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

[wildebeest]

Here's an article covering this.

http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article66612187.html

Thanks for the link. Very sad story, an elderly person being brutally murdered by a family member. Statistically speaking, someone close to the victim is usually the perp.

IMHO

 

[1&2&3]

Thanks for the link. Very sad story, an elderly person being brutally murdered by a family member. Statistically speaking, someone close to the victim is usually the perp.

IMHO

The bolded sentence above has been a major concern of mine from the beginning. Sheriff Sills is certain that there is no tie to family and completely disregards this thought. IIRC.

With nothing being stolen from the house, what was to be gained by murdering these two lovely senior citizens? Money, an inheritance that doesn't come with a time stamp!


My opinions only?

 

[Foxfire]

The bolded sentence above has been a major concern of mine from the beginning. Sheriff Sills is certain that there is no tie to family and completely disregards this thought. IIRC.

With nothing being stolen from the house, what was to be gained by murdering these two lovely senior citizens? Money, an inheritance that doesn't come with a time stamp!


My opinions only?

<BBM for Focus>

Imo, 1&2&3, the abduction of Shirley Dermond, murdering her, and then anchoring her in the lake diminishes the probability of this theory/motive.
Imo, the murder of SD & RD and the decapitation of RD was to send someone a message..

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

<BBM for Focus>

Imo, 1&2&3, the abduction of Shirley Dermond, murdering her, and then anchoring her in the lake diminishes the probability of this theory/motive.
Imo, the murder of SD & RD and the decapitation of RD was to send someone a message..

Foxfire, I can see either of these scenarios but I'm no expert however it does seem that if you have something to gain and you dont wish to be caught, wellll, make it appear as something more sinister?

 

[margarita25]

Not sure if there has been any progress in the Dermond's murder investigation, which will be two years unsolved when the primary rolls around, dancinunderthemoon. Sheriff Sills may be waiting on a DNA hit from FBI CODIS or someone to run their mouth/s. Guess, we all know that SS has his own way of doing things.. Just wish that he had plowed around the stump in the Dermond investigation..

Thanks to all for keeping the Dermonds' threads alive here. Their case is one I would reeeeealllly, especially like to see solved.

 

[Bootsctr]

Here is a link to an article I hadn't read in a while:

Cold-Case Team Studies Murders of Russell and Shirley Dermond

&#8220;It just eats at you that somebody could do this and possibly get away with it,&#8221; says the slain couple&#8217;s son

Investigators still have no suspects, and no motive, in the double murder.

&#8220;It just eats at you that somebody could do this and possibly get away with it. ... We don&#8217;t even know the motive at this point,&#8221; the couple&#8217;s son, Keith Dermond, told WSB TV. &#8220;It&#8217;s very hard to catch somebody when you don&#8217;t even know their motive, and you don&#8217;t know whether they would do it again.&#8221;

Putnam County Sheriff Howard R. Sills told the TV station he and another detective work on the case every day. Just this week they administered a polygraph test to someone who approached authorities with information.

And the sheriff recently asked two detectives from the cold-case squad of the Jacksonville, FL, sheriff&#8217;s office&#8217;s to examine the crime-scene photographs and other materials.

Sills told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he believes the Dermonds were &#8220;at least minimally acquainted with whoever did this. That&#8217;s an assumption, coupled with some physical evidence,&#8221; he said.

The attackers didn&#8217;t use force to enter the couple&#8217;s lakeside home. Investigators said Shirley Dermond&#8217;s wallet, cellphone, purse and car were all left behind.

Maintenance workers with access inside Reynolds Plantation were given polygraph tests that turned up nothing new, Sills told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


http://patch.com/georgia/decatur/cold-case-team-studies-murders-russell-and-shirley-dermond

 

[Foxfire]

'A Backwards Walk in Time'..

Residents question decision not to call GBI for help in Putnam Co. beheading
Thursday, May 15, 2014

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. &#8212;
Residents in the gated community where an elderly man was beheaded say they&#8217;re surprised their sheriff hasn&#8217;t called the state for help.

