lake oconee murders photos

They have led investigators to other parts of Georgia and out of state. "If there was an enemy out there, (it) would have taken place a lot sooner than that.". No one has more questions than Dimos family. But, I cant find anyone who had an ax to grind with them and I cant find any connections to any kind of criminal enterprise or other activity, whatsoever.. Crews searched for several days with no luck. But you think there would be other crimes, Keith Dermond said. But upon checking the house again days later, neighbors found one of them brutally slain in the garage, and the Sills narrowed the timeframe of Russells murder to somewhere between 4:30 p.m., on May 1when the mail was deliveredto 6 p.m., on May 4, when the couple failed to show up for the party. At what point would you just have that sinking feeling, this is it? he said. Show Going West: True Crime, Ep The Lake Oconee Murders // 121 - 18 May 2021. He became the face of an unsolved crime that fascinated viewers and newspaper readers across the region. When asked if some of the technology was the way to go at this time, since other ideas have been exhausted, Sills quickly replied. Heres a list of the homicides in Macon in 2023. 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 The couple moved to Eatonton, Ga., and built their million-dollar Reynolds Plantation's Great Waters home in a cul-de-sac, overlooking Lake Oconee. Once I knew the backgrounds of Russell and Shirley Dermond, I have always thought that this was some sort of extortion, Sills told the newspaper. The Dermonds were living an idyllic life in retirement. 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. "It's been eight years, I'm sorry," he said. Their front door was unlocked. She even emailed Sills hundreds of pages of notes supporting her claim, which Sills debunked. We used some of the most advanced underwater electronic equipment that the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division has in an attempt to find Shirley Dermonds body, as well as the head of her husband, Sills said. Its two years later. The 3,200-square-foot, $1 million home in Great Waters subdivision, lies just under 10 miles due south of Interstate 20 and a dozen or so miles northeast of downtown Eatonton. There have been no arrests and until now few if any useful leads since the investigation into the Dermond slayings began the morning of May 6, 2014, when Russell Dermonds decapitated body was found lying in a puddle of blood inside his closed carport. A real estate listing touts the homes expansive views and mentions fresh paint, new carpet.. It just always ends up with a big question mark, he said. Russell Dermond, once an avid golfer, had retired from corporate life in the Northeast in the late 1980s and moved to Georgia to run a chain of Atlanta-area fast-food restaurants. After growing concerned, a neighbor checked in on the Dermonds on Tuesday, May 6. Sheriff Sills said his office received new data, some of it cell phone data. They have merited days, weeks of inquiry. Nothing was out of placejewelry and medications were seemingly as the Dermonds had left them. Russell Joseph Russ Dermond, 88, had last been seen on May 2, the day before that years Kentucky Derby. Someone who likes guns and knives, Sills said, recalling some contents of the FBIs report. First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Investigators arrived and began to comb over the scene. Investigators do not believe the two incidents are connected. Henry also had a hand in the 1997 murder-for-hire probe that sent Kelly Gissendaner to death row for arranging the stabbing death of her husband. Sills has chased down leads across the country, but still nothing to solve the case. Both her and dad, total family people. The neighbors had hosted a Kentucky Derby party the previous Saturday, May 3. Unless somebody comes forward and gives them a clue, what else do they have to go on? They know what theyre doing. He was the lead investigator in the 1999 shooting deaths of a woman and her 2-year-old daughter whose bodies were found in the trunk of a burned-out car. The Rev. Were very, very sad. "Obviously mom and dad at that point were in their mid-to-late 80s," Brad Dermond said. "The technology we are using was not in existence back in 2014," Sills said in a statement. Its not clear but theres been a couple where I almost feel like hes got some answers and hes trying to get me to see something, read something, that hasnt happened.. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. The Dermonds leave behind a daughter, two sons and nine grandchildren. And since that demand could not be satisfied, both she and her husband were killed. WebOn May 16, two fishermen on Lake Oconee found her body near a dam, nearly five miles away from the house. PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. - New evidence might reinvigorate the investigation into a chilling murder mystery that still haunts a Lake Oconee community eight years later. Menu. Along with Shirley, he spoke with his son Brad over the phone later that day. Search continues for person who decapitated elderly man at Lake Oconee home Richard Elliot reports. By boat, the spot lies some five miles from her home, in a wide bend above the Wallace Dam. This all came to a sudden end in May 2014 when a neighbor discovered Russell dead and Shirley missing. [1] When police were unable to locate Shirley inside the house, they initially suspected that she had been kidnapped. The veteran sheriff said some of the evidence, including two towels found around the corpse of Russell Dermond, had been of value to them. A few weeks back, a tip from a college professor in another state seemed plausible until Sills ran it down. 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. Sills said Shirley Dermond was struck more than once and was dead when she was dropped in the lake. Russ Dermond. Other friends testified theyd be willing to do the same. [1], Russell Joseph Dermond, a native of Hackensack, New Jersey, served in the United States Navy during World War II. As the year progressed, the trail leading to those responsible grew cold. Her body was found by fishermen on Lake Oconee, weighed down with two 30-pound concrete blocks tied to her. 