True Crime On This Day July 1st

July 1st

On July 1st in true crime, Wonderland murders, bowling alley Jane Doe, Australian murder, mystery disappearance, and cold cases.

1978

In Australia, 22-year-old Andrew Pea was stabbed to death during a scuffle after leaving the infamous Tube Bar at the Paddington Hotel in Perth. The bar was often described as dark and dingy.

His murder went unsolved until 1987 when 33-year-old Peter Munckton was arrested in Darwin. In 1988, Munckton was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.

1979

In Harold Hill, Essex, 14-year-old Suzanne Lawrence vanished without a trace after leaving her sister to walk alone. Her disappearance and assumed murder remain one of the UK’s most well-known missing persons cases.

Her disappearance has been linked to serial killers Peter Tobin or Robin Black, both who were known to have killed young girls all over the country.

Despite the connections, no trace of Lawrence has ever been found and her disappearance remains a mystery.

1980

In Monmouth County, New Jersey, the decomposed and skeletal remains of an unidentified 20 to 30-year-old white female were discovered.

The body was found behind the Shore Bowling Alley, just off Route 35. She had been bludgeoned to death with a solid object to the head just a few weeks before.

All her jewellery and clothing were found alongside her. The circumstances of her death and her identity have long remained a mystery. It is an active cold case in the State of New Jersey.

1981

In Laurel Canyon, four people were killed in one of Los Angeles longest-running unsolved murder mysteries. The house was known to be used by the Wonderland Gang, who were a group of cocaine dealers in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Three of the members, Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell, and Joy Miller were found dead, along with an accomplice, Barbara Richardson. Launius’ wife, Susan, was found alive and went on to make a full recovery.

All of them had been beaten with hammers and metal pipes. The scene was said to have been bloodier than the Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969 that were carried out by members of the Manson Family.

Organised crime figure and nightclub owner Eddie Nash allegedly planned the murders. He was arrested along with his henchman Gregory Diles and porn star John Holmes, but they were each acquitted of their involvement in the murders.

The story was made into two films, Boogie Nights in 1997 and Wonderland in 2003. There have also been multiple TV movies and books about the murders.

Despite links to various people, no one has been convicted of the murders and they remain unsolved.

1982

In Baytown, Texas, one month after her disappearance, the body of 14-year-old Michelle Garvey was discovered but was not identified until 2014.

She was reported missing from New London, Connecticut, by her family on June 1^st 1982 and was known for running away. Investigators looking into the discovery of the body confirmed that she had been strangled to death.

Her body was exhumed in 2011 to obtain a DNA profile, and was formally identified in 2014, 32 years after her death. Despite being linked to the Texas Killing Fields murders, her death remains unsolved.

1983

In Houston, Texas, four people were stabbed to death during a robbery at the Malibu Grand Prix Race Amusement Center.

18-year-old Anil Varughese, 22-year-old Rod Harris, 19-year-old Arnold Pequeno, and his brother 18-year-old Joerene Pequeno, were attacked and robbed by a former employee, Richard James Wilkerson.

He had been fired from the Center two weeks earlier, and along with his cousin and another accomplice, carried out the attack in revenge for losing his job as a pit attendant at the centre.

All four victims were stabbed in the head, neck, and chest, before the trio made off with approximately $2,000 (USD). They spent the proceeds on clothing afterwards which led to their arrest shortly after.

Wilkerson was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection in Texas on August 31^st 1993.

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