Sheriff Sills said his department has not found many clues to the crime or to Shirley Dermond&#8217;s whereabouts, but he said he is not prepared to call the GBI for help, instead relying on his own 40 years in law enforcement.

&#8220;If you can tell me something the GBI knows how to do that I don&#8217;t know how to do then I will be glad and call them,&#8221; Sills said.
[...]
The Putnam County Sheriff&#8217;s Office has not investigated a homicide in a decade.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/resident-question-decision-not-call-gbi-help-putna/138068486
<snipped - read more>

 

[Foxfire]

'Another backwards walk in time'...
<Comments brought forward from 11/27/2014> http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-Dermond-88-Putnam-County-2-May-2014-9/page39

Originally Posted by Fifth Avenue View Post
It is possible that this horrific crime was a random act of violence, but doesn't seem very likely.
Questions must be asked and I am sure LE has, who would profit from their deaths, seems they were a wealthy couple.
It is also possible that crime scene was staged

.

Originally Posted by Foxfire
Welcome to Websleuths, Fifth Avenue... Guess, anything is possible, but most random acts of violence are impulsive crimes by disorganized offender/s. The Dermond abduction/decapitation/murders indicate an organized crime; carefully pre-planned to insure the lack of forensics and meticulously executed by multiple offenders/savages. The signs, patterns, and evil aura residue left at the crime scene/s should be obvious to Sheriff Sills, imo. These clues, left in their wake, although not visibly obvious to many seasoned homicide investigators; 'love, rage, hatred, fear, evil'... because they can't be touched, seen, smelled, or heard..should easily reveal the true motive to Sheriff Sills; Retribution, imo

Seems that if a family member, friend, or neighbor/slight acquaintance, etc., of the Dermonds were involved. They would have known about their plans to attend the Kentucky Derby party<rsvp>, and would have likely been concerned that someone would have conducted a timely welfare check to see why they were no shows the night of the party..

The Dermond's home phone number was listed and their address easily obtained. A google map search of their private wooded cul-de-sac address would show the easy access from the lake, etc..
Imo, this heinous crime was carried out by professionally trained assassins, likely paramilitary. It seems obvious to me that the motive was not monetary, but was to send a very clear message, and to produce the intended results which we are witnessing now, seven months later..

_____________________________

'A Lake without Leads: Putnam Co. murders remain a mystery' 11/11/2014
<snipped from msm link below> <BBM>

Decades of detective work have never produced a case more confounding for Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.
"I go to sleep every night thinking about this case&#8230;and I wake up every morning thinking about this case,"Sills said. "And I'm not exaggerating at all."
But Sills believes it was planned, pre-meditated and gruesome. "You can't make me believe there was any kind of randomness to this crime," Sills said.
Six months have passed, and the case drives Sills crazy.

"Why have I not solved that murder," he said.

The community seems safe. Serene. Even the crime scene was calm: no break-in, nothing stolen, no murder weapon or sign that the murders even happened there.
Sills still has hope that somehow the lake, or the home, or the records of the Dermonds life will become a lead -- that hope will heat up this case as it now becomes cold.

<sniped & BBM - Read More @ Link below>


A Lake without Leads: Putnam Co. murders remain a mystery
http://legacy.11alive.com/story/new...10/lake-oconee-murder-putnam-county/18811169/

 

[Foxfire]

'Another backwards walk in time'..
___________________________


MAY 2, 2015 8:37 PM
New details as mystery reigns in year-old Dermond lake murders

&#8220;Anything that is halfway sane is a very plausible theory at this point,&#8221; says Detective Dave Henry.

By JOE KOVAC JR. - [email protected]

There was terror in her voice the morning the murder mystery came to light.

She was on the phone, gasping, breathless in the 11 seconds it took someone to answer and say, &#8220;Putnam County 911.&#8221;

&#8220;Yes, uh, I have an emergency,&#8221; the woman, 68, said. &#8220;I think I have somebody dead. ... Oh, my God. Oh, my god.&#8221;

Come Wednesday, a year will have passed since that emergency call, since the frantic woman&#8217;s husband found the decapitated body of their 88-year-old friend, Russell J. &#8220;Russ&#8221; Dermond.

