They were just really down-to-earth.. Before joining Sills staff in 2012, he helped train police investigators in Iraq. Later that evening, before dinner, Brad spoke to his parents on the phone. As a Pulliam Fellowship recipient in 1991, Joe worked for the Indianapolis News. WebThe fisherman who had the misfortune of finding Shirley Dermonds body in Lake Oconee Source: Scoopnest.com. Theres such a thing of Gods wrath. Mauldin, the prosecutor, said the states case against him will be much clearer then. (FOX 5). At this point, maybes are about all the sheriff and his investigators have when it comes to potential culprits. Seems like every free minute Ive got, my mind is rehashing stuff, trying to think of things we may have missed or overlooked, Henry said. Sills did not offer other details about the cell phone data, or if it belonged to anyone from the small, rural community where the couple was found dead. It weighs heavy on me, Sills said. Submitted photo In WebLake Oconee murders revisited years later September 20, 2022, 12:40 AM It was May 2014 when the bodies of Russell Dermond, 88, and his wife Shirley, 87, were found Ive obtained some of it and I have reason to believe that when I obtain the rest of the data and sort it out that it may well lead me to a suspect or suspects in this case, Sills said. The murders of Russell Dermond, 88, and his wife, Shirley, 87, have Hundreds of people were interviewed but investigators came up short. The husband who found Russ slain can be heard on the recorded line in the background searching the house in vain -- apparently for Shirley. The couple was supposed to attend a Kentucky Derby party that weekend, but never showed. He hopes their analysis can open the door to those responsible and finally solve these gruesome murders. Hed do the same thing for anyone sitting in this room, said Matt Luttermoser, a friend since childhood. WebGREENE COUNTY, Ga. A man accused of killing his friend at a Lake Oconee mansion walked out of jail Monday evening, released on a technicality. Greene County deputies spotted Haufler, gun in hand, walking away from his home on Jones Bluff Court when they responded to the emergency call. Out at the Great Waters entrance, there is now a security gate, one of those arms that goes up and down when youre let in. Brad Dermond, center, with his parents at his wedding. EATONTON, Ga. A cold case is warming up as the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said there is new evidence in their search for whomurdered an elderly couple, then dumped one of their body's into a rural Georgia lake. Investigators believe that there is no connection between this crime and the murder of Mark's parents. Unsolved murders in Putnam County, Georgia, "Decapitation mystery: Russell Dermond was World War II vet, golfer", "The murders at Lake Oconee: 4 years later, elderly couple's son opens up", "5 years later, murders of Lake Oconee couple continue to confound", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murders_of_Russell_and_Shirley_Dermond&oldid=1140583082, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 20 February 2023, at 19:22. Russell's decapitated body was found on the floor of his two-car garage, lying in a small pool of blood. Russell Joseph Russ Dermond, 88, had last been seen on May 2, the day before that years Kentucky Derby. If you have a tip or story idea, email her at jnoll@11Alive.com or call, text at (404) 664-3634. I think the only chance we have at this point (is) that he trips himself up., This week, while Sheriff Sills declined to elaborate on what clue he may have in hand, he said the material was something I am actively working on.. The Rev. In May 2014, Shirley and Russell Dermond were killed. A real estate listing touts the homes expansive views and mentions fresh paint, new carpet.. Its very hard to catch somebody when you dont even know their motive. But a possible lead unearthed in recent months by Putnam County sheriffs investigators working in conjunction with the FBI has detectives somewhat optimistic about a chance to finally zero in on a suspect. Seconds later, at his wifes side, she asked, Did you find both of them?. Russell Dermond, 88, and his wife Shirley Dermond, 87, were brutally murdered in their gated community overlooking Lake Oconee, Georgia, in 2014, according to Fox Macon affiliate WGXA. Both her and dad, total family people. Marc Dimos will be laid to rest Thursday in Ohio. Weighed down by a pair of 30-pound concrete blocks, her corpse bloated and surfaced facedown in 46 feet of water. He then traveled to the nearby Publix, at 2:26 p.m., to pick up a prescription for Shirley, for an upcoming cataract surgeryas well as a loaf of bread and a few cucumbers. Because he lacks any ties to the area, Haufler was denied bond and returned to the Greene County jail. "What we need more than anything is for someone to call us and tell us who is responsible for this savagery," he said Friday. Gone Cold is an ongoing