GA GA - Shirley, 87, & Russell Dermond, 88, Putnam County, 2 May 2014 - #10

[watcher9]

I'm thinking from the beginning and I have to wonder what time the derby party was, when was the last call that they answered and when was the 1st call they didn't answer. Phone companies can tell this so I think they have a good idea of when the murders happened. They have the phone records so they must have all this info. Sills mentioned a few times Friday afternoon early Saturday morning as if he slipped up and gave us a timeline to start with. According to Sills in an early interview the last call that they answered was on Thursday

The date on the thread is May 2, 2014 which was a Friday. I don't remember how we set the date or if it was from SS.

SS did mention there was two days worth of mail in the box which I think we assumed was Sat and Sun. There was also discussion about the crossword puzzle being worked on in the newspaper that was laying out on the table which could have been the Friday edition, but when was it delivered?

Did we ever find out if the paper was hand or mail delivered to them and if so, was it delivered on the edition day or a day later? Was that the USA Today?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Hey hockeyguy33, SS is waiting for a phone call from someone who knows........he apparently doesnt think sharing important infor with the public is plausible, who knows what it could be that can't be divulged, but seriously it COULD/MIGHT bring something to light by someone in the public however, Yes I agree, morsels and keeping all the info under his hat, he isnt solving it so why not tell all? Must be a reason but I dont know what at this point

But that is not what law enforcement do in unsolved cases. They will never give up any of the evidence or divulge details as long as it remains unsolved and is an ongoing investigation. Sills will most likely still work on this case even after retirement like a lot of law enforcement officers do if it remains unsolved.

I have always felt it was someone in the same subdivision or surrounding area/counties who did this who knew they were two very elderly people living alone back in the area of the subdivision that was more secluded making them easy targets.

But as time has passed it has even crossed my mind this could have been done by some crazed nomadic serial killer or a cult group in the area who sadistically relished in leaving the victim in such a state of beheading for the shock and awe factor for anyone finding the victim that they purposefully left behind for all to see. I still think they may have taken Shirley out in the water hoping someone would believe she did this to her husband...then left on her own accord. I don't think the killer/s ever expected her to be found or rise.

It could even be some deranged person who is an injustice collector who hated wealthy people/fancy homes/grandparents etc. and may have come from a lower economical family background. The truth, nowadays, it could be just about anyone. So many people now are doing overkill type of murders to those they never even knew. This person/s knew the Dermonds were not strong enough to defend themselves. I think a lot of these stranger gruesome overkill type murders we see happening today are done because the perp/s may already have predisposed seething rage/hatred of some kind against a certain group or certain people even before they overkill the victim/s. Like an injustice collector who murders totally innocent people and blames all of their problems on certain people or groups.

And tragically there have been cases where elderly married couples wound up murdering their spouse. Both elderly husbands and wives have been murderers of their life long partner.

I still don't think there is any family involvement whatsoever in this double homicide. I think about the Dermond children/grandchildren from time to time, and they all have to wonder if justice will ever come for their parents/grandparents who were cruelly murdered.

I pray that it will. There is always hope because several cold cases have been solved recently but then in reality on average only around 67% of murder cases are solved throughout our nation. So plenty of murderers do seem to be getting away with murder. I just hope whomever killed the Dermonds are one of the ones who are caught even if its years later.

I have prayed that one day when I sign onto WS I will see the caption 'arrest made' when it comes to the Dermonds and all of the other unsolved cases.

JMO

 

[CherokeeOne]

I've got a lot of reading to do in reference to this case as far as the stuff on here goes, but I've been following this one since it happened. Reason being, I lived less than ten minutes from them.

Lake Oconee is a very, very quiet area, and both Putnam and Greene counties only have e small pockets of small ****gery and some drugs, but most of that doesn't come anywhere near the lake subdivisions. My family actually owned property in GW and I can say that from a security standpoint, there practically is none. It doesn't surprise me about the cameras or anything.

