GA GA - Shirley, 87, & Russell Dermond, 88, Putnam County, 2 May 2014 - # 9

[Steleheart]

Well it's still unsolved, could it be right under his nose? Also wonder why the family didn't respond to media about this article. Is this the first time that it has been stated that SD was bludgeneoned? of course I'm sure all had wondered or thought it. I'm thinking of a few possibilities but can't/won't say it here. Also wondering who had most to gain? whoever did this gained, whether monetary or revenge.

Someone posted the house is now in the children's names, wonder if they'll keep it or sell it.

So sad to live to 89 and die this way of all things in this world!

BBM ~

"Sheriff: Shirley Dermond died of blunt force trauma to the head".
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/authorities-return-to-lake-where-missing-eatonton-/nfydM/

I suppose anyone can interpret that as "bludgeoned.

ETA, Also seems to me that R D was determined to be blunt force or more specifically "traumatic brain injury"?

 

[Foxfire]

Bumping this post was from 12/06/14. The asking price for the Dermond's has been reduced by 33% in only four months...

147 Carolyn Dr
Eatonton, GA 31024
$769,000

Home Details for 147 Carolyn Dr
9 Days on Trulia 31 views
Open Water Views on Lake Oconee
147 Carolyn Dr Open water views on deep water cove!

______________________

Now:

PUBLIC RECORD
<For Sale $523,000.00
147 Carolyn Dr
Eatonton, GA 31024

 

[Backwoods]

Well, I've been toying with the idea of posting a vague, hazy kinda-idea here for a few weeks now, and now that the year-after anniversary coverage of the murders has kind of left us flat, I think I'll just dive on in and do it.

Has anybody (Georgia folks I mean, mainly) been following coverage of the "Lake Tobesofkee shootings" over the past month or so? It's kind of a developing story. No one was injured, but... well, I've gathered some links below, for anyone who cares to take a look:

Fishermen shot at on Lake Tobesofkee

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/lo...ishermen-shot-at-on-lake-tobesofkee/70345996/

Investigation continues in Lake Tobesofkee shooting incident

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/lo...ke-tobesofkee-shooting-investigation/70555520

Investigation Stalled On Lake Tobesofkee Shooting

http://www.wgxa.tv/news/topstories/Investigation-Stalled-On-Lake-Tobesofkee-Shooting-297585951.html

Anglers shot at frustrated by lack of charges in Tobesofkee case

http://www.macon.com/2015/04/07/3682007/anglers-shot-at-frustrated-by.html

Deputies, supervisors disciplined as Macon man charged with reckless conduct in Lake Tobesofkee shooting

http://www.macon.com/2015/04/23/3709694/bibb-sheriff-to-hold-news-conference.html

Man charged with misdemeanor in Lake Tobesofkee shooting

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/lo...charged-in-lake-tobesofkee-shooting/26236425/

Lake Tobesofkee Shooting Victims Demand More Serious Charges

http://www.wgxa.tv/news/local/Lake-...ms-Demand-More-Serious-Charges-301253081.html

Charge upgraded to aggravated assault in Tobesofkee shooting

http://www.macon.com/2015/04/24/3712274/charge-upgraded-to-aggravated.html

Judge: Parents of man charged in Lake Tobesofkee shooting must testify

http://www.macon.com/2015/04/28/3718140/judge-parents-of-man-charged-in.html


OK, whew -- that's a lot of links! But like I said, it has been d-e-v-e-l-o-p-i-n-g slowly, which is one reason it has been an interesting case to watch.

The short version is pretty much this: Three guys went fishing one March evening on Lake Tobesofkee, in Bibb County. Someone steps out on a balcony of a luxurious home at lakeside near where they are (quite legally) in their boat ...and starts shooting at them. They skedaddle, understandably, and contact the sheriff's department. Some LE come out and go to the home. The owner, an older man, a Macon cardiologist, meets the deputies at the door and basically sends them away, asking them to come back the next day and shutting the door on them -- and they leave! Fishermen aren't happy. Sheriff's department personnel involved get disciplined for mishandling incident. Family at the house lawyers up. Eventually, a 24-year-old at the house turns himself in as the shooter and is charged with reckless conduct. Fishermen still not happy! Next, alleged shooter's charges are upped to aggravated assault, and another person from the house is also arrested. And it is still developing... . Where is it heading? I don't know...