series, where 11Alive Journalist Jessica Noll investigates some of the most infamous and lesser-known cold cases in Georgia. The couples relatives and acquaintances were questioned, and then nothing. How their killer or killers arrived is anyones guess. WebA few days ago, Howard Sills, Putnam Countys plain-spoken, sometimes-philosophical sheriff, rose from bed at 5:38 a.m., bedeviled yet again by crimes as confounding and Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Cloudy. He fit right in with Hauflers large circle of friends, joining them on a deep-sea fishing excursion 120 miles off the Atlantic coast. FLASHBACK: Sheriff: Beheading is most frustrating homicide in his career, GONE COLD: More of Georgia's cold case mysteries, Justice for Love: A mothers relentless pursuit to find her daughters killer. The FBIs Behavioral Analysis Unit has provided Sills with a broad description of the culprit. 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Sills, 59, professorial and occasionally profane, has explored all avenues, obvious and not so, including the circumstances surrounding the murder of the Dermonds eldest child, Mark C. Dermond. An autopsy revealed she died from blunt-force trauma having been hit two or three times. The professor claimed that a psycho love interest she had met online was responsible for killing the Dermonds. Looking at all the couples, they would have been the last you would have picked out, Key said. The notion of such an atrocity in an exclusive, golf course-ringed neighborhood struck at peoples deepest fears: If it happened there, is anywhere safe? If theres somebody whos going to get this thing solved, its going to be him.. He said he also believes that when Shirley Dermonds body was tossed into the lake, the killers could easily have thrown Russell Dermonds head into the lake at the same time. The decapitated body of Russell Dermond (age 88) was found on May 6, 2014, in the garage of the house he owned on Lake Oconee. His head was never found. Within hours of the May 6, 2014, discovery there in the Great Waters subdivision, a dozen miles northeast of downtown Eatonton, investigators concluded that Dermonds wife of 68 years had disappeared. But, he is convinced more than one person was involved. And despite some new revelations Tuesday at a bond hearing for suspect Chad Haufler, the prosecution is keeping tight-lipped about why they believe the retired firefighter intended to kill a man in the basement of the $1.9 million home purchased just one month earlier. Menu. Haufler will return to court in two weeks for a preliminary hearing. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. His brother-in-law put his son on the phone to relay the horrific news. Sills issued a statement saying investigators are using new technology to analyze phones: "Just last week I received some data, primarily cell phone data, that we have been waiting on for some time. Were searching through that to see if we may be able to find some clue as to who was in the area at the time. Psychopath: 5 years after grisly Lake Oconee murders, who killed the Dermonds and why? Despite the non-stop efforts of local law enforcement, this cruel murder case has never been solved. The decapitated body of Russell Dermond (age Naturally, the shifting narratives aroused suspicions. Her body was anchored by two 30-pound cinder blocks that were placed into a nylon bag and then thrown into the lake, according to Sills. The FBI was called in. The case of Russell and Shirley Dermond remains unsolved. It had been weighed down with concrete blocks but surfaced in about 90 feet of water, tangled in treetops just below the surface. Tangled within his blood, they found strands of Shirleys hair. Were very, very sad. In the video, he can be seen wearing dark glasses, khaki shorts, a green polo shirt and dark gym shoesthe same clothes police found in his bedroom when they searched the Dermonds residence after his murder. "Im going to defend myself.. A $45,000 reward was offered. Mrs. The neighbors who made the 911 call did so on the Dermonds cordless phone. Married nearly 64 years, the couple did everything togetherincluding taking their last breaths. He suggests inebriation mightve played a role, noting the two men had purchased $130 worth of adult beverages the day before Haufler called 911, 30 minutes before sunrise on August 28. Show Going West: True Crime, Ep The Lake Oconee Murders // 121 - 18 May 2021. Anyone with information about this unsolved double-murder is asked to call the Putnam County Sheriffs Office at 706-485-8557. "The technology we are using was not in existence back in 2014," Sills said in a statement. WebOn December 15, 1950, Shirley Wilcox got married to a World War II veteran named Russell Dermond. