.”

When the murders occurred, Holmes was crowned “The King” of X-rated films. By the early ’80s, he had appeared in more than 1,000 films, the Los Angeles Times reports. It is rumored that he slept with over 14,000 women during his two-decade career and was paid $1,000 per scene.

Bobby Eggers, former LAPD narcotics detective (MGM+)

After achieving fame and fortune, everything is ruined when Holmes becomes addicted to cocaine.

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John Holmes in Los Angeles, circa 1975 (Mark Sullivan/Contour via Getty Images)

“What went wrong for John Holmes? The drugs, his addiction,” Connelly said. “A big part of this project is its social history. It’s a personal story of how drugs destroy people.

“You can look at Holmes… but it’s also about the changes, dramatic changes, that happened in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when inspirational and mind-opening drugs… drugs like Developed that were deliberately designed to be addictive and then you get into the crack epidemic. This documentary tells about the history,

Mac McClain, former LAPD detective (MGM+)

“But the other thing that was going on was how the pharmaceutical business evolved and changed,” Connelly said. “Much like this crime, it was a very brutal… very bloody business.”

John Holmes became seriously addicted to drugs. (Mark Sullivan/Contour via Getty Images)

According to the US Sun, the Ohio-born actor began smoking home-cooked crack cocaine for free, leaving him impotent and unable to function. To satisfy his addiction, he soon started committing petty robberies.

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Tom Lang, former LAPD detective. (MGM+)

According to the documentary, Holmes became entangled in the Wonderland Gang, a group of drug dealers known as one of the most dangerous cocaine distributors in Los Angeles. Launius, Deverell and Miller were members. Richardson was dating David Lind, a gang member.

Entangled in the story is Eddie Nash, a one-time actor turned nightclub owner and drug dealer.

Two days before the murders, his home was robbed and a bodyguard was shot. As Variety reports, he ordered associates to interrogate Holmes about the theft. Testimony at the trial revealed that four men had entered Nash’s home through a sliding door that Holmes had allegedly left open.

Eddie Nash was arrested in a raid in about 1981. At that time, federal agents reportedly seized two pounds of cocaine. (Boris Yarrow/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

According to the outlet, Thorson testified that he was at Nash’s house buying drugs when he saw Holmes being tied to a chair, beaten and threatened. He claimed that Holmes revealed the identities of the thieves out of fear for his life. The outlet noted that Launius, Deverell and Miller were part of the robbery.

Liberace (right) and Scott Thorson (left) were together for six years. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

While Thorson’s claims have been questioned over the years, Ellwood said she believes him.

He admitted, “His story is very outrageous at times.” “It’s hard to imagine that it’s true or that he’s faking it. …But you can see that Michael is really working with him to get the details and confirm things with detectives and prosecutors.” And his story persists. There are a lot of holes in it and he can’t really find any.”

Val Kilmer played John Holmes in 2003’s “Wonderland.” (Shutterstock)

“It’s hard to believe everything,” Connelly said. “But we always found a backup for it. … We found the detective who took him in for witness protection, so we tried our best to corroborate his stories because some of them are pretty over the top.”

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Scott Thorson struggled with drugs and alcohol throughout his life. (Rick Meyer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

In court, Thorson accused Nash of carrying out the murders as a form of revenge, the outlet reports. However, Nash’s trial ended in a hung jury. He was never convicted.

Holmes was tried for the Wonderland murders and acquitted. He and his wife divorced in 1984. a year later, He tested positive for AIDS.

According to multiple reports, Holmes refused to provide any additional details to detectives about the murders on his deathbed. He died in 1988 at the age of 43.

This 1982 photo shows John Holmes after his release from the LA County Jail. (Boris Yarrow/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

According to the Los Angeles Times report, Sharon claimed that Holmes confessed to her in 1981, after his death, that he had played a central role in the murders. Holmes claimed that he led several people into the house and stood by while they beat the five people inside, leaving them bleeding. Investigators suspected that Holmes may have been acting on Nash’s orders.

Holmes never told his wife the names of his attackers, and he never gave a public account of what happened. He was also adamant that one should never hurt anyone.

Nash died in 2014. He was 85 years old.

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John Holmes was charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He was acquitted of all criminal charges. (Getty Images)

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“(Holmes) was suffering because of drugs,” Connelly said. “Drug addiction… compels people to do terrible things. … Was John Holmes a cold-blooded killer? A jury said no. The jury said that if he did anything, he would probably get punished for it. It was forced. … There are different levels of crime. The audience can decide.”