Now, I want to make CLEAR that I am NOT saying anyone involved in this incident is likely involved in the Dermond case. What has made me think of the Dermond case, over and over again, while following this story is the similarity of the environment and two sets of folks. A lake frequented and used by the public ... a high-scale home on the lake. An encounter between public and homeowners. In the Tobesofkee case, it was the lake-visitors who were endangered (though not physically harmed, thank goodness -- although, IMO, they easily could have been). In the Dermond case, residents of a luxury home were killed. Could that also have happened through some kind of chance encounter at water's edge...rather than some master-minded scheme? Did somebody get trigger-happy, for whatever reason, and shoot Russell Dermond, then remove his head to hide ballistics evidence (as many have suggested before) and kill Shirley because she witnessed what happened?

Just some food for further thinking (and rethinking...) in a case where things seem, at least, to be at a standstill.

 

[Foxfire]

Well, I've been toying with the idea of posting a vague, hazy kinda-idea here for a few weeks now, and now that the year-after anniversary coverage of the murders has kind of left us flat, I think I'll just dive on in and do it.

Has anybody (Georgia folks I mean, mainly) been following coverage of the "Lake Tobesofkee shootings" over the past month or so? It's kind of a developing story. No one was injured, but... well, I've gathered some links below, for anyone who cares to take a look:

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/lo...ishermen-shot-at-on-lake-tobesofkee/70345996/

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/lo...ke-tobesofkee-shooting-investigation/70555520

http://www.wgxa.tv/news/topstories/Investigation-Stalled-On-Lake-Tobesofkee-Shooting-297585951.html



http://www.macon.com/2015/04/07/3682007/anglers-shot-at-frustrated-by.html

http://www.macon.com/2015/04/23/3709694/bibb-sheriff-to-hold-news-conference.html

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/lo...charged-in-lake-tobesofkee-shooting/26236425/




http://www.wgxa.tv/news/local/Lake-...ms-Demand-More-Serious-Charges-301253081.html

http://www.macon.com/2015/04/24/3712274/charge-upgraded-to-aggravated.html


http://www.macon.com/2015/04/28/3718140/judge-parents-of-man-charged-in.html


OK, whew -- that's a lot of links! But like I said, it has been d-e-v-e-l-o-p-i-n-g slowly, which is one reason it has been an interesting case to watch.

The short version is pretty much this: Three guys went fishing one March evening on Lake Tobesofkee, in Bibb County. Someone steps out on a balcony of a luxurious home at lakeside near where they are (quite legally) in their boat ...and starts shooting at them. They skedaddle, understandably, and contact the sheriff's department. Some LE come out and go to the home. The owner, an older man, a Macon cardiologist, meets the deputies at the door and basically sends them away, asking them to come back the next day and shutting the door on them -- and they leave! Fishermen aren't happy. Sheriff's department personnel involved get disciplined for mishandling incident. Family at the house lawyers up. Eventually, a 24-year-old at the house turns himself in as the shooter and is charged with reckless conduct. Fishermen still not happy! Next, alleged shooter's charges are upped to aggravated assault, and another person from the house is also arrested. And it is still developing... . Where is it heading? I don't know...

Now, I want to make CLEAR that I am NOT saying anyone involved in this incident is likely involved in the Dermond case. What has made me think of the Dermond case, over and over again, while following this story is the similarity of the environment and two sets of folks. A lake frequented and used by the public ... a high-scale home on the lake. An encounter between public and homeowners. In the Tobesofkee case, it was the lake-visitors who were endangered (though not physically harmed, thank goodness -- although, IMO, they easily could have been). In the Dermond case, residents of a luxury home were killed. Could that also have happened through some kind of chance encounter at water's edge...rather than some master-minded scheme? Did somebody get trigger-happy, for whatever reason, and shoot Russell Dermond, then remove his head to hide ballistics evidence (as many have suggested before) and kill Shirley because she witnessed what happened?