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards. [2] He married Shirley Wilcox on December 15, 1950. He told Wilfon that hes cautiously optimistic about new evidence in the case cellphone data provided by the FBI. There was terror in her voice the morning the murder mystery came to light. Shed gone to her duplicate bridge club meeting in Eatonton the Thursday before her death. They went on to have four children and nine grandchildren. Confident as they are in their fathers innocence, Chad Haufler s namesake admitted to unknowns that are still present.. A neighbor had invited the Dermonds to a Derby party, but they never showed up. According to store and bank surveillance videos, obtained only by 11Alive, Russell transferred money from the drive-thru lane at the Lake Oconee branch of the Peoples Bank at 2:15 p.m. [3] The neighbor found the door unlocked and entered the house. This was technology that was not available eight years ago.. In May, 2014 an elderly couple, Russell and Shirley Dermond, were murdered at their home in a gated community on Lake Oconee in central Georgia. WebOn May 16, two fishermen on Lake Oconee found her body near a dam, nearly five miles away from the house. Nothing was out of placejewelry and medications were seemingly as the Dermonds had left them. Sills had not until earlier this year wanted it known that the blocks were what Shirley Dermonds killer had apparently used to anchor her to the lake floor. But upon checking the house again days later, neighbors found one of them brutally slain in the garage, and the New technology to be used in unsolved murder case. Haufler had bruises on his back and elbows, according to his attorney. There is none. According to the National Institutes of Health, 80 percent of people stricken with the disease suffer from visual hallucinations that are typically realistic and detailed. Sometimes, they can be frightening or dangerous, states the NIH, citing, as an example, a person attempting to fight a perceived intruder. Friends of the couple grew concerned. His wife was found days later in a nearby lake having been weighed down. They hope deputies are able to find their parents' killers. Oh, my God. Though Sills declined to elaborate, he mentioned the sighting of a potential suspect outside the Dermond house at 147 Carolyn Drive. Channel 2s Justin Wilfon learned that there is new evidence from the FBI that is giving investigators new hope in trying to solve the case. The two New Jersey natives would eventually move to the metro Atlanta area and own several Hardees restaurants until retiring in 1994. (Provided), Brad Dermond looks at years' worth of memories with his parents, Shirley and Russell Dermond. They have merited days, weeks of inquiry. He was determined not to let his money ruin him or his two sons, each of whom joined the Marines after high school. "It's been eight years, I'm sorry," he said. Shirley, a housewife, was, like her husband, a New Jersey native. They never showed up. Timeline | Multiple rounds of strong to severe storms possible, Woman convicted in husband's murder after stabbing him with butcher knife, Douglas County prosecutors say, Douglas County jury convicts woman in husband's stabbing death, Forecast | Shower and storms increase to finish the week. The Dermonds eldest son, Mark, was killed while attempting to purchase crack cocaine in Atlanta. In fact, the grandchildren would go to Lake Oconee for summer camp and spend time with Shirley and Russell every year. His killer remains in prison, and people on the slayings periphery -- relatives, friends and others -- appear to have played no role in his parents deaths. Sills, who has helped solve dozens of murder cases during his career, said he believes it was the intent of the killers that the body of 87-year-old Shirley Dermond would never resurface. Some have suggested professional hit men as the culprits. The body of Shirley Wilcox Dermond, who was 87, turned up May 16, 10 days after her husbands. This all came to a sudden end in May 2014 when a neighbor discovered Russell dead and Shirley missing. I think about this (case) every day no matter where I am. They could have come by boat., As for the number of assailants involved, Sills said, If one person did this, he spent the weekend. WebLake Oconee double murder probe turns to NY for clues; Person of interest identified in murder, beheading of elderly couple; Mystery man emerges in year-old Ga. beheading Theyll say, They never came up with nothing on that murder, did they? Ill say, Well, youre looking at they. Sills said he didnt know if he would describe the conversation as promising, but anything is a step forward at this point.. They dont know the case theyre making, the defense lawyer said. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. According to their obituaries, Russell loved golf, reading, walking, and enjoyed spending time with his family and friends while Shirley loved crossword puzzles, gardening and playing bridge. The sheriff said he believes Russell Dermonds head was severed by some very sharp instrument. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. 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