I'm going to read up on what you guys have shared over the years, but here's my take from someone who knows that lake front to back and has traveled it EXTENSIVELY. The man in the back was a lookout. The perps arrived by boat, did the deed, and exited by boat. Their boat would have to have probably been put in at either Sugar Creek Marina, Old Salem or, more likely, Collis Marina Rd as it's the closest to GW. If, and big if, they had come in by vehicle, they still would have had to launch a boat to get her out to the middle of the lake but it would have required carrying her, and both Collis and Sugar Creek are fairly busy. I feel they put in, rolled up on the dock, did what they did on the lakeside where less could see, only carried her out, dumped her, and took the boat back out without anyone the wiser.

As far as motive, I don't put organized crime out of the question, I do feel it was something from their past, whether the son or whatever. And I know personally from GBI agents who taught me that SS specifically stated he didn't want their help. Their general feeling was if they had been called in from the beginning, the chances of this being solved already would be much higher. But they kind of have to throw their hands up and say, "We can only assist if he requests it." I'd like to look up what you guys have found on the son and other children's pasts and any other relevant info you may seem relevant, but I have a lot of reading to do.

All this is just what I've gathered from being someone very close to the area and communities involved.

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[Deleted member 162919]

I recall something about a neighbor being on vacation at the time of the murder. Did they search the neighbors house? I really hope Sills and his detectives read this site and I hope they realize something they never thought of and get these murderers. It's possible this could be a mob hit but more likely it was a family member or a former employee. Beheading someone especially someone the age of 88 is a sign of rage. Not much evidence tells me either this was he work of a pro or the evidence they found could easily be contested in court and by this I mean fingerprints or dna would belong to a family member . The only other option would be this was the work of a policeman or someone who was a cop. I only say this because of the lack of evidence, nothing stolen,and the silence from Sills and his office.

Whoever did this has killed before nobody is this good on the 1st try. There must be rumors in town about this and usually out of all the rumors 1 ends up being true. Does anyone know what the locals are saying?

 

[CherokeeOne]

The locals tend to believe it was a hit based on something in their past, whether personal or through the children. That being said, the whole inside-police thing has crossed my mind as well, and being a cop myself, that is a scary thought.

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[Deleted member 162919]

Oh and Sills knows the about time of death within 4 hours that's how close the coroner can estimate TOD . He also knows what weapon was used in each attack and where the Dermonds were attacked. He also knows how many people were in that house as there must be multiple different footprints.

 

[caribou_birdie]

I recall something about a neighbor being on vacation at the time of the murder. Did they search the neighbors house? I really hope Sills and his detectives read this site and I hope they realize something they never thought of and get these murderers. It's possible this could be a mob hit but more likely it was a family member or a former employee. Beheading someone especially someone the age of 88 is a sign of rage. Not much evidence tells me either this was he work of a pro or the evidence they found could easily be contested in court and by this I mean fingerprints or dna would belong to a family member . The only other option would be this was the work of a policeman or someone who was a cop. I only say this because of the lack of evidence, nothing stolen,and the silence from Sills and his office.

Whoever did this has killed before nobody is this good on the 1st try. There must be rumors in town about this and usually out of all the rumors 1 ends up being true. Does anyone know what the locals are saying?

The locals are saying what LE has told them. Unfortunately it can't be posted here because it is hearsay and not verifiable.

My opinion...there will never be an arrest in this case and LE already knows who did it and they will never have evidence to prove it.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I've got a lot of reading to do in reference to this case as far as the stuff on here goes, but I've been following this one since it happened. Reason being, I lived less than ten minutes from them.

Lake Oconee is a very, very quiet area, and both Putnam and Greene counties only have e small pockets of small ****gery and some drugs, but most of that doesn't come anywhere near the lake subdivisions. My family actually owned property in GW and I can say that from a security standpoint, there practically is none. It doesn't surprise me about the cameras or anything.

