GA GA - Shirley, 87, & Russell Dermond, 88, Putnam County, 2 May 2014 - #12

[deugirtni]

So I'm having a hard time with that as well. I'm trying to find were it has been stated that the Ds alarm system was not working. 2 weeks is too long for it not to have been repaired by any standard (used to be in my wheel house a while back) and what was the cause of the alarm system not working? Can anyone provide a link that mentions the Ds alarm system was not working? Do we know if the system was actually monitored?

I found it by chance on a different forum, but I haven't had a chance yet to look into it to verify, etc. I wonder if the Ds even knew it was not functioning??
And even if it *was* operational, if the couple were home at the time, wouldn't it have been unarmed anyway, so kind of useless, if you're up and about and letting people into your house? Wouldn't it only be useful in the event someone entered their home while they were out, or perhaps asleep (if they armed their system while sleeping)?

 

[deugirtni]

Does anyone know if MD had any children? I've done a light search but haven't had time to really dig in yet.

Sorry to seem uninformed, but who is 'MD'?

 

[OTPTarheel2018]

Sorry to seem uninformed, but who is 'MD'?

Mark Dermond. The son who died in the drug deal in Atlanta.

 

[deugirtni]

It was listed below value, sold below value and was an arms length transaction. Non relative transfer. Exposed to the market for nearly 5 months.
qPublic.net - Putnam County, GA

147 Carolyn Dr, Eatonton, GA 31024 MLS# 07369803 - Movoto.com

How can you tell that it was an arms length transaction?

Although it was listed at below value, from what I could determine from what I looked up online, the home sold for around $100,000 LESS than the already-below-value listing.

 

[OTPTarheel2018]

I found it by chance on a different forum, but I haven't had a chance yet to look into it to verify, etc. I wonder if the Ds even knew it was not functioning??
And even if it *was* operational, if the couple were home at the time, wouldn't it have been unarmed anyway, so kind of useless, if you're up and about and letting people into your house? Wouldn't it only be useful in the event someone entered their home while they were out, or perhaps asleep (if they armed their system while sleeping)?

I used to keep my alarm "armed" during the day when I worked from home. My office was upstairs abd no one was supposed to be showing up at my house, so I kept it on. I am risk- averse.

JMO

 

[deugirtni]

Does anyone know if MD had any children? I've done a light search but haven't had time to really dig in yet.

Sorry to seem uninformed, but who is 'MD'?

Mark Dermond. The son who died in the drug deal in Atlanta.

Thanks, I realized just after I posted...
But if MD did have a child, would it have made sense for that now much older child to kill them, considering that child was not apparently included in the couple's Wills? (SS said the estate was split equally amongst the Ds' 3 children)

 

[deugirtni]

I used to keep my alarm "armed" during the day when I worked from home. My office was upstairs abd no one was supposed to be showing up at my house, so I kept it on. I am risk- averse.

JMO

I can understand that.... however, if the Ds were just going about their usual routine (whatever that was) in the morning of the Saturday, would it have made sense to have it on? I'm assuming they were making coffee/tea, thinking about breakfast, getting set to get dressed (Mr.D), doing a crossword, getting ready to start preparing sandwiches for the party, going out to fetch the newspaper, etc... there would be movement, no?

 

[TJtennispro]

My Dad owned a brown fishing boat with a built in floorboard that were removable for storage of gear or fish. It was big enough to fit me in as a 14 year old which would make me the size of SD.

Maybe that’s why they decapitated RD. Trying to make his body fit in the boat storage compartment which it just wouldn’t.
That’s obviously just speculation but could be a possibility.

I'm not feeling confident about the 'boat' part of all of this. First, what kind of boat would one propose was used? ie many boats, like say a smaller fishing type of boat, are not high enough to keep things hidden well enough, ie if someone happened, along a long shoreline(?) to be looking out with their binoculars (which presumably every resident living on the water might own), they might see something worthy of noticing/reporting.

Secondly, if a larger type of boat, or even if a smaller type of boat, it is a fact that noise carries on the water.. voices can be heard, boat motors can be heard.. would none of the full-time residents have heard a boat? Like others have mentioned, this time of year isn't exactly boat season yet. Wouldn't someone have noticed the sounds of someone on the water, especially if very late at night?

Third.. I can't see any type of operation taking place IN the boat itself, other than possibly the transportation of the body for dumping. I'm thinking it would have to be one LARGE boat to have performed much else on there, due to space constraints, noise considerations, and balancing issues.

