Breaking: Georgia lawmakers vote to release Epstein files
Crime & Public Safety
Crime & Public Safety

COLD CASE: Brutal slaying of elderly couple remains unsolved

Russell and Shirley Dermond were killed in May 2014 in a case that has baffled investigators.
Russell and Shirley Dermond were killed in May 2014 in a case that has baffled investigators.
By Christian Boone
Aug 4, 2017

Howard Sills is entering his third decade as sheriff in Putnam County.

And there is one case that frustrates him more than any other: the grisly murder of Russell and Shirley Dermond more than three years ago. Russell Dermond was beheaded.

Sills called it “the absolute most confounding thing I’ve ever dealt with in my entire career.”

Read the full story at myajc.com

>> Want  to learn about more cold cases? Sign up for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's crime and public safety newsletter.

About the Author

A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.

Follow Christian Boone on twitter
More Stories

The Latest

(Photo Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC | Source: Getty, Unsplash)

Credit: Philip Robibero / AJC

Homicides down, police staffing up heading into Atlanta’s elections

Cobb mother gets 50 years in prison for toddler’s fentanyl death

Georgia judge resigns after Florida strip club arrest

Featured

WABE has cut staff and programming to accommodate the loss of $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which Congress defunded this month. (Rodney Ho/AJC 2025)

Credit: Rodney Ho/AJC

Donor leaves WABE $3 million, largest individual gift in station’s history

An Atlanta resident has bequeathed WABE a $3 million donation, the largest one-time individual donation in the nonprofit media operation’s 76-year history.

Usher sues business partners over failed Buckhead restaurant plan

Atlanta singer Usher wants his money back after loaning $1.7 million to music producer Bryan-Michael Cox and others to buy a Buckhead restaurant property for $6.3 million.

Braves’ original ‘Freeze’ is retired. But you probably still can’t catch him.

As the Atlanta Braves prepare to find their next sprinting mascot, Nigel Talton is enjoying his new career coaching high school athletes at McEachern High.