WebNew technology to be used in unsolved murder case Billy Hobbs May 16, 2020 Comments Submitted photo In 2014, Russell and Shirley Dermond were the victims of a brutal Lake Other friends testified theyd be willing to do the same. I try to keep the blinders off, because I dont want to get tunnel vision on any one person or any one theory. If you have any information that could help, you are asked to call the Putnam County Sheriffs Office. Especially when someone was decapitated, the whereabouts of his head unknown. Monica Haufler testified Dimos suffered from Lewy Body Dementia, a diagnosis that, ironically, may figure into Hauflers defense. It was also believed the head was not taken as a trophy. And theres more than one person involved in this, Lake 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 case, 5 years later, sheriff still agonizes over brutal cold case murders, Timeline of 2 Murders: How the Killings of Russell and Shirley Dermond Unfolded, The Murders of Elderly Georgia Couple Russell and Shirley Dermond: A Beheading and No Leads. 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. Crews searched for several days with no luck. A few weeks back, a tip from a college professor in another state seemed plausible until Sills ran it down. Come Wednesday, a year will have passed since that emergency call, since the frantic womans husband found the decapitated body of their 88-year-old friend, Russell J. Their killer, a stranger whod abducted them at a park south of Atlanta, was sentenced to life without parole. The Dermonds were expected to attend a party for the 2014 Kentucky Derby the following weekend with their neighbors, who grew concerned when the couple did not show up. Her body was found floating by fishermen on May 16. [3] The neighbor found the door unlocked and entered the house. His head was never found. The judge cited the 45-year-old ex-firefighters lack of ties to the community. I try to keep an open mind. Investigators do not believe the two incidents are connected. 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. But the memories are bittersweet, because that is all that remains. One person may have made the initial assault, or something like that, but somebody had some help at some juncture., He said one plausible theory, as he put it, is that the killings involve some sort of extortion or robbery-type thing by somebody the Dermonds at least initially knew.. Potential evidence was gathered. In the years since, the Putnam County Sheriffs Office would re-interview several times hoping something new would emerge. He could have been shot, beaten or suffered some as-yet-unknown end. WebBy Joe Kovac Jr. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Its security cameras had been knocked out by a storm in the weeks before the killings and were of no use to the authorities. [2] He married Shirley Wilcox on December 15, 1950. If you have a tip or story idea, email her at jnoll@11Alive.com or call, text at (404) 664-3634. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. A green canvas covering its boat slip bears the swirled script of the Reynolds Plantation logo. They werent gaudy, they werent pretentious. Haufler will return to court in two weeks for a preliminary hearing. Example video title will go here for this video. The couple were married for 68 years and had four children and nine grandchildren. 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. Nothing was out of placejewelry and medications were seemingly as the Dermonds had left them. Chad has not changed since he was a kid. 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. Heres a look at new, renovated stores and restaurants, Burger King brings back fan-favorite sandwich but not for long. And anytime you have that, then theres a greater chance for that information to leak, Brad Dermond said. This week on Killin Missin Hidden, we try to delve into what could have happened to Russell and Shirley Dermond.SHOW NOTEShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Russell_and_Shirley_Dermond, https://www.williamsfuneralhome.net/obituaries/Russell-Dermond/#!/Obituary, https://www.williamsfuneralhome.net/obituaries/Shirley-Dermond/#!/Obituary, https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/investigations/gone-cold-the-murders-at-lake-oconee-4-years-later-elderly-couples-son-opens-up/67-549362307, https://www.unionrecorder.com/news/somebody-knows-and-there-s-more-than-one-person-involved/article_04992f3e-7198-11e9-acd7-d71d1b679da1.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Oconee, https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/years-later-murders-lake-oconee-couple-continue-confound/TozzJXuLvXXbu8f7zbWcPL/, https://medium.com/the-true-crime-times/the-macabre-murders-of-russell-and-shirley-dermond-322a46322706, https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/lake-oconee-double-murder-probe-turns-to-ny-for-clues/53946546, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/nyregion/lois-colley-murder-guilty.html, https://www.unionrecorder.com/news/new-technology-to-be-used-in-unsolved-murder-case/article_943dc312-971b-11ea-bcfa-875703a04928.html, https://www.lakeoconeenews.us/article/6-years-later. That, and unanswered questions. This story was originally published May 2, 2015, 8:37 PM. The biggest roadblock is motive. Low 66F. If theres somebody whos going to get this thing solved, its going to be him.. Investigators said an elderly man was found beheaded in his home. They have led investigators to other parts of Georgia and out of state. Their front door was unlocked. The case of Russell and Shirley Dermond remains unsolved. His message, he said, would touch on coming to grips with something that should not have happened., Thats what makes it even a stranger story. 