Maybe I am envisioning things wrong, just due to my own personal experiences with smaller types of boats, and having lived on the water every summer for much of my life.. but I'm just not feeling it about the boat involvement. Isn't there anywhere on the lake where a body could be 'driven' to by road, and dumped from a bridge, or a bank? I'm not understanding why people believe that where the body was discovered, was the same place the body was dumped?

 

[deugirtni]

And why didn't the killer(s) use grey cinder blocks rather than those reddish landscape blocks?

According to the Home Depot website an 8"x 12"x 16" grey cinder block weighs 40.5 lbs. Wouldn't that be better to use than those 22 lb. reddish landscaping blocks? And grey cinder blocks with holes would allow you to pull ropes through the blocks. Wouldn't that be better to keep a submerged body from rising?

I want to know if the Ds had those reddish blocks on their property?

And the block manufacturer could be identified- the ones at Lowe's are different from the HD ones.

JMO

This is another part of why I tend to get a sense of 'female', or perhaps even 'juvenile' involvement. First.. just the color and 'fanciness' of the blocks (attractive landscaping blocks, as opposed to heavy-duty cinder blocks), and then, obviously the weight difference between the two types.

 

[TJtennispro]

Yes those Red bricks are on both the Dermonds and neighbors property’s. I mean they’re literally everywhere on the lake too. I don’t recall ever seeing Grey cinder blocks just hanging around the area.

And why didn't the killer(s) use grey cinder blocks rather than those reddish landscape blocks?

According to the Home Depot website an 8"x 12"x 16" grey cinder block weighs 40.5 lbs. Wouldn't that be better to use than those 22 lb. reddish landscaping blocks? And grey cinder blocks with holes would allow you to pull ropes through the blocks. Wouldn't that be better to keep a submerged body from rising?

I want to know if the Ds had those reddish blocks on their property?

And the block manufacturer could be identified- the ones at Lowe's are different from the HD ones.

JMO

 

[deugirtni]

My Dad owned a brown fishing boat with a built in floorboard that were removable for storage of gear or fish. It was big enough to fit me in as a 14 year old which would make me the size of SD.

Maybe that’s why they decapitated RD. Trying to make his body fit in the boat storage compartment which it just wouldn’t.
That’s obviously just speculation but could be a possibility.

One might think there might be other markings and abrasions on SD's body after having been shoved into a tighter place such as that?

 

[kirkassoc]

Does anyone know if MD had any children? I've done a light search but haven't had time to really dig in yet.

I can't tell you where I found the information (in an obituary for a family member, I believe), but I recall reading that MD had 2 or 3 children who were grown at the time of the D's deaths.

 

[TJtennispro]

Check out the Sworn Podcast by Philip Holloway. He did a couple of episodes on the Dermond Murders awhile back and discussed details with SS.

So I'm having a hard time with that as well. I'm trying to find were it has been stated that the Ds alarm system was not working. 2 weeks is too long for it not to have been repaired by any standard (used to be in my wheel house a while back) and what was the cause of the alarm system not working? Can anyone provide a link that mentions the Ds alarm system was not working? Do we know if the system was actually monitored?

 

[deugirtni]

Yes those Red bricks are on both the Dermonds and neighbors property’s. I mean they’re literally everywhere on the lake too. I don’t recall ever seeing Grey cinder blocks just hanging around the area.

The Ds have the red ones on their own property? Do you have evidence of that? If so, I wonder if a couple were missing from the landscape, or were there 'extras' in the garage perhaps?
The thing about the regular heavy-duty grey ones - they aren't for show.. so it would be unlikely to see them, but yet would serve this particular purpose better, *if* the murderer had actually purchased them to do this. If the Ds have these on their property, then it might seem more of a spur of the moment afterthought type of thing, rather than a planned thing?

 

[kirkassoc]

Regarding type of boat they may have used...I was thinking along the lines of a pontoon type boat. They come in all shapes and sizes with and without privacy. My brother's family owned one for years. They can run rather quietly on the water as well (depending on the type of motor). Just throwing that out there.

 

[deugirtni]

Regarding type of boat they may have used...I was thinking along the lines of a pontoon type boat. They come in all shapes and sizes with and without privacy. My brother's family owned one for years. They can run rather quietly on the water as well (depending on the type of motor). Just throwing that out there.

Yes, I was wondering about that type of boat. I'm just having a hard time believing that no area residents (apparently) reported seeing or hearing anything, at a time of year when boating is less common, and especially if it was at night. Even if residents may have heard activity out on the water and didn't even bother going to look, one might hope they would have reported 'hearing' something, at least after it was known that 2 murders were committed.