<modsnip>
<Snipped & BBM - Read More>

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article30230859.html#storylink=cpy

 

[beach]

Admin Warning

Not. One. More. Political. Post.

NOT ONE. Don't even tiptoe up to that line.

ANY further ones will result in an extended loss of posting privileges.

I just spent 30+ minutes cleaning up this mess that has been going on for the past month plus (and I am still finding them!)

 

[margarita25]

Here's an article covering this.

http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article66612187.html

More from this link:

"The Georgia State Patrol dive team searched the lake bottom, and GBI crime scene technicians were called to aid in the investigation.

"(They) are checking the lake for information purposes. We're not looking for anything specific," Massee said.

Divers found nothing during their search of about 125 feet of water frontage, the sheriff said late Thursday afternoon.

He declined to release the manner of her death."

 

[Backwoods]

Son of slain Dermond couple says Lake Oconee mystery &#8216;haunts us&#8217;

Two years after the slayings of 88-year-old Russell J. and 87-year-old Shirley Wilcox Dermond, answers remain elusive....

...Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, whose department is overseeing the probe, said if he could send a message to the killer or killers that it would be this: &#8220;Don&#8217;t for a second think we are not pursuing you.&#8221;

Sills said he and his deputies run down every lead they receive, no matter how absurd the tip may seem. They even met recently with a few self-proclaimed psychics who asked if their services might be of help.

The sheriff is also in touch with federal authorities who have been on the case since it began.

&#8220;We are still working with the FBI and plan on doing something in the next couple of weeks,&#8221; Sills said Friday. &#8220;Nothing earth-shattering, but part of the ongoing investigation.&#8221;

Keith Dermond, one of two surviving Dermond sons, lives in north Florida. He got his start in fast-food management in the early 1990s while working with his father in metro Atlanta.

On the phone the other day, Keith Dermond, who is 57 and has a deep, deliberate voice, was asked what he and his siblings think happened to their parents.

&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I mean I really don&#8217;t have a good answer. It just &#8230; the whole episode is something you wouldn&#8217;t wish on your worst enemy. &#8230; It&#8217;s unfathomable how horrible the whole thing is, and the more detail you get into the worse it gets.&#8221;...

more at: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article74944397.html#storylink=mainstage

 

[Foxfire]

more at: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article74944397.html#storylink=mainstage

Another well timed excellent Dermond murders article by BY JOE KOVAC JR. Thanx for sharing, Backwoods..

 

[watcher9]

more at: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article74944397.html#storylink=mainstage

Thanks for posting this.

At the end of the article, their son said this haunting statement. It's so sad.

His parents had wanted their ashes scattered in Lake Oconee when they died.

That hasn&#8217;t happened.

&#8220;We almost don&#8217;t feel that&#8217;s appropriate anymore,&#8221; Keith Dermond said. &#8220;We don&#8217;t know what to do.&#8221;


Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article74944397.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Backwoods]

Thanks for posting this.

At the end of the article, their son said this haunting statement. It's so sad.

His parents had wanted their ashes scattered in Lake Oconee when they died.

That hasn’t happened.

“We almost don’t feel that’s appropriate anymore,” Keith Dermond said. “We don’t know what to do.”


Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article74944397.html#storylink=cpy

Yes, I was struck by that, too, watcher9. VERY sad indeed.

 

[Foxfire]

Thought it was reported by Sheriff Sills that the security gate cameras were knocked out of service by a lightening strike a couple of weeks prior to the Dermond murders?

<Snipped and BBM for Focus>

Could the police have done more?

&#8220;If you could have had Sherlock Holmes on the case from Day One, I don&#8217;t know that he would have solved it either,&#8221; he said. &#8220;How could you do something like this and not leave any clues to this point? That&#8217;s hard to believe.&#8221;

&#8216;Some psycho&#8217;

Keith Dermond wonders about how the security cameras were not working at the Great Waters guard shack when his folks were killed.