Just some food for further thinking (and rethinking...) in a case where things seem, at least, to be at a standstill.

Thanx for sharing, Backwoods. I guess anything is possible at this juncture.. Although I haven't been following the Tobesofkee case. Encounters are fairly common between lake-visitors and lakeside homeowners. Seems the initial charges in the Tobesofkee incident may have been influenced by political concerns due to the community standing of the homeowner; a Macon cardiologist, jmo.

RE: In the Dermond case, residents of a luxury home were killed. Could that also have happened through some kind of chance encounter at water's edge...rather than some master-minded scheme?

Backwoods, I have considered all possibly scenarios in the Dermond murders. Imo there are too many indicators that the Dermond murders were meticulously planned and executed by well trained professionals, likely paramilitary, to send a message. Imo, the message which is being ignored by Putnam County Sheriff Sills, is loud and clear; retribution. Retribution directed at Sheriff Sills, the Justice system, and the entire Putnam county community..imo

Imo, the Dermonds were only a means to an end, objects, or chess pieces to the persons responsible for their murders. The perps were aware that the clues, and other residue left in their wake; 'rage, hatred, fear, evil' are not visibly obvious to the seasoned homicide investigator'... because these clues can't be touched, seen, smelled, or heard.. They must be intuitively felt by investigators..

We are now witnessing the aftermath affects and intent of this horrific ungodly crime on the Reynolds Plantation/Great Waters/Putnam County community, as well as the dispair and helplessness displayed by Sheriff Howard Sills' defeated demeanor in the WMAZ 13 one year update; Unsolved Putnam murders trouble sheriff - http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/crime/2015/04/29/dermond-murders-update/26503553/

Property values in RP/GW, as indicated by the reduced bargain basement sale price of the million dollar plus Dermond home, which has lost $250,000.00 in value over the past four months. Now attempting to sell for only $522,000.00, will have a devastating effect on the property tax revenue for Putnam county, imo.
The proverbial dominos are only beginning to fall and will likely end with the resignation or the defeat of four term Sheriff Howard Sills on election day 2016, unless the Dermond murder investigation is resolved.. jmho

________________________________________

Putnam County Sheriff Sills, displays a verse from Proverbs in his office: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as the lion."

 

[Foxfire]

<snipped and BBM for focus>

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/crime/2015/04/29/dermond-murders-update/26503553/
Unsolved Putnam murders trouble sheriff - WMAC.com

Sills says while he's not afraid of whoever killed the Dermonds, he has what he calls a far greater concern.

"My fear here is I'm not going to be able to find out who did it," he said.

Because for all his work, Sills has nothing to show for it.

"When you are looking for one fish in a big pond, and you don't have a stump to cast from then you start casting a mighty broad net," he said.
_________________________________

"Or, rather than being stumped, SS can jump head first into the water, enter the mind of the fish, and attempt to think like the elusive fish"..

&#8220;JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS&#8221; BY JOHN DOUGLAS(1997); Author and FBI BSU; Behavioral Science Unit Profiler...

JD penetrates the minds and motives of the most terrifying prolific predators/serial killers. . JD was one of the early pioneers of the FBI&#8217;s Elite BSU and many of the techniques, strategies, and procedures used in tracking and identifying unidentified subjects today can be attributed to his experiences into the abyss or darkness&#8230;.

'The FBI BSU was later changed to the FBI BAU; Behavior Analysis Unit, for obvious reasons. The BS Unit, which was also referred too as the witches unit due to it being located 60' underground, with dim lighting/no windows, and their unique ability to enter the darkness of the minds that they frequently and routinely encountered'..

