The Dermond’s Case | The Double Homicide on Lake Oconee, Georgia: The Prosecutors on Zone 7

Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum

The Derman Murders are the unsolved killings of Russell and Shirley Dermond in Putnam County, Georgia in May 2014. On May 6, 2014, Russell's decapitated body was found in the garage of his Lake Oconee home. He was 88 years old. Over a week later, Shirley's body was found floating in Lake Oconee. She was 87 years old and had been weighted down with concrete blocks. As of April 2024, the murders remain unsolved and Russell's head has not been found. The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers.

Guest Bio and Links:

Alice LaCour is a native Texan, a Yale Law School graduate, and a mean fiddler player. (She’s been known to go down to Georgia). In another life, she was a dancer, but now the courtroom is her stage. When she’s not lawyering she’s hanging with her husband and wrangling her three adorable children.

Brett Talley is a Southern gentleman who loves abandoned buildings, long walks on haunted beaches, and Cthluhu plushies. His saintly wife tolerates him, while his little girl and son hang on his every word–and love the podcast theme.

Listeners can learn more about The Prosecutors Podcast at their website, on IG @prosecutorspod

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, welcomes Brett and Alice from The Prosecutors Podcast to dive into the perplexing double homicide of Russell and Shirley Dermond in Lake Oconee, Georgia. Sheryl, Alice, and Brett cover various aspects of the case including the idyllic setting, Russell and Shirley’s background, the brutal nature of the crime, and the intriguing yet cruel methods employed by the killer. With insights from legal experts and firsthand involvement, they explore different theories, investigate motives, and emphasize the critical role of DNA evidence and genetic genealogy in bringing this case closer to resolution.

Show Notes:

• (0:00) Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum

• (0:15) Sheryl welcomes Brett and Alice from The Prosecutors Podcast

• (2:30) Brief background of the Dermond murders

• (4:30) Details of the crime scene in Putnam County, Georgia

• (5:00) Analysis of Shirley’s body being found in the lake

• (6:00) The brutality and peculiarities of the crime

• (10:30) Theories of mistaken identity and cartel involvement

• (14:00) Speculation on why Shirley might have been the target

• (16:30) Timeline and investigation insights

• (23:00) Importance of the boat in the crime's execution

• (27:00) Theories and intricacies of the crime scene

• (27:30) The lake and docking the boat

• (35:30) Revisiting the son’s tragic murder

• (42:00) Genetic genealogy technologies

• (50:00) Final reflections on the case's solvability

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  Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award-winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, a Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

  Social Links:

  • Email: [e-mail]

  • Twitter: @ColdCaseTips

  • Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

  Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

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