Porn Actor Questioned Anew Over 4 Killings

Prompted by the appearance of a new witness and reports that pornographic film star John C. Holmes is gravely ill with AIDS, Los Angeles police in recent weeks have renewed efforts to solve the grisly 1981 Laurel Canyon murders in which Holmes was a key figure, The Times has learned.

Police investigating the four killings have spoken to the ailing Holmes, 43, within the last month, several sources familiar with the case said. The discussion, described as brief, took place while Holmes was in a hospital bed.

Mitchell W. Egers, one of two lawyers who successfully defended Holmes in his 1982 trial for the killings, said he was not present during the recent police interview, but was informed of it later. Egers, who said he and his law partner, Earl L. Hanson, both have been in touch with Holmes recently, refused to disclose what, if anything, Holmes told police.

Egers acknowledged that Holmes is hospitalized and is seriously ill, but the lawyer refused to confirm that Holmes’ illness results from infection with the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Egers also declined to say where Holmes is receiving medical care.

“I don’t feel free to repeat what I can speculate is the condition,” Egers said.

However, other sources said Holmes’ illness has been positively diagnosed as AIDS, a fatal disease. One source with knowledge of Holmes’ condition said the actor may die within weeks.

As the premier male pornographic film star of the 1970s and early 1980s, Holmes appeared in hundreds of sexually explicit motion pictures and thousands of peep show loops.

Detective Tom Lange of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, who is supervising the Laurel Canyon murder investigation, declined to discuss the case, other than to say it remains active.

However, The Times has learned that police have identified a new witness who is believed to be in custody outside of California. One source familiar with the history of the complex murder case said he believes police contacted Holmes in part because of statements made by the new witness. Neither the identity of the witness nor the nature of his or her information could be learned.

The case began on July 1, 1981, when the badly beaten bodies of Ronald Launius, 37; William DeVerell, 44; Barbara Richardson, 22, and Joy Miller, 46, were found on the floor of a home on Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon. Launius’ wife, Susan, 25, was discovered barely conscious and badly maimed and was unable to identify the attackers.

Linked to Robbery

The brutal killings and assault followed by two days an armed robbery at the home of Los Angeles nightclub owner Adel Nasrallah, also known as Eddie Nash.

After several months in hiding, Holmes was arrested in Florida and charged in December, 1981, with the murders.

During Holmes’ trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald S. Coen, now a Superior Court judge, charged that Holmes acted as a go-between for Nash and the group living at the Wonderland Avenue house.

The prosecution alleged that the group living at the Wonderland Avenue home committed burglaries and gave the stolen property to Holmes, who handed it over to Nash in return for drugs.

Coen argued that Holmes set up the robbery at Nash’s home and then, when Nash discovered his involvement, led the killers to the Wonderland Avenue address at Nash’s behest.

Testimony in Trial

In Holmes’ trial, a police detective testified that Holmes once told him that Nash was behind the murders. Coen argued that Holmes committed one of the murders with his own hands.

But the jury acquitted Holmes, telling attorneys later that they believed they could not legally rely on Holmes’ alleged admission to police unless there was other substantial evidence to back it up. They concluded there was no such evidence.

After his acquittal, Holmes was ordered by a judge to appear before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury to tell what he knew about the slayings. Holmes refused, saying he feared for his life, and spent 110 days in Los Angeles County Jail on a contempt citation. He finally relented in November, 1982, and was released after he testified.

The same day, Nash was sentenced to eight years in prison for possession of two pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $1 million. The nightclub owner was later released after serving less than two years of his sentence.

What Holmes told the grand jury has never been made public. A 1983 Playboy magazine article on the case said that Holmes appeared before the grand jury only after the district attorney’s office agreed not to prosecute him for perjury for anything he might say.

Still a Suspect

Nash remains a suspect in the Laurel Canyon killings, as does his one-time bodyguard, Gregory Diles, Lange said Monday. Police have other suspects in the case as well, Lange said.

Nash’s attorney, Paul Caruso, said Monday, “Eddie Nash has always steadfastly denied (involvement in the killings) . . . and has invited the investigation into the Laurel Canyon murders because he simply believes there is no way in the world he can be convicted of those homicides.”

Caruso added, “My impression is, if they ever do charge him . . . it might be one of the few cases I win during the year.”

Rumors about Holmes’ health have been circulating in the pornographic film industry for at least a year, according to several industry figures who insisted on anonymity.

In June, pornographic film producer and distributor William Amerson, who had a long-term business relationship with Holmes, told United Press International that Holmes was suffering from colon cancer, but denied reports that the actor had contracted AIDS.

In a brief telephone interview last week, Amerson said he and Holmes had had a falling out, but he declined to further discuss Holmes, his health or the Laurel Canyon murder investigation.