What happened to David Clay Lind? All about the member from the Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood

David Clay Lind was one of the infamous members of the Wonderland Gang—a notorious Los Angeles group involved in drug trafficking and violent crimes. On July 1, 1981, the gang made headlines nationwide after several members were brutally massacred.

While most of the gang was involved in the bloodbath, it was coincidental that David Lind was not present during the slaughter. He lived to see the later part of his life and died in 1995. David Clay Lind is buried at Santa Rosa Memorial Park in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, USA.

The documentary series The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood narrates the events leading up to the massacre and discusses Lind’s fate. Lind's life was filled with crime, addiction, and tragedy. Despite surviving the massacre, he eventually died of a heroin overdose, leaving behind a dark legacy in the shadow of the Wonderland murders.

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Early life and David Clay Lind's role in the Wonderland Gang

David Clay Lind was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 24, 1940. He lived a Bohemian lifestyle and was heavily into drugs; he was also frequently in trouble with the police. He had committed forgery, armed burglary, and assault.

During his prison term, he encountered Ronald Lee "Ron" Launius, the leader of the Wonderland Gang, who became his entry into the group involved in drug trafficking in Los Angeles. Lind became further entangled when he participated in a major burglary of Eddie Nash, a local crime figure.

On June 29, 1981, David Clay Lind and associates Ron Launius and Billy Deverell robbed Nash of drugs, cash, and jewelry. The burglary was aided by the famous adult film star John Holmes, who helped the group gain access to the property. This crime triggered a chain reaction leading to the infamous Wonderland murders just days later.

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David Clay Lind's absence during the Wonderland Massacre

About a week after the burglary, on July 1, 1981, unidentified individuals entered the Wonderland Gang's residence on Wonderland Avenue and brutally slaughtered many gang members and associates. The victims included Ronald Launius, William "Billy" Deverell, Joy Audrey Gold Miller, and Barbara Richardson, David's girlfriend.

The only fortunate aspect of that massacre for David Lind was that he was not present at the time. He claimed he was at a San Fernando Valley motel with a male prostitute, using drugs, on the night of the murders. His absence spared him the bloody fate of his fellow gang members but raised suspicions within the criminal underworld.

Some suspected that David Clay Lind might have been an undercover informant or involved in the setup of the killings, but these claims were never proven.

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Life after the Wonderland Massacre and then death

Following the Wonderland massacre, David Clay Lind had to cooperate with investigators working on the case. Despite his cooperation, both major suspects, Eddie Nash and Gregory Diles, were acquitted of all charges. The massacre seemed to weigh upon Lind, and he reportedly never got over the death of his wife, Paige Seymour Jackson, who died in 1983.

For the better part of the decade afterward, Lind's life was a continuum of substance abuse. Eventually, on November 16, 1995, Lind died of a heroin overdose at age 55. His death, unrelated to the Wonderland murders, marked how he had pursued a path of self-destruction for much of his life.

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Being one of the prime figures in the Wonderland Gang, his implication in the notorious burglary of Eddie Nash's residence set off a chain reaction that led to the gory massacre of his cohorts in the gang.

Although he survived that night, the rest of David Clay Lind's life spun out of control until he died in 1995 from a heroin overdose. His story, much like those of his fellow gang members, remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of living on the wrong side of the law.