Shirley and Russell Dermond

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1:58discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:09Today, I'm discussing the case of Shirley and Russell Dermond. In a quiet, gated community in Georgia, Russell and Shirley Dermond seem to embody the perfect picture of retirement. an 88-year-old World War II veteran and his 87-year-old wife spending their golden years on the serene shores of Lake Oconee. But in May of 2014, that tranquility was shattered. Russell was found brutally murdered in his garage, decapitated, his head missing from the scene. And surely, she seemingly vanished without a trace. This is one of Georgia's most haunting, unsolved mysteries. It's a puzzle of wealth and violence with no clear motive, no obvious suspects, and chilling possibilities.

3:00This is the case of Shirley and Russell Dermond. It's Saturday, May 3, 2014, in the upscale Great Waters at Reynolds Lake Oconee Subdivision in Putnam County, Georgia, about 30 miles outside of Atlanta. It's an idyllic neighborhood, filled with lake houses and part-time residents. Two of the rare full-time residents were 87-year-old Shirley Dermond and 88-year-old Russell Dermond, who decided to live out their retirement in the sleepy, gated community. Now, sources do differ here, but they'd been there for at least 10 years, if not upwards of 20. So it's really no surprise that they'd been invited to a Kentucky Derby party that day, hosted by their neighbors Peggy and Huel Wynn, a couple a bit younger than the Dermans.

3:49But as the party commenced, food and drink were served, and the rest of their neighbors presumably donned their best derby garb to cheer on their favorite horses, Shirley and Russell were noticeably absent. And it wasn't like them to just not show, especially without letting anyone know that they'd be unable to attend. Neighbors quickly began comparing notes on when they'd last been seen. At least one person believed that they saw Russell on the golf course the day prior, but as the party tapered off and eventually ended, neither Shirley nor Russell ever stopped by. Nearly in their 90s, their friends just assumed that they may have decided to not attend for some reason, and just failed to communicate that with them.

4:32Again, it was definitely odd for the Dermans, but things happen. No one was overly concerned at this point. But over the weekend and into Monday, they'd missed a handful of calls from concerned friends and neighbors. On Tuesday, May 6th, that concern reached a tipping point, and the Wins decided to go to their home to see what was going on. When they got to the door, the newspaper was still in the mail slot. They knocked, but there was no answer. According to reporting by The Telegraph, they found the kitchen door unlocked and let themselves in through that entrance. though sources do vary quite a bit here.

5:12I've seen some reporting that says that the front door was unlocked, and others that says that the back door was left wide open, so take that for what you will. Either way, they enter the home without using a key or a force. Once they get inside, Peggy and Huell call out for Russell and Shirley. But again, like when they knocked on the door, there's no answer. At this point, they just do a quick sweep of the house, going from room to room trying to find them. And it appeared tidy as usual, with the exception of their bed being unmade. There were no signs of forced entry and no signs of a struggle of any kind.

5:51Really, nothing was noticeably disturbed or out of place at all. It wasn't until Huel Wynn checked the garage for a second time that he saw it. It took 11 seconds for Putnam County 911 to answer the call. When they did, Peggy was out of breath. They'd found Russell deceased and decapitated. He was in his pajamas, a short-sleeved shirt, boxer shorts, and a robe. His body was in between their two vehicles, and he was surrounded by towels. It was clear that someone had either attempted to clean up the crime scene and left in a hurry, or had left the towels there to prevent Russell's blood from seeping out of the bottom of the garage door into the driveway.

6:36In that 911 call, you can hear Huell in the background. There was some confusion about whether one or both of the Dermans had been found. But then, it became increasingly clear that while Russell had obviously been brutally murdered, Shirley was missing.

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8:08Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills was the second person to arrive at the Dermans' home. He got there as quickly as he could after dispatch told him that there were bodies all over the house. Everything happened so quickly. It seemed everyone was confused about what exactly had been found. I mean, at this point, Sheriff Sills and his team really have no idea what they're walking into. They clear the house as quickly as they can, presuming that whoever may have done this could very well still be in the home waiting for them to arrive. But the house was cleared. And according to Sheriff Sills' interview with the TV show Real Life Nightmare, it was obvious that no one other than the Wins had been in the home for quite some time.

