GA GA - Shirley, 87, & Russell Dermond, 88, Putnam Co, 2 May 2014 - #13

[Yemelyan]

Very confusing. He thinks the killers intended to come back to fetch the towels, but yet even though they had three days in which to do so, they did not? Does he mean they intended to come back and replace the towels with fresh ones? I wonder where Mr. Sills gets his ideas? Seems like an incomplete sentence - the reason is the towels to keep the blood from coming out???? Has the man lost his shirt? imo.

“There was some intent to come back, I believe. And the reason for that is the towels to keep the blood from coming out. However, it had been three days before we knew about it.”

Could new technology help crack cold case of who killed elderly couple at Lake Oconee home?

It was a case that captivated the country -- the murders of Russel and Shirley Dermond 8 years ago -- and there’s still no apparent motive.

www.wsbtv.com

He thinks that the towels were placed to prevent blood from running under the garage door, and that this was a strategy to keep the scene hidden until the perpetrator (s) could return to the home to do whatever he/they intended to do. Not necessarily to retrieve the towels. IMO

 

[tlcya]

Shocking Lake Oconee murders have gone unsolved for 7 years. Now there’s a new lead BY JOE KOVAC JR. UPDATED MAY 05, 2021 8:25 AM

But a possible lead unearthed in recent months by Putnam County sheriff’s investigators working in conjunction with the FBI has detectives somewhat optimistic about a chance to finally zero in on a suspect. Sheriff Howard Sills, who is personally spearheading the probe, earlier this week declined to publicly divulge what evidentiary avenue was being pursued, but told The Telegraph that the effort could prove promising.

“I am currently trying to obtain data of a highly technical nature that I believe will be fruitful. ... I’ve obtained some of it and I have reason to believe that when I obtain the rest of the data and sort it out that it may well lead me to a suspect or suspects in this case,” Sills said.

Read more at: https://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article251143519.html#storylink=cpy

Hard to believe this one remains unsolved. I spent months in those early threads, trying to puzzle out who may have killed them, why was Russ decapitated but Shirley not? Why was he left in the garage and she dumped miles away in the lake? I hope the new lead leads to answers.

 

[fred&edna]

Shocking Lake Oconee murders have gone unsolved for 7 years. Now there’s a new lead BY JOE KOVAC JR. UPDATED MAY 05, 2021 8:25 AM

But a possible lead unearthed in recent months by Putnam County sheriff’s investigators working in conjunction with the FBI has detectives somewhat optimistic about a chance to finally zero in on a suspect. Sheriff Howard Sills, who is personally spearheading the probe, earlier this week declined to publicly divulge what evidentiary avenue was being pursued, but told The Telegraph that the effort could prove promising.

“I am currently trying to obtain data of a highly technical nature that I believe will be fruitful. ... I’ve obtained some of it and I have reason to believe that when I obtain the rest of the data and sort it out that it may well lead me to a suspect or suspects in this case,” Sills said.

Read more at: https://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article251143519.html#storylink=cpy

Hard to believe this one remains unsolved. I spent months in those early threads, trying to puzzle out who may have killed them, why was Russ decapitated but Shirley not? Why was he left in the garage and she dumped miles away in the lake? I hope the new lead leads to answers.

I'd love to believe SS is obtaining highly technical data on this case but the article reminds me of the "anniversary" statements the sheriff has made in the past.

 

[deugirtni]

Shocking Lake Oconee murders have gone unsolved for 7 years. Now there’s a new lead BY JOE KOVAC JR. UPDATED MAY 05, 2021 8:25 AM

But a possible lead unearthed in recent months by Putnam County sheriff’s investigators working in conjunction with the FBI has detectives somewhat optimistic about a chance to finally zero in on a suspect. Sheriff Howard Sills, who is personally spearheading the probe, earlier this week declined to publicly divulge what evidentiary avenue was being pursued, but told The Telegraph that the effort could prove promising.

“I am currently trying to obtain data of a highly technical nature that I believe will be fruitful. ... I’ve obtained some of it and I have reason to believe that when I obtain the rest of the data and sort it out that it may well lead me to a suspect or suspects in this case,” Sills said.