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. Isnt it time we heard from UGAs Kirby Smart? 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. 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. Russell Dermonds head has never been found. They had a great relationship, said Monica Haufler, Chad Hauflers wife of 25 years. He has reached out to the FBI to help comb through that evidence. GONE COLD | A lake with no leads: Who killed the Dermonds. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. 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. It was 10 days before her fate was known. The youngest of four, 55-year-old Dermond, says his parents were very private people and that they would hate that he is talking about them at all. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards. [They were] just the most wonderful people youd ever want to meet, Brad gushed. And when the crime scene, in all likelihood, was a $769,000 lake house. Unsolved murders and disappearances, by nature, generate their share of speculation. When you start involving more and more people, it increases the chances of information being shared. Its the horror that they must have gone through, from the beginning until it was finished thats whats difficult to overcome.. But guesses abound about what befell the Dermonds: Why Russ was left lying in his homes two-car garage with his head cut off; why his wife, Shirley, 87, was beaten to death, her corpse sunk in Lake Oconee, only to surface a week and a half later. Greene County deputies spotted Haufler, gun in hand, walking away from his home on Jones Bluff Court when they responded to the emergency call. The neighbor quickly called 911. Sills said he didnt know if he would describe the conversation as promising, but anything is a step forward at this point.. There's no way one person did this," he said. But what led the two men to fight in the first place? Last May, some of Sills news conferences about the Dermond killings were aired live on Atlanta news channels. To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397. They went on to have four children and nine grandchildren. She has been bludgeoned to death and her body had been A look at the Dermond's home on Lake Oconee in May 2014. Sills said they re-examined aspects of the case, as well as timelines to see whether some of the technology in place today might help going forward with the investigation. But upon checking the house again days later, neighbors found one of them brutally slain in the garage, and the The Dermonds were living an idyllic life in retirement. I am currently trying to obtain data of a highly technical nature that I believe will be fruitful. The last time Russell was seen alive was on Thursday, May 1, 2014 when he ran some errands in town. 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. Oh, my god.. Sills has told The Telegraph that he and his deputies are not muddling along in the dark. The The towels belonged to the Dermonds and, yes, there was other evidence found at the scene, but I cant go into any of that evidence, Sills said. Police discovered Russells headless body in the garage in between the couples two cars. Unless somebody comes forward and gives them a clue, what else do they have to go on? That said, it points out a daunting truth. Each also voluntarily took polygraph tests and passed. A look at the Dermond's home on Lake Oconee in May 2014. The Rev. A real estate listing touts the homes expansive views and mentions fresh paint, new carpet.. But, he is convinced more than one person was involved. They were lovely people from all I know. Channel 2 investigative The husband who found Russ slain can be heard on the recorded line in the background searching the house in vain -- apparently for Shirley. They were just really down-to-earth.. No one has more questions than Dimos family. [2], Russell was last seen alive on May 1, 2014, as he was running errands in Eatonton. A lot of what we talked about concerning technology was about what is available today that wasn't available primarily then.. 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. According to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, there were no signs of forced entry or indications of a struggle in the home. The body of Shirley Dermond was found weighed down in Lake Oconee on May 16, 2014. So the neighbors, a few days later, went to check on them. Russell Joseph Dermond, a WWII Navy veteran, married Shirley Wilcox on Dec. 15, 1950. "The technology we are using was not in existence back in 2014. 