New True Crime Series Tells The Real Story Behind Boogie Nights

The gruesome homicides that occurred on July 1, 1981, on Wonderland Street, captured the attention of the whole nation at the time and have been a Hollywood mystery ever since. The victims of the Wonderland murders were Ron Launius, William Raymond DeVerell, Joy Audrey Gold Miller, and Barbara Richardson.

One survivor, Susan Launius, was so gravely injured that she developed amnesia, and has no memory of the horrific events. The murders were connected to a robbery that took place the day before that targeted Eddie Nash who was a drug kingpin and nightclub owner in LA at the time.

The new docuseries will cover the Wonderland murders using both archival footage as well as new interviews and will attempt to weave together the real story of what occurred on Wonderland Street that night.

Series creator Michael Connelly will include an interview with Scott Thorson, the only surviving witness of the events leading up to the homicide. Although Thorson is a unpredictable and difficult to interview, causing some speculation as to his credibility, Connelly has not been able to find any inconsistencies in his account and has judged his story to be credible.

The wonderland murders have officially gone unsolved since 1981, with several attempts to try and convict suspects involved in the shocking homicides, but no convictions.

The palm print of John Holmes was found at the crime scene on the headboard of the Launius’ bed, but he was acquitted of the murder after refusing to testify or cooperate with the court proceedings, spending 110 days in jail for contempt of court.

Prosecutors also tried to build a case against Eddie Nash for planning the massacre but were again unsuccessful at proving their case to a jury, resulting in first a hung jury and then an acquittal.

The mystery of what really happened that night has haunted Hollywood ever since, becoming a persistent inspiration for both fictional and documentary material on the subject ever since.

Boogie Nights, which came out in 1997 is an outrageous, over-the-top dramatization of John Holmes’ rise and fall in the adult film industry, and Wonderland which came out in 2003 tells a fictionalized account of the murders.

The Wonderland murders have also been given their own E! True Hollywood Story episode titled John Holmes and the Wonderland Murders which originally aired in 2000.

Michael Connelly, the crime writer behind the new MGM+ docuseries, also has a popular Audible true crime podcast called The Wonderland Murders and the Secret History of Hollywood where he began digging into the story.

Connelly is well known for his work on Lincoln Lawyer and has now tackled one of the most relentless murder mysteries of the 1980s, throwing his hat in the true crime ring, and digging for the true story of the homicides and the events that lead up to them. Conelly is a producer and writer for the series, bringing his experience as a journalist and crime writer to the project.