8:53Like the winds, investigators also reported that the home was found in pristine condition, really with nothing out of place except that their bed was not made. The only thing that appeared to have been disturbed was one lamp taken from inside the house to the garage, presumably for lighting. Their expensive possessions, their electronics, their TVs, their cell phones, laptops, even jewelry and Rolex watches were all still there. Even Shirley's purse and money were found untouched. Clearly, this wasn't some type of burglary gone wrong. This seemed personal. There was also no apparent crime scene where Russell may have been killed.

9:35There was no blood spatter and no blood outside of the garage, period. Pretty quickly, it seemed clear that Russell had been killed in another location and later brought to the garage and decapitated. Within 30 minutes of arriving at the scene, Sheriff Sills contacted the FBI to assist. Now, they actually didn't find Russell's head at the scene, and it's still missing to this day. It's absolutely one of the most disturbing parts of this case. So while it was presumed that it was him in the garage, they still needed to confirm that it was actually Russell. Sheriff Sills ultimately obtained a copy of his fingerprints from his service in the Navy during World War II, and they did confirm that it was him.

10:23Both the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and the FBI definitely had their work cut out for them. Not only did they have a murder to solve, but they also had a missing woman to find. Now, they did contemplate whether Shirley was the one who killed Russell, though there was no motive they could think of for her to do so. Russell and Shirley had been married for 68 years at this point, having tied the knot in 1950. And I do want to take a moment to talk about their background. Shirley was a New Jersey native who attended Barnard College, and as I mentioned earlier, Russell was a World War II Navy veteran.

10:59After they were married, Shirley was a stay-at-home mother to their four children, while Russell worked as an executive for a New York-area clock company. Though eventually, Russell found even more success through running a chain of fast food restaurants in the Atlanta area for about a decade, mostly Hardee's and Wendy's. He retired in 1994, and eventually had their dream home built near Lake Oconee. They've been described as private people who rarely flaunted their wealth. They also didn't have any outstanding debts from their prior business ventures. They were kind of the epitome of the American dream at this time.

11:35They worked hard, raised a family, and were enjoying the fruits of their labor. Really, it seems like most people saw them as normal retirees, who loved being grandparents to their nine grandchildren. Shirley liked reading, doing crossword puzzles, and playing bridge, while Russell liked to spend his time golfing, walking, and reading. While they'd since sold their boat, they did retain their dock and enjoyed being near the water, and both maintained routines that their friends knew well, like attending Lake Oconee Community Church nearly every Sunday. Their pastor was someone who was very outspoken in this case.

12:12He said that their loss was indescribable, and their entire community had a difficult time coping. Really, the only major upset in their life that investigators could find was the murder of their oldest son, Mark. In the year 2000, when Mark was 47, he was killed in a drug deal gone wrong. Now, Mark was troubled throughout most of his life, and suffered greatly from substance use disorder. His family offered support, and he attended a variety of rehabilitation programs throughout his life, but ultimately it did result in his murder. Troy Major was ultimately convicted of that murder, and is currently serving a life sentence at a maximum security facility in Georgia.

12:56So, at first glance, investigators believe that there may be something there. but Mark was killed 14 years before all of this happened, and Shirley and Russell distanced themselves from him long before that. After many attempts to help Mark, who often stole from his parents, they eventually just walked away. They didn't attend his funeral or any of the court proceedings. So the idea that someone came after Russell and Shirley 14 years later for some type of revenge seems extremely unlikely to investigators. Ultimately, they, and no one who knew the Dermans, could think of any reason someone would want to hurt them, or why they would want to hurt each other.

13:40But with Shirley missing, they really had no choice but to consider that she may have been involved, though most evidence they had didn't point to that being the case. Like I said, her purse and cash were all found in the home, as well as her car keys. So if she did do this, she, at 87 years old, would have left on foot or had some type of accomplice to help her get away from the scene. It was still a possibility, but investigators did find it unlikely to be the case and considered other options, like Shirley possibly being held for ransom somewhere, or worse. Either way, the search for Shirley began immediately, and a reward was offered for her safe return.

14:27Sheriff Sills says that he had her information on every electronic billboard in the state of Georgia within 10 hours of finding Russell. There was also a major search effort to find her in the surrounding area and beyond. Lake Oconee behind their home was also extensively searched and dragged, but no sign of Shirley was found. Until ten days later. On May 16th, two fishermen were out on their boat on Lake Oconee, about five miles from the Dermons' home, when they saw what they thought was a buoy. Unfortunately, it was Shirley. She was found floating face down in the water, with two red cinder blocks tied to her ankles.