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. Low 66F. I dont want to create an impression that I have acquired some silver bullet, but this is yet another tool we are using trying to find out who perpetrated these heinous crimes. The neighbors who alerted the authorities about Russ death live about a mile from the Dermond place. Sills said he believes he knows the answer. Among this self-described band of brothers, there is no doubt about Hauflers innocence. Babys dad is charged with murder, Whats coming to Middle Georgia? Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Gone Cold is an ongoing series, where 11Alive Journalist Jessica Noll investigates some of the most infamous and lesser-known cold cases in Georgia. Example video title will go here for this video. 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. Together, they had three sons and a daughterand eventually, they would dote on nine grandchildren too. They dont even know how he was murdered, because we dont have his head, a frustrated Brad said about his fathers brutal death. Key recalls the Dermonds being in church the weekend before they died, and how so much time has passed since. A $45,000 reward was offered. Thursday marked eight years since someone killed Shirley and In May 2014, Shirley and Russell Dermond were killed. His wife, who was not beheaded, died from blows to the skull, wounds possibly inflicted with something like a hammer, Sills said. 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. WebThe elderly Georgia couple was murdered four years ago and investigators still have no idea who is responsible. REAL LIFE 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. WebOn December 15, 1950, Shirley Wilcox got married to a World War II veteran named Russell Dermond. But you think there would be other crimes, Keith Dermond said. Henry is 62, a slim, deep-voiced, Vidalia-born career cop. Progress, gradual as it may be, has been made. He told Wilfon that hes cautiously optimistic about new evidence in the case cellphone data provided by the FBI. On May 16, two fishermen on Lake Oconee found her body near a dam. The victims younger brother, Jeff Dimos, watched the proceedings Tuesday in silence, declining an interview request but offering a brief statement to the media mourning the passing of the father of six. A man, the sheriff said, well just leave it at that, was seen on the property during the period that the murders could have occurred., Also, he said recently, Im considering some new forensic testing of evidence we have.. Shirley, a housewife, was, like her husband, a New Jersey native. The cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head. Get personalized 2023 FOX Television Stations. The body of Shirley Wilcox Dermond, who was 87, turned up May 16, 10 days after her husbands. Down a sloped yard from the slain couples house, at the waters edge, there is a lighted dock. At what point would you just have that sinking feeling, this is it? he said. He was decapitated after he died, likely on May 3 or the day before. Still others wonder if the slayings were a plot by religious zealots to embarrass the sheriff for sending Nuwaubian leader Dwight York to federal prison for life in a heralded case from a decade ago. 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. The couple was supposed to attend a Kentucky Derby party that weekend, but never showed. SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. Brad Dermond flips through albums and shuffles through a handful of photographsremembering family road trips, golfing and how much his parents loved him and his siblings and adored their grandchildren. We talked about some technological stuff that were working on right now.. They never showed up. Leads have, at times, looked promising. But he was also realistic. All rights reserved, Privacy Policy|Online Content Agreement, Man, 88, Beheaded, His Wife Missing From Home in Gated Georgia Community, Body confirmed to be Shirley Dermond; officials searching lake for husbands head, Phone records released in Dermond slayings on Lake Oconee, Son of slain couple in grisly Putnam case: Mystery just eats at you, New details as mystery reigns in year-old Dermond lake murders, Relentless: Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills chases a killer, Son of slain Dermond couple says Lake Oconee mystery haunts us, Vicious enemy may have killed Dermonds; Lake Oconee murders now 3 years cold. After not hearing from the Dermonds for a few days, the friends went to the lakefront Dermond house that is nestled in a wooded cove on Carolyn Drive to check on the pair. Web5 years later, murders of Lake Oconee couple continue to confound. We met and talked about three hours today about this case, Sills told The Union-Recorder earlier this week. 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. He was determined not to let his money ruin him or his two sons, each of whom joined the Marines after high school. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. The murders of Russell Dermond, 88, and his wife, Shirley, 87, have Arora suggested the two men tussled before the violence escalated. Earlier this summer, Haufler invited Dimos to his home in Ocala, Florida. 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 His brother-in-law put his son on the phone to relay the horrific news. Nor any suspects. 