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. WebBy Joe Kovac Jr. It may have shattered any kind of false security that weve had, Key, 52, said last week. Not long ago, Sills was at a restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when a woman walked up and asked, Are you a police officer?, Yes, maam, he replied before emphasizing where. Leads have, at times, looked promising. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. When you can get it, TikToker slathers parents kitchen in peanut butter months after doing the bathroom, Macon man enters plea in fatal shooting that happened during domestic dispute in 2020, Young man killed in shooting last week faced murder charges in 2020 slaying of Macon teen, Macon man, 20, found fatally wounded Saturday evening by Bibb County deputies, Two charged with aggravated assault after shooting that fatally wounded Macon teen, A 14-year-old Macon boy is among 8 people indicted on murder charges in fatal Bibb shootings, Georgia man in bank lobby blasts explicit music from phone and shouts I am God. This story was originally published May 2, 2015, 8:37 PM. Channel 2 investigative Their favorite time was to spend time with the family and grandkids, Brad said about his parents, who were both only children, themselves. WebChad Haufler, 45, is charged with murder after a shooting inside a home on Lake Oconee. Together, they had three sons and a daughterand eventually, they would dote on nine grandchildren too. Support by joining KMH+ and by checking out our merch shop! A green canvas covering its boat slip bears the swirled script of the Reynolds Plantation logo. WebMay 7On Friday, eight years to the day that investigators began probing the grisly deaths of Shirley and Russell Dermond, the county sheriff hunting their still-at-large killer or Deputies believed she might have been abducted and were extremely concerned for her safety. Despite that, Im confident in our case, he said. The elderly couple, who lived in the affluent gated community of Great Waters at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Putnam County, was brutally slain sometime over the weekend of the Kentucky Derby in May 2014. When Russells body was found in the couples garage, his finger had a severe wound, Sills said. Perhaps, Sills says, but the usual things a burglar might steal -- televisions, jewelry, electronics -- were apparently not taken. Russell Joseph Dermond, a WWII Navy veteran, married Shirley Wilcox on Dec. 15, 1950. Its very raw, Brad Dermond said. Babys dad is charged with murder, Whats coming to Middle Georgia? You have permission to edit this article. Tangled within his blood, they found strands of Shirleys hair. Example video title will go here for this video. 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. Heres a look at new, renovated stores and restaurants, Burger King brings back fan-favorite sandwich but not for long. Investigators believe that there is no connection between this crime and the murder of Mark's parents. Updated May 05, 2021 8:25 AM For seven years, the killings of Russell and Shirley Dermond at Lake Oconee have gone unsolved, the motive unknown and the The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is combing over new cell phone data connected to an 8-year-old murder mystery. Youngest son Blake is set to follow in his dads footsteps as a firefighter in Marion County. I always thought that, you know, maybe it was some kind of a serial killer kind of thing just because of the weird things that (the killer) did. Hes probably the nicest person I met in my entire life, said neighbor Mark OConnell, calling Haufler an honorable man.. They were just really down-to-earth.. Russell, 88, was found decapitated inside his garage on May 6, 2014, and two fishermen discovered 87-year-old Shirleys body 10 days later in Lake Oconee, about five miles from their lakefront home. The neighbors, the woman and her 75-year-old husband, were no doubt the first people in the Dermond home after a crime that has puzzled and frustrated investigators from the outset. Ill just say that there was valuable evidence that we have yet to match up to anything.. There was a problem saving your notification. They dont know the case theyre making, the defense lawyer said. The city had a record-high 70 homicides in 2022. In the sheriff's last update on the case, he said there were no fingerprints, foreign DNA or eye-witnesses. Shirley, a housewife, was, like her husband, a New Jersey native. But four years after their brutal murders, Russell and Shirley Dermond's son believes its time to talk and hopefully break someone elses silence, uncovering a clue into who killed his parents in rural Putnam County, Ga. READ MORE: Putnam County murder mystery: Why the sheriff won't ask the GBI for help. If you have any information that could help, you are asked to call the Putnam County Sheriffs Office. Making, the day before that years Kentucky Derby party the previous Saturday, May 3 Shirley, a,. Burger King brings back fan-favorite sandwich but not for long that there is no connection this... Crime that fascinated viewers and newspaper readers across the region tip from a college professor in another state seemed until... A sudden end in May 2014 when a neighbor checked in on the Dermonds on Tuesday, May.! Viewers and newspaper readers across the country, but still nothing to solve the case theyre making the. Had been kidnapped coming to Middle Georgia came to a sudden end in May 2014 when neighbor! What point would you just have that sinking feeling, this is it knives, Sills says, but usual., 88, had last been seen on May 2, the defense lawyer said a., is charged with murder, Whats coming to Middle Georgia match up to anything testified! 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