Read more at: https://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article251143519.html#storylink=cpy

Hard to believe this one remains unsolved. I spent months in those early threads, trying to puzzle out who may have killed them, why was Russ decapitated but Shirley not? Why was he left in the garage and she dumped miles away in the lake? I hope the new lead leads to answers.

Seems this update was written two years ago?

Shocking Lake Oconee murders have gone unsolved for 7 years. Now there’s a new lead
By Joe Kovac Jr.
Updated May 05, 2021 8:25 AM

 

[tlcya]

Seems this update was written two years ago?

Shocking Lake Oconee murders have gone unsolved for 7 years. Now there’s a new lead
By Joe Kovac Jr.
Updated May 05, 2021 8:25 AM

sigh, disappointing. I worry this one will never be solved.

 

[fred&edna]

Seems this update was written two years ago?

Shocking Lake Oconee murders have gone unsolved for 7 years. Now there’s a new lead
By Joe Kovac Jr.
Updated May 05, 2021 8:25 AM

They might as well recycle it for use this anniversary... they all sound the same.

 

[deugirtni]

sigh, disappointing. I worry this one will never be solved.

Yes, agreed.. at least not as long as SS is unwilling to give it up to another investigative body. imo. IIRC, when that article came out, it had already been recycled from a prior year..... so, so much for the 'new'.

 

[vls12345]

Husband decapitated and wife dropped in Lake Oconee. 9 years later, their deaths are a mystery

Neighbors made a gruesome discovery when they checked on the couple who never showed up to a Kentucky Derby party in 2014.

www.wsbtv.com

It has now been an open case for nine years.

 

[fred&edna]

Active, emotional pleas for justice have been almost nonexistent. It seems there's no real driving force to find the killers... almost feels as if everyone just wanted these murders to be forgotten. jmo

 

[MesquiteO21]

Thinking of the Dermonds...hoping there will be answers some day.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

Active, emotional pleas for justice have been almost nonexistent. It seems there's no real driving force to find the killers... almost feels as if everyone just wanted these murders to be forgotten. jmo

Agree.
It’s hard to know why we are nine years out on this case. LE incompetence doesn’t really seem to be the issue even though it would be nice if SS would ask for some outside help.

—it took place in a large gated(but no working camera) neighborhood community with no thru traffic so an unfamiliar car/truck might stand out. No one saw anything.
—water access for many houses including the crime scene house. You can’t hide a boat except by darkness. Boats tend to be loud unless you’re rowing. No one saw or heard anything.
—one victim disposed by boat near a public landing. No one saw a thing.
—one victim beheaded and oddly left in the garage. But the killers never talked to anyone
—victims’ house virtually untouched. Nobody saw anything.

It’s just crazy to me this is unsolved. It seems obvious, at least to me, that there were more than one person involved. They were in the house for a period of time, arriving by vehicle or boat and not one neighbor heard or saw anything strange that is of any help at all.
Weird.

 

[Canaille]

Cody Alcorn posted about the case just minutes ago on his FB page. Not sure if a link can be posted here nor not.

 

[charminglane]

I wonder if Shirley and Russell had not been murdered if they would still be alive 9 years later?
96 and 97. Possible.
They had good health and financial stability.
What a shame that they were not permitted to keep on living. We wonder why.
Cheers to S&R.
Someday.

 

[dotr]

'May 8, 2023
It's been years since homicide detectives were called to investigate the murder of Russell and Shirley Dermond. Russell, 88, was found decapitated inside of his garage on May 6, 2014. His head was never found.'

Husband decapitated and wife dropped in Lake Oconee. 9 years later, their deaths are a mystery

Neighbors made a gruesome discovery when they checked on the couple who never showed up to a Kentucky Derby party in 2014.

www.wsbtv.com

'May 7, 2023
''It's been nine years since a Putnam County couple was brutally murdered. Deputies say they found the 88-year-old man's headless body in his garage, and his wife's body was recovered from Lake Oconee days later. Nearly a decade has gone by, and the sheriff says they're not much closer to getting closure in this case.'

May 8 2023
May 1-3, 2014
Neighbors told investigators that May 1 was the final time they saw Russell Dermond around the area running errands. However, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 2′s Mark Winne that someone logged on to Dermond’s computer at their home during the afternoon of Friday, May 2. The office believes it was one of the Dermonds.
The couple accepted an invitation to watch the Kentucky Derby on May 3 but never attended the party.