Prologue: &#8216;In the Mind of a Killer&#8217;

This isn&#8217;t the Hollywood version. It isn&#8217;t sanitized, or prettied up, or rendered into art. This is the way it really happens. If anything, it&#8217;s worse than the way I describe it&#8230;

"AS I HAD SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, I PUT MYSELF IN THE MIND OF THE KILLER".. Quote: by John Douglas...
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Darkness.../dp/1439199817

He goes on to say that he also puts his head into the mind of the innocent victim/s also to be able to see the whole picture&#8230;.

This experience could cause a strong minded person, severe physical and mental health issues, imo..

As do Catholic Priests that perform multiple exorcisms, Agent Douglas, paid a hefty price with his health, even though he had the ability to compartmentalize and possessed a high tolerance level, due to the enormous &#8216;evil&#8217; that he and his team encountered...

I am confident that Sheriff Howard Sills possesses this same ability to identify evil, and with determination and perseverance will insure that Justice is served in the Dermond murders...

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

BBM ~

"Sheriff: Shirley Dermond died of blunt force trauma to the head".
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/authorities-return-to-lake-where-missing-eatonton-/nfydM/

I suppose anyone can interpret that as "bludgeoned.

ETA, Also seems to me that R D was determined to be blunt force or more specifically "traumatic brain injury"?

what else would it mean? but I guess I did, that's how I remembered the article

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Backwoods I have been following that due to recent purchase of sinclair home, it came up on FB sinclair page. I'm to the point that anything is possible, but I do think it could be right under SS nose too. Someone could have just as easily killed them for money or revenge or anger and just made it look like it was something personal and/or a hit by mob or such and that includes covering up evidence if it's something you mentioned in your post. I am to the point that this whole thing, for whatever reasons, was a coverup job to lead the investigation and that was in the forefront of my mind from the beginning, especially now since there seems to be nothing in their past that looks suspicious. But I am anxious to see the outcome of the Tobesofkee case.

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Bumping this post was from 12/06/14. The asking price for the Dermond's has been reduced by 33% in only four months...



______________________

Now:

PUBLIC RECORD
<For Sale $523,000.00
147 Carolyn Dr
Eatonton, GA 31024

due to being a crime scene or trying to move it fast for some reason?

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Still no updates???

HAHA, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATES SS, one week later........but follow the money............ or revenge towards Sheriff's Dept

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

<snipped and BBM for focus>

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/crime/2015/04/29/dermond-murders-update/26503553/
Unsolved Putnam murders trouble sheriff - WMAC.com

Sills says while he's not afraid of whoever killed the Dermonds, he has what he calls a far greater concern.

"My fear here is I'm not going to be able to find out who did it," he said.

Because for all his work, Sills has nothing to show for it.

"When you are looking for one fish in a big pond, and you don't have a stump to cast from then you start casting a mighty broad net," he said.
_________________________________

"Or, rather than being stumped, SS can jump head first into the water, enter the mind of the fish, and attempt to think like the elusive fish"..

&#8220;JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS&#8221; BY JOHN DOUGLAS(1997); Author and FBI BSU; Behavioral Science Unit Profiler...

JD penetrates the minds and motives of the most terrifying prolific predators/serial killers. . JD was one of the early pioneers of the FBI&#8217;s Elite BSU and many of the techniques, strategies, and procedures used in tracking and identifying unidentified subjects today can be attributed to his experiences into the abyss or darkness&#8230;.

'The FBI BSU was later changed to the FBI BAU; Behavior Analysis Unit, for obvious reasons. The BS Unit, which was also referred too as the witches unit due to it being located 60' underground, with dim lighting/no windows, and their unique ability to enter the darkness of the minds that they frequently and routinely encountered'..

Prologue: &#8216;In the Mind of a Killer&#8217;

This isn&#8217;t the Hollywood version. It isn&#8217;t sanitized, or prettied up, or rendered into art. This is the way it really happens. If anything, it&#8217;s worse than the way I describe it&#8230;

"AS I HAD SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, I PUT MYSELF IN THE MIND OF THE KILLER".. Quote: by John Douglas...
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Darkness.../dp/1439199817

He goes on to say that he also puts his head into the mind of the innocent victim/s also to be able to see the whole picture&#8230;.

