1990 L.A. Times Article (Nash Trial). Man Screaming “Don’t Kill Me” Had To Be Deverell
Ron Launius was lying in bed covered by a blanket. He was killed in his sleep while in a heroin slumber, as he was probably out of it. He had no defense wounds. Billy was the only other guy in the house that night, so it must have been him screaming “Don’t kill me”. I think the movie had that right, that he let the killers in, and was forced back up the stairs. I also think it was correct that after the robbery, Billy was in charge of the front door, deciding who came and went… as told by David Lind. Billy would have let Holmes into the house. The movie had it right.
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The grisly killings–punctuated by the screams of a man pleading, “Don’t kill me!” which awakened at least one resident of the rustic canyon neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours of July 1, 1981–took place in a house on Wonderland Avenue once occupied by members of the rock ‘n’ roll band Paul Revere and the Raiders. Just down the block was a home owned by then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.
There was no evidence of forced entry into the house. The bodies were discovered several hours after the killings by a professional mover working next door who entered through an open front door after hearing a woman moaning.
Bonnie Brae 6:04 pm on March 18, 2013 Permalink |
muy muy interesante!
scabiesoftherat 11:31 pm on March 18, 2013 Permalink |
This has always vexed me to a certain degree. Deverell was found upstairs by the TV. Barbara Richardson never moved off the couch because she still had the bed covers on. Launius was out to lunch. Susan was not found in bed but on the floor of the back bedroom. She was there all of a week, right? My guess is that she was as hard-headed as her husband….to a certain degree. Maybe she could have answered the door. I don’t know. If everyone was asleep, as they appear to have been, it would have made no sense for him to be let in. There had to be a damn good reason for him to be let in when everyone was actually sleeping…like lost keys or a lost credit card,…
I wonder if there was some dialogue in regards to gettin’ Nash’s bootle back. The criminals aren’t saying. The victims (save for one) are dead. With all that ransacking, maybe they were looking for their stuff and when it wasn’t there, that’s when the pipes were swung. Billy may have been forced to take them on a tour of the house before the killings. I don’t know. Just a thought. Sorry about sappin’ the bandwidth with this comment. Thought-provoking article however.
John 8:53 am on March 19, 2013 Permalink
Good observations! I think we are starting to piece things together nicely!
scabiesoftherat 12:33 am on March 19, 2013 Permalink |
Interesting side note: Paul Revere and the Raiders not only occupied the Wonderland house, pre-murders. They also occupied the Sharon Tate house at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon,…pre-murders. Fun facts to know and tell.
Darcymarie 5:13 pm on April 6, 2013 Permalink |
I also think Deverell answered the door & probably ran away as he was getting attacked , I think Barbara was asleep & maybe awoke but was too stoned to fight back…. I mean they were all probably super stoned. Does anyone know what happened to the stash? Of any of it was recovered or what? I know the jewelry was fenced ….
John 7:44 am on April 7, 2013 Permalink |
I think the stash was all taken by the intruders, but not kept at Nash’s house, but hidden elsewhere.