Second Trial Begins in Laurel Canyon Murders

A convicted narcotics dealer and his former bodyguard went on trial Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court for the 1981 murders of four people in a Laurel Canyon home, allegedly in retaliation for an earlier drug-related robbery.

Adel “Eddie Nash” Nasrallah, 59, and Gregory Diles, 40, are charged with the murders, which were first blamed on the late porno film star John C. Holmes, who was tried for homicide and acquitted in the case in 1982.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dale Davidson told two separate Superior Court juries Monday that the evidence will show that Nasrallah and Diles are responsible for the slayings. In response, defense attorney Ed Rucker, who represents Nasrallah, said: “We know someone other than the defendants committed the murders. We’re going to prove it.”