This experience could cause a strong minded person, severe physical and mental health issues, imo..

As do Catholic Priests that perform multiple exorcisms, Agent Douglas, paid a hefty price with his health, even though he had the ability to compartmentalize and possessed a high tolerance level, due to the enormous &#8216;evil&#8217; that he and his team encountered...

I am confident that Sheriff Howard Sills possesses this same ability to identify evil, and with determination and perseverance will insure that Justice is served in the Dermond murders...

Foxfire, many a deputy or sheriff retires due to anxiety and stress over the years, this can't be good for SS health. I do believe they will NEVER find the killers, he needs to take care of his health, dwelling this much has got to be the cause of great stress on the organs! Revenge could also be the answer here in this crime, it does make great sense, (IMO) When all avenues have been exhausted, WHERE would the investigators then look?? Something bizarre and unbelievable, Wills, finances of friends and family? How do you get there without suspicion and what would be construed as suspicious? Many a husband or wife have killed the spouse due to the love of money STS, but they are both gone. If a revenge for something against the PCSO, HOW would the investigation proceed at this point??! I don't think we'll ever know unless its the money end of things, even then, where does the investigation go??

 

[Foxfire]

BBM< and snipped from a MSM article from almost a year ago:

Friday, May 16, 2014 Investigators: Shirley Dermond died of blunt force trauma
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/source-investigators-find-body-putnam-county/nfyK5/

Sills says most killings usually involve some kind of criminal activity but that doesn't appear to be the case with the Dermonds, someone he calls an all-American couple.

&#8220;The associations that would normally be with a crime like this, much less one as bizarre as this, are not here. So that leaves us looking at everybody and everything,&#8221; Sills said.

Other than using the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, Sills has declined to call in GBI investigators.

Elliot spoke on the phone with the Dermonds' son Keith in Jacksonville. He didn't want to be recorded but did tell Elliot that bringing in more investigators would be a good idea.

&#8220;The more people we have looking at things, who knows? The more resources, the more people, it would be better off. I don't know why the GBI wouldn't be involved," Keith Dermond said.

Sills maintains his investigation is very thorough.
______________________________________

"Imo, there is no such thing as the perfect crime, only an imperfect/incomplete investigation"... "How can an investigation be thorough when all available investigative resources are not being utilized; the GBI"? jmo

 

[Canaille]

Backwoods I have been following that due to recent purchase of sinclair home, it came up on FB sinclair page. I'm to the point that anything is possible, but I do think it could be right under SS nose too. Someone could have just as easily killed them for money or revenge or anger and just made it look like it was something personal and/or a hit by mob or such and that includes covering up evidence if it's something you mentioned in your post. I am to the point that this whole thing, for whatever reasons, was a coverup job to lead the investigation and that was in the forefront of my mind from the beginning, especially now since there seems to be nothing in their past that looks suspicious. But I am anxious to see the outcome of the Tobesofkee case.

Not trying to imply that there is anything suspicious in their past, but, would SS admit it if there was? I mean, would any LEO admit that until any case has been solved?

 

[Backwoods]

Not trying to imply that there is anything suspicious in their past, but, would SS admit it if there was? I mean, would any LEO admit that until any case has been solved?

I'm thinking it would depend a lot on what the "suspicious something" was. JMO

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Not trying to imply that there is anything suspicious in their past, but, would SS admit it if there was? I mean, would any LEO admit that until any case has been solved?

why bring it up at all if he thinks or knows there IS, but I see your point.

 

[DAMIFINO]

Surely SS has investigated the pasts of the children as well as Mr./Mrs. Dermond. Somebody hated somebody else enough to commit this horrible deed, somebody who felt that they had been wronged somehow, maybe financially, maybe personally. Revenge, retribution was the satisfaction for years of seething hatred festering in this person.
OR, this is a message meant to frighten someone closely related or associated with them into or out of doing something.
As SS has said many times, this is personal.

