GA GA - Shirley, 87, & Russell Dermond, 88, Putnam County, 2 May 2014 - # 1

[Grasshopper]

Backwoods, excellent point. Assuming the garage door was down, it would mean that the person/persons either had to exit via going in to the house or take a garage door opener with them to close it on the way out. Or, I suppose, pull that string to release the door from the opener and close it by hand.

 

[gngr~snap]

Backwoods, excellent point. Assuming the garage door was down, it would mean that the person/persons either had to exit via going in to the house or take a garage door opener with them to close it on the way out. Or, I suppose, pull that string to release the door from the opener and close it by hand.

We have a door as well as garage doors. No problem to make an exit.I bet they did too.

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[Jabarn]

Cherrie.T, to prevent identification of the perp/s due to touch dna...and to delay identification of the victim..visual, dental, etc..

The guy was in his own house- agreed it's harder to ID someone with the head gone, but the hands were left, he was in his house... I would hope if someone killed me in my house, took my head, and left the rest of me, Law Enforcement would not be clueless as to who I was... *I hope*. If the perp thought he could delay ID by taking the head, then he is as equally as twisted as the perp that took the head to terrify the wife or because he thought he could add it to his list of slaves.

 

[LayzeeDayzee]

Backwoods, excellent point. Assuming the garage door was down, it would mean that the person/persons either had to exit via going in to the house or take a garage door opener with them to close it on the way out. Or, I suppose, pull that string to release the door from the opener and close it by hand.

Not necessarily. One can hit the opener button on the wall in garage then run out the big door opening being careful to jump over the horizontal path of the door sensor (doing the latter because if sensor picks up anything in that path, it will automatically cause door to go back up - a safety feature). I've done this lots of times.

 

[Hickory Born]

The guy was in his own house- agreed it's harder to ID someone with the head gone, but the hands were left, he was in his house... I would hope if someone killed me in my house, took my head, and left the rest of me, Law Enforcement would not be clueless as to who I was... *I hope*. If the perp thought he could delay ID by taking the head, then he is as equally as twisted as the perp that took the head to terrify the wife or because he thought he could add it to his list of slaves.

Easy to remedy that problem...get a license to carry and the state automatically has your fingerprints on record.

 

[Bootsctr]

No signs of a robbery. Decapitated victim with evidence being moved postmortem - shock value and no one would believe anyone local would do THAT. Who would not rob these people? People who were just as rich as they were. Any property disputes? Are they searching the neighborhood? If they can't figure out if it was water or street - start with the street. This person must be extremely cold and calculating, but someone the guards felt they knew and would wave on in to the community.

 

[K.jill]

This is a bit o/t but I keep thinking about it:

25 years ago there was a brutal double murder of a married couple, both age 66 in my home town. He was a retired minister and both were well known and respected.
I think about this every once in a while and wish the person responsible would be caught. It is commonly believed in town that the murders were committed by someone who knew them for financial reasons. I have wondered if this person did it...were others in danger, did he go on to commit other crimes?
Years ago I looked into where this person was living now and remember it was near Milledgeville.

Sorry for the o/t, I do not think there is a connection but thought sharing with all of you would help me get it off my mind!

There is a thread for the couple I mentioned:
GA GA - Rev. DeWitt & Jessie Lou Lewis brutally murdered, Dalton, 7 Nov 1985 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[Hickory Born]

Not necessarily. One can hit the opener button on the wall in garage then run out the big door opening being careful to jump over the horizontal path of the door sensor (doing the latter because if sensor picks up anything in that path, it will automatically cause door to go back up - a safety feature). I've done this lots of times.

Everyone is assuming the garage is attached to the house. Could it possibly be a free standing garage?

 

[Suthrnqt]

It won't surprise me if this turns out to be meth-fueled. Or an organized SK. Either way I can't explain why Shirley is still missing. Decapitation seems to suggest extreme anger/hate. But then again, why take Shirley? I know it's too early to rule out anyone, but I highly doubt familial involvement.
jmo, as usual.

 

[Destini]

Looking at the picture taken by helicopter (I assume) of their home, it was extremely wooded. There were homes nearby but lots of woods surrounding each of the homes. I suppose by now they've done a thorough search of those areas, but I wonder if they have brought in cadaver dogs to search yet.