The shack sits at the edge of Wards Chapel Road. It was pure bad luck the cameras were out. They&#8217;d been zapped in a lightning storm days earlier and no one noticed they weren&#8217;t functioning.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article74944397.html#storylink=cpy

_______________________________________________________________

<Snipped for focus>

Out at the Great Waters entrance, there is now a security gate, one of those arms that goes up and down when you&#8217;re let in. The guard shack lies a shade under two miles from the Dermond house. Its security cameras had been knocked out by a storm in the weeks before the killings and were of no use to the authorities.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article30230859.html#storylink=cpy

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Thought it was reported by Sheriff Sills that the security gate cameras were knocked out of service by a lightening strike a couple of weeks prior to the Dermond murders?

<Snipped and BBM for Focus>

Could the police have done more?

“If you could have had Sherlock Holmes on the case from Day One, I don’t know that he would have solved it either,” he said. “How could you do something like this and not leave any clues to this point? That’s hard to believe.”

‘Some psycho’

Keith Dermond wonders about how the security cameras were not working at the Great Waters guard shack when his folks were killed.

The shack sits at the edge of Wards Chapel Road. It was pure bad luck the cameras were out. They’d been zapped in a lightning storm days earlier and no one noticed they weren’t functioning.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article74944397.html#storylink=cpy

_______________________________________________________________

<Snipped for focus>

Out at the Great Waters entrance, there is now a security gate, one of those arms that goes up and down when you’re let in. The guard shack lies a shade under two miles from the Dermond house. Its security cameras had been knocked out by a storm in the weeks before the killings and were of no use to the authorities.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article30230859.html#storylink=cpy

Interesting no one noticed yet they say it's lightning, have to wonder if it wasn't well planned instead..................ALSO, is there a DErBY PARTY today? I wonder...........2 yr anniversary of the Dermonds Deaths

 

[Peppery]

Maybe this guard shack is more just for show than actual security. I would have thought the cameras would be playing on screens so a guard could be watching several locations at once. Seems weird no one viewed them for several days and might not have for a while if the murders didn't happen.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Foxfire]

Interesting no one noticed yet they say it's lightning, have to wonder if it wasn't well planned instead..................ALSO, is there a DErBY PARTY today? I wonder...........2 yr anniversary of the Dermonds Deaths

Maybe this guard shack is more just for show than actual security. I would have thought the cameras would be playing on screens so a guard could be watching several locations at once. Seems weird no one viewed them for several days and might not have for a while if the murders didn't happen.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yep, dancinunderthemoon, imo the Dermond murders were very well planned and meticulously executed, likely by a well trained paramilitary style organization. Due to the lack of forensic evidence and an obvious motive, the investigation remains cold on the two year anniversary. Tragic..

There is a Kentucky Derby Party & on the water Boat Show scheduled today at RP..
http://files.reynoldsplantation.com/RLO_Calendar2016_Final.pdf
_______________

Peppery, that is what you would think, or at least an indicator light to insure that the security cameras were operational.. Red Flag, imo..

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

'A Backwards Walk in Time'..

Residents question decision not to call GBI for help in Putnam Co. beheading
Thursday, May 15, 2014

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. &#8212;
Residents in the gated community where an elderly man was beheaded say they&#8217;re surprised their sheriff hasn&#8217;t called the state for help.

Sheriff Sills said his department has not found many clues to the crime or to Shirley Dermond&#8217;s whereabouts, but he said he is not prepared to call the GBI for help, instead relying on his own 40 years in law enforcement.

&#8220;If you can tell me something the GBI knows how to do that I don&#8217;t know how to do then I will be glad and call them,&#8221; Sills said.
[...]
The Putnam County Sheriff&#8217;s Office has not investigated a homicide in a decade.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/resident-question-decision-not-call-gbi-help-putna/138068486
<snipped - read more>

I kind of thought it was not about how much someone knows but connecting the dots.............on the other hand, 2 minds are better than one