15:11They weighed 30 pounds each. Sheriff Sills came to the scene to pull Shirley out of the water himself. While pretty much all evidence that may have been found on Shirley had been washed away at this point, they were able to gather some clues to help with the investigation. First, Shirley had not been decapitated. She was also fully clothed, including her shoes, and there were no signs that she'd been sexually assaulted. Now, without getting too graphic here, they also believe that the killer or potential killers weren't exactly professionals. While Shirley's body had been weighed down with these two 30-pound cinder blocks, an obvious attempt to conceal her body, whoever did this didn't factor in the body's natural decomposition process.

16:00Essentially, it was the natural gases that caused Shirley's body to float to the top of the water despite the 60 pounds of weight tied to her. They also determined that Shirley didn't drown, but that she died from blunt force trauma to the head, likely with a hammer or potentially a piece of wood. They believe she was placed in the water after her death. It was clear that Sheriff Sills and the FBI were now dealing with a double homicide.

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17:15Good help. Get out! Is hard to find. No! You need me to do this. A Hulu original. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Reddit R. Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus. For bundled subscribers, terms apply. Ten days after Russell Dermond was found deceased in his garage, his wife Shirley was unfortunately found deceased as well. Of course, as the searches for Shirley were being conducted, a massive investigation was happening in the background to find and interview witnesses, collect evidence, and put together a timeline for what may have happened. So by the time that Shirley was found, this investigation was well underway.

17:59Let's start with the timeline. Here's what we know. On Thursday, May 1st, 2014, so five days before the winds found Russell in the garage, Russell was seen running some errands in town. At 2.15pm, he transferred some money at the drive-thru of his bank. Now, there was nothing nefarious here, just regular banking business. I just wanted to include it for timeline purposes. At 2.26pm, he was seen at Publix picking up a prescription for Shirley, as well as buying a loaf of bread and a few cucumbers. In that footage, he's seen wearing khaki shorts, a green polo shirt, and gym shoes. All of these items were later found in his bedroom, and as we know, he was later found deceased in his pajamas.

18:46That same day, Shirley was seen attending her weekly bridge club meeting in Eatonton. Both Russell and Shirley spoke to their son Brad Dermond on the phone that evening. On Friday, May 2nd, a neighbor believed that they saw Russell at a golf course near his home. They also believed that Shirley was still safe at home at this time, because the Friday edition of USA Today's crossword puzzle was found partially completed in their home, and Shirley was known to love crossword puzzles. However, Russell did fail to open a new email he received that day, which was out of character for him. Sheriff Sills ultimately estimated that they were likely killed sometime between Friday at 4.30pm when the mail was delivered and 4pm on Saturday when they missed the Kentucky Derby party at the Wins house.

19:36They considered that the couple may have been disturbed sometime into the night or early that morning due to Russell wearing pajamas and surely wearing normal clothing, but while speaking to their loved ones, it was revealed that Russell often enjoyed wearing his pajamas well into the afternoon on some days, so ultimately their difference in clothing didn't help them narrow down the timeline further. Now of course, one of their top priorities was collecting any video footage they could from that time, and you'd think that since they lived in this gated community with security cameras, that surely there would be some type of video evidence, or at least a few witnesses who may have heard or seen something, but that doesn't really appear to be the case.

20:22If whoever did this came by car, they'd have to pass by the gate which was operated by a security guard. But apparently, if you had a Reynolds decal, like the residents and many of the contract workers in the area did, or if you just said that you were going to the club for lunch, they'd likely just wave you through. So while there was security, it didn't seem to be that intense. It wasn't like people were showing ID or signing in and out at this gate. And the guards ultimately couldn't provide any helpful information there. This really fueled investigators' theory that whoever did this came by boat.

20:59The Dermans' house was right against the water. As far as any security footage? Well, it looks like the cameras were on the fritz due to a recent storm, so nothing was caught on video at the gate or at any of the other surrounding cameras. This was actually completely unknown to residents at this time, which brings up an interesting theory, that the killer or killers likely didn't know that the cameras were down, unless they had inside information or work security themselves. Investigators pulled footage from every camera at local residences and businesses that they could. They got footage from the docks at the lake, but again, nothing useful was found.