I'm going to read up on what you guys have shared over the years, but here's my take from someone who knows that lake front to back and has traveled it EXTENSIVELY. The man in the back was a lookout. The perps arrived by boat, did the deed, and exited by boat. Their boat would have to have probably been put in at either Sugar Creek Marina, Old Salem or, more likely, Collis Marina Rd as it's the closest to GW. If, and big if, they had come in by vehicle, they still would have had to launch a boat to get her out to the middle of the lake but it would have required carrying her, and both Collis and Sugar Creek are fairly busy. I feel they put in, rolled up on the dock, did what they did on the lakeside where less could see, only carried her out, dumped her, and took the boat back out without anyone the wiser.

As far as motive, I don't put organized crime out of the question, I do feel it was something from their past, whether the son or whatever. And I know personally from GBI agents who taught me that SS specifically stated he didn't want their help. Their general feeling was if they had been called in from the beginning, the chances of this being solved already would be much higher. But they kind of have to throw their hands up and say, "We can only assist if he requests it." I'd like to look up what you guys have found on the son and other children's pasts and any other relevant info you may seem relevant, but I have a lot of reading to do.

All this is just what I've gathered from being someone very close to the area and communities involved.

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I respectfully disagree. SS didn't need the GBI in the case. From what I remember he called in the FBI to assist in the investigation.

The GBI cant even find out what happened to the little two year old boy that supposedly was in the January tornado in Albany Georgia, but was never located anywhere even though the local police turned it over to the GBI for criminal investigation.

I am from Georgia, but in some cases they just aren't that good at solving cases. They wouldn't have ever solved Tara Grinstead's case either, imo, if someone had not come forward many years later. They had no clue about the murderer being Duke and his accomplice being Dukes.

The GBI has a tendency to want to completely takeover cases when they are only an assisting agency to local police just like the FBI are in so many
local state cases. The GBI has a lot of cases that remain unsolved and have for decades.

 

[Razz]

I respectfully disagree. SS didn't need the GBI in the case. From what I remember he called in the FBI to assist in the investigation.

The GBI cant even find out what happened to the little two year old boy that supposedly was in the January tornado in Albany Georgia, but was never located anywhere even though the local police turned it over to the GBI for criminal investigation.

I am from Georgia, but in some cases they just aren't that good at solving cases. They wouldn't have ever solved Tara Grinstead's case either, imo, if someone had not come forward many years later. They had no clue about the murderer being Duke and his accomplice being Dukes.

The GBI has a tendency to want to completely takeover cases when they are only an assisting agency to local police just like the FBI are in so many
local state cases. The GBI has a lot of cases that remain unsolved and have for decades.

This is all water under the bridge but why not ask both agencies in?

Again, I think hubris kept SS from accepting help.

This is to Comanchemoon: Is there any way Mrs. D. could have been thrown into the dam from the road?

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[CherokeeOne]

I respectfully disagree. SS didn't need the GBI in the case. From what I remember he called in the FBI to assist in the investigation.

The GBI cant even find out what happened to the little two year old boy that supposedly was in the January tornado in Albany Georgia, but was never located anywhere even though the local police turned it over to the GBI for criminal investigation.

I am from Georgia, but in some cases they just aren't that good at solving cases. They wouldn't have ever solved Tara Grinstead's case either, imo, if someone had not come forward many years later. They had no clue about the murderer being Duke and his accomplice being Dukes.

The GBI has a tendency to want to completely takeover cases when they are only an assisting agency to local police just like the FBI are in so many
local state cases. The GBI has a lot of cases that remain unsolved and have for decades.

And I understand that, for sure, but any amount of assistance the GBI could've given would be way more than what PCSO could do with their resources. At minimum, why not have the extra eyes.

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[Deleted member 162919]

It seems like a hit and the beheading usually means rage. A hit wouldn't shock me and since their advanced age I would assume it was to send a message to someone in the family. They could be lying about them not being in the witness protection program to keep the kids safe. Could also explain his new business since he moved from NJ to Atlanta since being in the clock business to owning Hardy's isn't exactly the same line of work

The locals tend to believe it was a hit based on something in their past, whether personal or through the children. That being said, the whole inside-police thing has crossed my mind as well, and being a cop myself, that is a scary thought.