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 These days, he relies on the FBI, Sills and the public to come forward and shed light on who did this to his family. WebChad Haufler, 45, is charged with murder after a shooting inside a home on Lake Oconee. 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. They hope deputies are able to find their parents' killers. s 3,200-square-foot-home. (Provided), The Dermonds adored their nine grandchildren. Theyll say, They never came up with nothing on that murder, did they? Ill say, Well, youre looking at they. 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. Ten days later, a pair of fishermen found Shirley, 87, dead near a Lake Oconee dam about five miles from their Eatonton lakefront home. 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. However, this eventually led nowhere, and over time the leads gradually declined in frequency. The Dermonds leave behind a daughter, two sons and nine grandchildren. Five years ago in 2016, one of the couples sons, Keith Dermond, who lived in Florida, told The Telegraph that he hadnt given up hope his parents killer might someday be caught. 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. I mean, just dead end after dead end.. WebThe Lake Oconee Murders (Podcast Episode 2020) photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more. Heres a list of the homicides in Macon in 2023. Dermond might have been taken and held against her will until some sort of demand was made. I got some data just last week, Sills said. 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 Russell and Shirley Dermond (Family photos). PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. There is new evidence in the murder of a Putnam County couple in their 80s. 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 Haufler had bruises on his back and elbows, according to his attorney. [1][3] In 2000, their oldest son Mark was murdered in Atlanta while attempting to purchase crack cocaine. Shirley Dermond had been a homemaker who in her later years liked gardening, playing bridge and doing crossword puzzles. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. It's been eight years since homicide detectives were called to investigate the murder of Russell and Shirley Dermond. The professor claimed that a psycho love interest she had met online was responsible for killing the Dermonds. 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.. There was a problem saving your notification. A local sheriff says data provided to the FBI might help them solve the grisly double homicide of an elderly pair eight years ago. WebCome Wednesday, a year will have passed since that emergency call, since the frantic womans husband found the decapitated body of their 88-year-old friend, Russell J. EATONTON, Ga. Nearly every day for the past six years, Putnam County Sheriff Howard R. Sills has done some sort of investigative work concerning the unsolved double-murder case of Russell and Shirley Dermond. Search continues for person who decapitated elderly man at Lake Oconee home Richard Elliot reports. But Brad is confident in Sills ability to solve the only two homicides of his career that have gone cold. Who Killed Russell And Shirley Dermond? But he did receive one earlier this week that hes looking into. There was terror in her voice the morning the murder mystery came to light. What played out over the next month would leave more questions than answers in their usually sleepy neighborhood. 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. Clearly, there was more than a person involved, Sills said. Seconds later, at his wifes side, she asked, Did you find both of them?. The city had a record-high 70 homicides in 2022. Hes probably the nicest person I met in my entire life, said neighbor Mark OConnell, calling Haufler an honorable man.. Confident as they are in their fathers innocence, Chad Haufler s namesake admitted to unknowns that are still present.. Thursday marked 8-years since someone killed Shirley and Russell Dermond at their Lake Oconee home. Russell was a thoughtful businessman, disciplinarian and Brads favorite golfing partner, according to their son. An investigators has said the Dermond home was kept so neat and clean that youd eat off the floors.. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are assisting by analyzing the new evidence, the sheriff said. Yet they have all, not unlike the villain whose misdeeds provoked them, faded into oblivion for the time being. Weighed down by a pair of 30-pound concrete blocks, her corpse bloated and surfaced facedown in 46 feet of water. There have been 11 violent homicides in Macon this year, including five in February, Heres how to qualify for medical marijuana in Georgia, Pregnant woman shot in the head, Georgia cops say. And, hes left at a loss all over againperplexed, because his parents, he said, had no dark side or secrets that would have resulted in their murders. The headless body of 88-year-old Russell Dermond was on the floor surrounded by towels. (FOX 5). Its very hard to catch somebody when you dont even know their motive. She was on the phone, gasping, breathless in the 11 seconds it took someone to answer and say, Putnam County 911., Yes, uh, I have an emergency, the woman, 68, said. Somebodys out there and theyre living in Hell.