May 6, 2014
Neighbors found Russell Dermond’s body in the garage with his head missing. There are no signs of where Shirley Dermond could be. Officials started investigating the possibility the 87-year-old was kidnapped.
Investigators found no signs of forced entry or any struggle inside the home.

May 10, 2014
The Reynolds Plantation community holds a candlelight vigil for the Dermonds. At least 100 people showed up Saturday night to light candles and pray for the couple’s family and Shirley Dermond.

May 16, 2014
Fishermen found Shirley Dermond’s body in Lake Oconee with two concrete blocks tied to her legs. Channel 2′s Richard Elliot talked to one of the fishermen who discovered the body.
“It became apparent as we pulled closer that it wasn’t just something in the water. It was a person, and I won’t forget it,” he said.

May 17, 2014
Investigators released the cause of death for Shirley Dermond. The coroner’s office determined she died of blunt force trauma to the head. Officials said she was dead when dumped into the lake and did not drown.

June 4, 2014
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told Channel 2′s Mark Winne that evidence indicates the couple was killed with two different weapons. He said physical evidence points to a strong likelihood that the Dermonds died in different ways and that the killer, or killers, used a different kind of weapon.

May 6, 2022
Sheriff Sills tells Channel 2 Action News the FBI is providing cell phone data from the week the couple was killed. Investigators believe it may show who was around the Dermond home at the time of the killings.''

 

[deugirtni]

I don't remember hearing this before, or am I just forgetting?? Anyone else?

from the article linked above:

...the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 2′s Mark Winne that someone logged on to Dermond’s computer at their home during the afternoon of Friday, May 2. The office believes it was one of the Dermonds.

 

[dotr]

I don't remember hearing this before, or am I just forgetting?? Anyone else?

from the article linked above:

...the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 2′s Mark Winne that someone logged on to Dermond’s computer at their home during the afternoon of Friday, May 2. The office believes it was one of the Dermonds.

The info re someone logging on to the computer was news to me too.

 

[deugirtni]

Cody Alcorn posted about the case just minutes ago on his FB page. Not sure if a link can be posted here nor not.

In Alcorn's post, he says: "There have been several theories—a New Jersey mob, a drug dealer seeking revenge, a family member—but nothing ever panned out, mainly because there is no glaring motive."

How can it be said there is 'no glaring motive' when money is generally thought to be a huge motive in murder, these people were wealthy apparently, and whomever the beneficiaries of the couple's estate were, wouldn't a premature inheritance provide a rather large motive for them?

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[Seattle1]

I don't remember hearing this before, or am I just forgetting?? Anyone else?

from the article linked above:

...the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 2′s Mark Winne that someone logged on to Dermond’s computer at their home during the afternoon of Friday, May 2. The office believes it was one of the Dermonds.

I think this was reported in a manner that it's taken out of context. The Sheriff's office believes one of the Dermonds logged on to their computer and this helps with the timeline -- they were still alive on Friday afternoon. JMO

 

[deugirtni]

I think this was reported in a manner that it's taken out of context. The Sheriff's office believes one of the Dermonds logged on to their computer and this helps with the timeline -- they were still alive on Friday afternoon. JMO

Interesting that it was apparently the last time. Also wondering if during that time online, they communicated with anyone. I'm sure SS would've been right on it, however.

 

[Canaille]

In Alcorn's post, he says: "There have been several theories—a New Jersey mob, a drug dealer seeking revenge, a family member—but nothing ever panned out, mainly because there is no glaring motive."

How can it be said there is 'no glaring motive' when money is generally thought to be a huge motive in murder, these people were wealthy apparently, and whomever the beneficiaries of the couple's estate were, wouldn't a premature inheritance provide a rather large motive for them?

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Also from Alcorn's post (bold and italics by me)...

"Nine years later, no one has been charged in their horrific killings. The Putnam County Georgia Sheriff's Office said there were no fingerprints, foreign DNA or eyewitness."

No foreign DNA?


"In the dispatch log it's stated, "His (Russell) left index finger has a severe gash. Tangled within his wound’s blood, Sheriff Sills finds strands of Shirley’s sandy blonde hair—giving him a clue into what may have happened during the struggle between him and his killer and his wife's assailant."

Again, no foreign DNA???