What happened to Russell and Shirley Dermond, the husband-and-wife duo murdered on Lake Oconee?

On May 6, 2014, the community in Putnam County, Georgia was undoubtedly affected and left devastated when the decapitated body of Russell Dermond, 88, who had been initially shot, was discovered inside the garage of his property on Lake Oconee. In a shocking turn of events, authorities were unable to locate either Russell’s severed head or Shirley, 87, in the house, with law enforcement then assuming that his wife had been kidnapped and potentially held for ransom. However, Shirley’s body was soon found floating in the nearby lake, where her body had been weighed down with concrete blocks.

Despite the murder case now being a decade old, interest in the story has unsurprisingly yet to waver over the years. In fact, new evidence could possibly shed light on the perpetrators of the crime.

Why is the case still so shocking?

One of the biggest reasons the case remains so shocking is due to the mystery of it all. As of 2024, no suspect has been identified, although investigators are still looking into evidence and remain motivated to determine what exactly happened to the elderly couple. Along with no identity of the murderer being brought forth, police have also never been able to find Russell’s decapitated head — leading authorities to believe that whoever committed the heinous crime took the head with them.

Over the years, several theories have been discussed in Reddit threads and in chat forums, with one theory pointing at the crime as possibly being a “hit” that was ordered on the Dermonds. Thus, taking the head would be a sign of “proof” that the murder was completed. Another theory suggests that Russell’s head was taken from the scene of the crime so that police could not test bullets discovered in the head to determine what gun the bullets came from.

Despite the theories and emerging evidence, there’s simply no denying the grotesque nature of the crimes, which were obviously committed by an individual — or perhaps more than one — with an evil vendetta against the otherwise peaceful couple.