 

[TJtennispro]

Regardless I’ve been to the lake many times, I’ve been to the place where the body was discovered, I’ve been to the back of the Dermond’s via boat and jet ski. Everyone on the lake knows about these murders.

Everyone knows that it’s impossible the body was put into the water by car. It was by boat or helicopter. Helicopter obviously doesn’t make sense. If you’ve done these things you just KNOW! I promise you. Maybe you have to see it the layout of the land but the body couldn’t of put in that location any other way than by water! I swear.

In May I’ll strap a Go Pro on my head and turn it on when I’m approaching the dam and plot out the relevant points of interests so people can see.

I'm not feeling confident about the 'boat' part of all of this. First, what kind of boat would one propose was used? ie many boats, like say a smaller fishing type of boat, are not high enough to keep things hidden well enough, ie if someone happened, along a long shoreline(?) to be looking out with their binoculars (which presumably every resident living on the water might own), they might see something worthy of noticing/reporting.

Secondly, if a larger type of boat, or even if a smaller type of boat, it is a fact that noise carries on the water.. voices can be heard, boat motors can be heard.. would none of the full-time residents have heard a boat? Like others have mentioned, this time of year isn't exactly boat season yet. Wouldn't someone have noticed the sounds of someone on the water, especially if very late at night?

Third.. I can't see any type of operation taking place IN the boat itself, other than possibly the transportation of the body for dumping. I'm thinking it would have to be one LARGE boat to have performed much else on there, due to space constraints, noise considerations, and balancing issues.

Maybe I am envisioning things wrong, just due to my own personal experiences with smaller types of boats, and having lived on the water every summer for much of my life.. but I'm just not feeling it about the boat involvement. Isn't there anywhere on the lake where a body could be 'driven' to by road, and dumped from a bridge, or a bank? I'm not understanding why people believe that where the body was discovered, was the same place the body was dumped?

 

[deugirtni]

While I think of it at a time when I'm able to post, I just wanted to mention that in the most recent podcast, I believe SS mentioned that only one of the Ds' grandchildren was an 'adult' at the time. It actually concerned me when he said that, because even if not yet an adult, teens can get themselves into some serious trouble, so I hope that he checked all of the grandchildren out, no matter if they were pre-adult at the time.

 

[TJtennispro]

It’s a lake! People boat on the lake that’s literally what it’s for and nobody knew anyone was murdered. My house that I’m in this moment is as secluded as the D’s lake house. I can’t tell you if 5 or 35 cars have driven by this morning. I also don’t go investigate when they do. It’s not illegal.

Yes, I was wondering about that type of boat. I'm just having a hard time believing that no area residents (apparently) reported seeing or hearing anything, at a time of year when boating is less common, and especially if it was at night. Even if residents may have heard activity out on the water and didn't even bother going to look, one might hope they would have reported 'hearing' something, at least after it was known that 2 murders were committed.

 

[deugirtni]

Regardless I’ve been to the lake many times, I’ve been to the place where the body was discovered, I’ve been to the back of the Dermond’s via boat and jet ski. Everyone on the lake knows about these murders.

Everyone knows that it’s impossible the body was put into the water by car. It was by boat or helicopter. Helicopter obviously doesn’t make sense. If you’ve done these things you just KNOW! I promise you. Maybe you have to see it the layout of the land but the body couldn’t of put in that location any other way than by water! I swear.

In May I’ll strap a Go Pro on my head and turn it on when I’m approaching the dam and plot out the relevant points of interests so people can see.

Thanks for your comments, and I'm happy to take your word for it. The thing I keep asking however, is how do you/SS know that SD was 'dumped' in the same place in which her body was discovered? ie, couldn't she have been 'dumped' (awful word, sorry) somewhere, and then the motion of the water carried her somewhat, over the 10 days until she was discovered? I'm not sure, since it is a man-made lake, if there are still underwater currents, or whatever.. to make things move, or do they just sit there wherever you place them? Wouldn't the normal winds also possibly move things along the bottom? And as her body started the decomp process which made her eventually 'float', then wouldn't that happen even moreso? I realize that you are saying the location where she was *discovered* cannot be accessed any other way, but I am asking if it is not possible she was dropped somewhere completely different?

ETA: Kind of like how they can't seem to find people who drown, even though they know where they went into the water. I realize she was tied down with some 60lbs of weight, but that is why I am asking. Is it not possible for that weight to move with whatever current/winds over 10 days?