Sent from my 2PYB2 using Tapatalk

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

But that is not what law enforcement do in unsolved cases. They will never give up any of the evidence or divulge details as long as it remains unsolved and is an ongoing investigation. Sills will most likely still work on this case even after retirement like a lot of law enforcement officers do if it remains unsolved.

I have always felt it was someone in the same subdivision or surrounding area/counties who did this who knew they were two very elderly people living alone back in the area of the subdivision that was more secluded making them easy targets.

But as time has passed it has even crossed my mind this could have been done by some crazed nomadic serial killer or a cult group in the area who sadistically relished in leaving the victim in such a state of beheading for the shock and awe factor for anyone finding the victim that they purposefully left behind for all to see. I still think they may have taken Shirley out in the water hoping someone would believe she did this to her husband...then left on her own accord. I don't think the killer/s ever expected her to be found or rise.

It could even be some deranged person who is an injustice collector who hated wealthy people/fancy homes/grandparents etc. and may have come from a lower economical family background. The truth, nowadays, it could be just about anyone. So many people now are doing overkill type of murders to those they never even knew. This person/s knew the Dermonds were not strong enough to defend themselves. I think a lot of these stranger gruesome overkill type murders we see happening today are done because the perp/s may already have predisposed seething rage/hatred of some kind against a certain group or certain people even before they overkill the victim/s. Like an injustice collector who murders totally innocent people and blames all of their problems on certain people or groups.

And tragically there have been cases where elderly married couples wound up murdering their spouse. Both elderly husbands and wives have been murderers of their life long partner.

I still don't think there is any family involvement whatsoever in this double homicide. I think about the Dermond children/grandchildren from time to time, and they all have to wonder if justice will ever come for their parents/grandparents who were cruelly murdered.

I pray that it will. There is always hope because several cold cases have been solved recently but then in reality on average only around 67% of murder cases are solved throughout our nation. So plenty of murderers do seem to be getting away with murder. I just hope whomever killed the Dermonds are one of the ones who are caught even if its years later.

I have prayed that one day when I sign onto WS I will see the caption 'arrest made' when it comes to the Dermonds and all of the other unsolved cases.

JMO

I hope they do... Im sure they are bothered by the crime as well as it being unsolved........I was going on what SS stated in an interview, that "a lot of times a case is solved by a phone call by someone who knows something" and, I think he's referenced that before....It was more of an "oh my gosh" moment when I heard him say that... we know what they are supposed to do, Im sure if they have a new lead they'll follow it, as SS said, there is a process to this and they follow it

but what do you do when it's COLD as it was in Aug 2014, when he turned it over to the cold case in Jacksonville FL? And now near 3 years later?

Like he also said, you can't just speculate and go on wild goose chases........so IMO you have to wait for a phone call from someone who knows and he mentioned that so I did too.......

But I;m like you, I always hope to see an arrest is made too!!

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

It seems like a hit and the beheading usually means rage. A hit wouldn't shock me and since their advanced age I would assume it was to send a message to someone in the family. They could be lying about them not being in the witness protection program to keep the kids safe. Could also explain his new business since he moved from NJ to Atlanta since being in the clock business to owning Hardy's isn't exactly the same line of work

and Chic filet's.........yeah that is odd...did he save that much money to get those franchises? Did he make big in the stock market? Did he inherit money? Any of these to fund his new ventures?? Well, the elderly folks I know and the local cop in Eatonton said it was a hit from up north sooo... I dont know....most people think that what's on the streets is speculationa dn rumor but what a PC LE who said that to me last year?? Is that speculation and rumor or does he know somehting?