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Surely SS has investigated the pasts of the children as well as Mr./Mrs. Dermond. Somebody hated somebody else enough to commit this horrible deed, somebody who felt that they had been wronged somehow, maybe financially, maybe personally. Revenge, retribution was the satisfaction for years of seething hatred festering in this person.
OR, this is a message meant to frighten someone closely related or associated with them into or out of doing something.
As SS has said many times, this is personal.

still wondering what is the next step in the investigation, dont think it'll ever be solved, unless someone miraculously knows/heard
something

 

[DAMIFINO]

Y'all, I was surprised to get the below copied email this morning from Joe Kovak, the crime reporter with the Macon Telegraph.

On Sunday on Macon.com, I will update the case with some as-yet-unreported detail. It's not much, but there is some new insight from the sheriff -- though nothing close to singling out a culprit.

Also, you might let folks who follow the case know about lengthy piece I have on the murders in Atlanta Magazine. It is on newsstands now and will be online in coming days. It's more a profile of Sheriff Sills, but is set against the backdrop of him trying to crack the toughest case of his career.


Maybe another tidbit!

 

[Foxfire]

Y'all, I was surprised to get the below copied email this morning from Joe Kovak, the crime reporter with the Macon Telegraph.

On Sunday on Macon.com, I will update the case with some as-yet-unreported detail. It's not much, but there is some new insight from the sheriff -- though nothing close to singling out a culprit.

Also, you might let folks who follow the case know about lengthy piece I have on the murders in Atlanta Magazine. It is on newsstands now and will be online in coming days. It's more a profile of Sheriff Sills, but is set against the backdrop of him trying to crack the toughest case of his career.


Maybe another tidbit!

May 2015: Southern Gothic—alive and well
May 1, 2015 Steve Fennessy

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/editorsnote/may-2015-southern-gothic-alive-and-well/
<snipped - read more>

Joe’s first feature for us is a variation on that theme. Several months ago I reached out to him to see if he’d be interested in writing about the Dermond case—the elderly Lake Oconee couple found brutally murdered a year ago. He suggested a different approach: a profile of Howard Sills, the sheriff of Putnam County. There are a thousand anecdotes about Howard Sills (many of which the sheriff will tell you himself), but the one that says as much as any about him is something a cop once told a local preacher: “I can get you out of a speeding ticket anywhere in Georgia. Except Putnam County.”

Sills’s rectitude is matched only by his reputation for doggedness. Which has made the Dermond case especially vexing for the sheriff. “I figured Sills would catch the killer in a matter of days, if not sooner,” Joe told me. “He’s just that sharp. So as the probe wore on, unsolved, I sensed maybe there was a deeper story there: The cop who always gets his man, not getting his man.”

Joe’s instincts were spot on. In a hundred years, I imagine some Georgian stumbling across this story, sharing it with her friends, and saying, “So much for the good old days.”
_______________________________

FYI: https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=joekovacjr
Joe Kovac Jr. Verified account
@joekovacjr
Senior reporter for the Macon Telegraph, http://joekovacjr.blogspot.com

Macon, Ga. · http://macon.com

 

[Carolinapeach]

New details as mystery reigns in year-old Dermond lake murders

http://www.macon.com/2015/05/02/3726718/new-details-as-mystery-reigns.html

 

[Foxfire]

New details as mystery reigns in year-old Dermond lake murders

http://www.macon.com/2015/05/02/3726718/new-details-as-mystery-reigns.html

Thanx for sharing, Carolinapeach...
After reading Joe Kovac Jr's article; New details as mystery reigns in year-old Dermond lake murders by Joe Kovac Jr.
I was left with the same haunting deja vu feeling that I had after reading the pulitizer prize winning article series; Angels & Demons - 'Sunset' by Thomas French..

In their last hours alive, Jo Rogers and her two daughters took a series of snapshots. One showed Michelle inside the motel room, sunburned and staring into the camera.

But it was the very last photo that would be the most haunting. Shot from the motel balcony, it caught the sunlight fading over Tampa Bay.

<Snipped & BBM - read more @ link>
http://www.pulitzer.org/works/1998-Feature-Writing