 

[Bootsctr]

Easy to remedy that problem...get a license to carry and the state automatically has your fingerprints on record.

I transcribe. It took 3 tries to get my fingerprints when I got my license to carry. I type my fingerprints off - Ha!

 

[Destini]

The guy was in his own house- agreed it's harder to ID someone with the head gone, but the hands were left, he was in his house... I would hope if someone killed me in my house, took my head, and left the rest of me, Law Enforcement would not be clueless as to who I was... *I hope*. If the perp thought he could delay ID by taking the head, then he is as equally as twisted as the perp that took the head to terrify the wife or because he thought he could add it to his list of slaves.

Agreed, fingers were still there. That wasn't the reason he/they took the head IMO. Maybe because of a bullet embedded, but somehow I doubt even that. Would be easier to just dispose of the gun.

 

[gngr~snap]

*President of the Eatonton Duplicate Bridge Club.

"She describes her as a "kind, sweet lady" and*says Dermond's been playing bridge at a cultural arts center in Eatonton, twice a week, two hours at a time, for years."

No Alzheimer's at play here with her! Finishing crossword puzzles in the paper, this woman was sharp as a tack! IMO


http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/local/hancock/2014/05/09/shirley-dermond/8920725/

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[Foxfire]

The guy was in his own house- agreed it's harder to ID someone with the head gone, but the hands were left, he was in his house... I would hope if someone killed me in my house, took my head, and left the rest of me, Law Enforcement would not be clueless as to who I was... *I hope*. If the perp thought he could delay ID by taking the head, then he is as equally as twisted as the perp that took the head to terrify the wife or because he thought he could add it to his list of slaves.

Jabarn, refer back to Gary Hilton. MHE's torso was over 1/2 mile from where her head was buried. GMH said that this was to prevent forensic identification. Although he had poured bleach over her torso.. I didn't buy this explanation. He had hidden clean blouses & a white trash bag near the head for later recovery, imo.

Imo, many escalated ritual sexual predators(T Bundy/GMH, etc.)collect the heads of their victims for various purposes.

 

[Bootsctr]

They look alike. I read an article about being married a long time makes people start to look similar.
Not sure how true that is.
CAN YOU IMAGINE? 68 years?
I can't.
My in-laws have been married 59.
Heck my 25th is coming up in October. Another 43 years seems like forever!


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I've heard the first 50 years are the hardest.

 

[Bootsctr]

Looking at the picture taken by helicopter (I assume) of their home, it was extremely wooded. There were homes nearby but lots of woods surrounding each of the homes. I suppose by now they've done a thorough search of those areas, but I wonder if they have brought in cadaver dogs to search yet.

Let's hope! lease: The homes look huge from the aerial photo. I would want to search them. She could still be alive.

 

[shefner]

I don't know why I keep thinking there is more than one perp in this case.....

 

[Bootsctr]

Agreed, fingers were still there. That wasn't the reason he/they took the head IMO. Maybe because of a bullet embedded, but somehow I doubt even that. Would be easier to just dispose of the gun.

Some people really love their guns. Maybe this person collected guns. Could be a rare caliber and highly traceable. Cutting off the head would be preferable. Still the garage is secondary crime scene. Where was he killed? Would expect a large volume of blood stain if not done in a bathtub or shower or the lake.

 

[Hickory Born]

Agreed, fingers were still there. That wasn't the reason he/they took the head IMO. Maybe because of a bullet embedded, but somehow I doubt even that. Would be easier to just dispose of the gun.

Might have been easier to dispose of the gun, but maybe he didn't have the money to buy another gun.

I'm leaning toward this being a botched burglary of two vulnerable, elderly citizens who lived in a wealthy neighborhood...prime targets to some criminal/criminals.

 

[osu]

Looking at the picture taken by helicopter (I assume) of their home, it was extremely wooded. There were homes nearby but lots of woods surrounding each of the homes. I suppose by now they've done a thorough search of those areas, but I wonder if they have brought in cadaver dogs to search yet.

Here's a Google Earth aerial image of the Dermond home. Their property looks very wooded and secluded.