 

[Razz]

I hope they do... Im sure they are bothered by the crime as well as it being unsolved........I was going on what SS stated in an interview, that "a lot of times a case is solved by a phone call by someone who knows something" and, I think he's referenced that before....It was more of an "oh my gosh" moment when I heard him say that... we know what they are supposed to do, Im sure if they have a new lead they'll follow it, as SS said, there is a process to this and they follow it

but what do you do when it's COLD as it was in Aug 2014, when he turned it over to the cold case in Jacksonville FL? And now near 3 years later?

Like he also said, you can't just speculate and go on wild goose chases........so IMO you have to wait for a phone call from someone who knows and he mentioned that so I did too.......

But I;m like you, I always hope to see an arrest is made too!!

Personally, I enjoy a wild goose chase every now and then.

They've arrested someone in the Vanessa Marcotte case today so who knows, maybe the Dermond's
killer will be next. It seems to happen when you least expect it.

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[dancinunderthemoon]

Personally, I enjoy a wild goose chase every now and then.

They've arrested someone in the Vanessa Marcotte case today so who knows, maybe the Dermond's
killer will be next. It seems to happen when you least expect it.

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haha! I LOVE to speculate but Im sure the LE dont have time for all that.........yes it does, Tara Grinstead, I would have jumped up and down but I was driving when I heard the news that there was an arrest! It might happen one day, it might not, I sure hope they find the killer/s....maybe there will be a tipster

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

It seems like a hit and the beheading usually means rage. A hit wouldn't shock me and since their advanced age I would assume it was to send a message to someone in the family. They could be lying about them not being in the witness protection program to keep the kids safe. Could also explain his new business since he moved from NJ to Atlanta since being in the clock business to owning Hardy's isn't exactly the same line of work

plenty of people have fooled cops, look at Durst, the dumb NY cop simply said, there is no body, there is no crime, AND, when the list of items to use to dispose of the body was discovered the NY cop/investigator whatever, said, what are you going to do with a shovel in february!! hahaha, it was ludicrous, he said the accused seemed to be (basically) telling the truth....anyway, depends on the interviewee as well as interviewer maybe

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

This is all water under the bridge but why not ask both agencies in?

Again, I think hubris kept SS from accepting help.

This is to Comanchemoon: Is there any way Mrs. D. could have been thrown into the dam from the road?

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Wrong side of the dam, it's down river a bit from the road

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

I respectfully disagree. SS didn't need the GBI in the case. From what I remember he called in the FBI to assist in the investigation.

The GBI cant even find out what happened to the little two year old boy that supposedly was in the January tornado in Albany Georgia, but was never located anywhere even though the local police turned it over to the GBI for criminal investigation.

I am from Georgia, but in some cases they just aren't that good at solving cases. They wouldn't have ever solved Tara Grinstead's case either, imo, if someone had not come forward many years later. They had no clue about the murderer being Duke and his accomplice being Dukes.

The GBI has a tendency to want to completely takeover cases when they are only an assisting agency to local police just like the FBI are in so many
local state cases. The GBI has a lot of cases that remain unsolved and have for decades.

A tipster? A phone call?

 

[CherokeeOne]

I'm not sure what theory involves the dam, but one thing I will say is that Georgia Power pulls and slows water in Lake Oconee and Sinclair, sometimes to the point that you can travel a very significant distance in a very short matter of time. So ten days worth of time could mean she was dropped anywhere up river of where she was found.

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[dancinunderthemoon]

I'm not sure what theory involves the dam, but one thing I will say is that Georgia Power pulls and slows water in Lake Oconee and Sinclair, sometimes to the point that you can travel a very significant distance in a very short matter of time. So ten days worth of time could mean she was dropped anywhere up river of where she was found.

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that was discussed too cherokeeone, do you live in the area? we have a home on sinclair, the water can move pretty good but im not sure if 2 cinderblocks can move that fast IMO, I think they put her there personally but that MOO....i had a jetski tethered with cinderblock that never moved for ears, if any a foot this way then that because the water pulls both ways so IDK but anythings possible