21:43and the Dermans did have a security system on their home, but it apparently wasn't activated at the time. However, they did usually keep their doors locked and since there was no sign of forced entry into the home, investigators believe that whoever did this was likely someone they knew and let into their home willingly, or at least answered the door for. They also believe it's likely that there was more than one perpetrator. So let's get into some more of the specific details of both Russell and Shirley's murder, which of course, I want to warn you, will be graphic at times, though I will do my best to keep it as respectful as possible.

22:24Sheriff Sills and FBI Special Agent Andy Smith have both expressed their opinion that Russell and Shirley likely faced more than one killer. They specifically cite the difficulty of moving Shirley's body after her death. Like I mentioned earlier, there was really no crime scene found in the home outside of Russell's body. Nothing was disturbed, there was no blood spatter, nothing like that. They ultimately only found a few unknown fingerprints which have not yet been linked to anyone. Due to how little was found in the home, investigators just don't believe that they were killed there. So moving Shirley's body from wherever she was killed into a boat, tying on the cinder blocks, and then placing her in the water would have been extremely difficult for one person to do.

23:12Not impossible, but extremely difficult. They also believe it's possible that whoever did this didn't actually intend to leave Russell's body in the garage or in the home at all, that like Shirley, they planned to conceal his body, but for some reason they couldn't, and decapitated him as a last resort to hide evidence of how he was killed. There was gunshot residue found on Russell's collar, but no gunshot wounds on his body and no casings at the scene. So the idea is that they decapitated him to prevent forensics from being performed on a possible gunshot wound to his head. That way it was harder for it to be traced back to a gun and a gun owner.

23:58But probably the most heartbreaking of all was that some of Shirley's hair was found in Russell's hand. Investigators and members of the German family believe it's possible that Russell died trying to protect Shirley. While he was nearing the age of 90, Russell was described as a tough old bird who would have fought back. Now, I will say that there are some conflicting ideologies here. While investigators have stated that they find it unlikely that the killer or killers knew what they were doing when attempting to conceal Shirley's body, they do believe that whoever did this may have had more experience in cutting or decapitation due to how clean the cut to Russell's neck was.

24:42They believe it was done in one cut, with a very sharp object, possibly a machete or something of the like. Though, like Russell's head, the murder weapon has never been found. They just find it very unlikely that someone without some type of relevant skill set, either killing previously or possibly some type of medical background, would have by luck been able to make such a clean cut. Though of course, I'll say it again, it's not impossible. Again, it all goes back to who would have done something like this and why. The motive clearly wasn't to rob them, and they didn't appear to have any old business partners who were scorned, but it still seemed personal.

25:27As we see in most investigations, investigators work from the Darmans' inner circle out, starting with their immediate family. Their children did come to their home a few days after Russell was found to assist in the investigation into his murder, and at that time the search for their mother, so they were there pretty much immediately. They went through the home and confirmed that nothing appeared to be missing. Now, Sheriff Sills was very upfront about his belief that every person except himself was being considered a suspect at that time. He said he was the only person he could confirm didn't kill them, so he was looking at everyone else.

26:06The Derman children were thoroughly looked into. They were interviewed, given polygraph tests that they passed, and eventually their whereabouts were confirmed using cell phone records. They also scoured through thousands of pages of their bank statements and credit card records, looking for anything suspicious there. Money seems like an obvious motive, but nothing was found. The Dermans' will and life insurance policies were scrutinized too, but again, nothing was found pointing to their kids or any of their family. I think it's also worth noting that while Shirley was missing, the Dermans' assets were completely frozen, which I think only leads more credence to the theory that this wasn't done for anyone to collect their assets or a life insurance payout.

26:52Basically, if they wanted that money, they would have to prove that Shirley was dead, and attempting to conceal her body directly conflicts with that theory. Ultimately, investigators do not believe that they were involved, or have any information they're not sharing. They've stated several times that they've been nothing but cooperative. Now, the FBI did compile a profile of what the potential killer or killers may have been like, and they concluded that they likely enjoyed hunting and using knives, which was ultimately not helpful to narrow it down. They looked into old business partners, and there was nothing there either.