commentary by Patrick H. Moore
We all know that for the most part the poor people get the dirty end of the stick. On occasion, however, even the privileged are confronted by bad luck so uncanny that one would think a malevolent fate – cackling gleefully – had singled them out for particularly nightmarish treatment.
Nightmarish treatment, however, comes in degrees and levels, and is in the eye of the beholder. I think all of us would agree, though, that to be 88-years-old, comfortably retired, dwelling contentedly with your wife of 7 decades, and to have your world turned upside down (literally) by DECAPITATION would be a singularly malevolent fate.
Reynolds Plantation (AKA Great Waters) is a gated neighborhood of expansive homes on the shore of sprawling Lake Oconee outside Eatonton, Georgia. It is approximately 75 miles southeast of Atlanta. Security officers abound and crime is rare. In a news conference, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills opined:
“This home is in one of the most exclusive gated communities in the state of Georgia. I don’t remember even a burglary that I can even recall in the whole subdivision.”
So where’s the beef, you ask? Hold onto your heads and I will tell you…
Homeowner Russell Dermond, 88, was found beheaded in his Georgia garage attached to his 3,300 square-foot home on Tuesday, May 6th. The grisly crime was discovered by a friend who happened to spot his headless body lying inside the garage. His head was nowhere to be found, however, and as of Friday morning, it had still not been located.
Mr. Dermond’s wife, 87-year-old Shirley Dermond is missing and is believed to have been kidnapped as part of what appears to be a rather macabre home invasion.
An autopsy has been performed and Putnam County Deputy Coroner Marcus Turner reports that Russell Dermond was already dead when his head was cut off. He is believed to have died of a head or brain injury.
Local law enforcement is, frankly, stumped, and the FBI has been called in to help with the search for poor Shirley.
In the press conference, Sheriff Sills said the couple’s lakefront home showed no signs of a struggle or forced entry and no ransom note was left behind.
“We looked in the woods adjacent to the house, we looked in the lake. Her pocketbook and things like that are there, her cellphone is there, the car is there — we don’t have anything to track.”
Sheriff Sills believes that the apparent precision of, first, the decapitation of Russell Dermond, and second, the kidnapping of his wife suggests that the killing wasn’t random.
The Sheriff was careful to point out that law enforcement, at least at this juncture, does not view Shirly Dermond as a suspect:
“The best we can determine from all sources is that this was a perfect marriage. There’s nothing that we have found out so far that looks askance or gives us any particular motive.”
“The body was moved, and I just don’t think an 87-year-old lady can do it. She’s gone. Her personal effects are still at the house. The totality of what we’re seeing here leaves me to believe she was abducted and not a suspect. But I’m never going to say never until I know differently.”
Investigators are interviewing people who knew the Dermonds, and authorities are also reviewing surveillance footage from the community.
“I certainly hope that she’s still alive but I’m not overly optimistic because of (what happened to) her husband. If it’s an abduction, you would expect some sort of extortion demand. If it was an assassination you would think both of the people would be there — both bodies would be there.”
Mr. Dermond’s body was found Tuesday, a full five days ago, and as of Sunday, the investigators are believed to have no solid leads. In fact, Sheriff Sills, who seems to be displaying an admirable candor, said police have not been able to come up with any suspects despite speaking to relatives, including the couple’s three children, who have been cooperative, and speaking to several friends and acquaintances.
“Let me tell you, the only person who is not a suspect is Sheriff Sills, because I know where I was,” said the Sheriff, who seems to lack any measure of untoward self-importance.
Sills did suggest that the killer-kidnapper(s) could have arrived by boat:
“This is a huge lake. It spans four counties and entry could’ve been made by the lake.”
The Dermonds moved to Great Waters from Atlanta after he retired. Russell Dermond reportedly used to own fast food franchises. Neither Russell nor Shirley had any history of mental illness nor known health problems.
The couple has three children, two sons and a daughter, all of whom live out of state and are cooperating with investigators. The last contact any of the children had with their parents was April 29th.
Sills told Channel 2 that there hasn’t been a home invasion in the area for 18 years.
The Dermonds’ neighbors are shocked that such a violent crime had been committed against the couple.
“We were all in shock and we really just don’t know how they’d have any enemies or anybody who’d want to do anything to them,” the Reverend David Key of Oconee Lake Community Church told USA Today.
“They’re the last couple that you would think anybody would break in and do this kind of violence to.”
Naturally, relatives of the couple said they were praying that police find the elderly woman alive.
“This absolutely makes no sense at all,” their son, Bradley Dermond, who had driven up from Florida, told WMAZ-TV. He added that his parents were the “salt of the Earth.”
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A few things to consider (which the investigators probably have already looked into): Whether the killer-kidnapper(s) arrived by boat or car, you would expect there to be some kind of surveillance videos. How did they get into the gated complex? Do the guards keep a record of all non-residents who enter the complex? Are their walls that the murderer(s) might have scaled? Of course, it the murderers arrived by water they could have presumably docked and walked up to the house, perhaps entering through a back door.
These are all fairly obvious questions. One possibility, however, which really needs to be considered is this: Was Shirley Dermond even present at the time of the home invasion? Perhaps she was somewhere else playing bridge or canasta with her friends. (Do people still play canasta?) Or God forbid, perhaps Sheriff Sills is wrong and Ms. Dermond turned against her husband for unknown reasons and was in cahoots with the murderer(s)…
Whatever the facts of the case turn out to be (assuming it is ever solved), terrifying incidents of this nature are part of the reason so many American homeowners are armed and dangerous. People should be able to feel safe in their homes. Although I live in what has historically been a rather safe neighborhood tucked securely away in a reasonably safe city, there are moments when I wonder if I should get off my high horse and start packing heat. Suppose killer-kidnappers armed with machetes burst through our French doors with mayhem in mind. My severed head could roll across the floor of my computer room even as I’m bravely attempting to type this last sen……