PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. — Who killed the Dermonds?
A question that remains as the case in the murders of Russell and Shirley Dermond approaches the 10-year mark unsolved. Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement are offering a total of $25,000 for anyone who can help solve the case.
The FBI increased its reward to $20,000, while the Putnam County Sheriff's Office reward is $5,000.
The reward increase comes after DNA testing led to a fresh break in the decade-old murder case. Labs confirmed that authorities found DNA that doesn't belong to either Russell or Shirley in evidence.
In May 2014, homicide detectives were called to investigate the murder of Russell and Shirley Dermond. Russell, 88, was found decapitated inside of his garage. Ten days later, a pair of fishermen found Shirley, 87, dead near a Lake Oconee dam about five miles from their Eatonton lakefront home.
Authorities said her remains were found in the water, with two red cinder blocks tied around her ankles, in an effort to weigh her down.
The latest DNA break in the case leaves authorities hopeful as they continue the search for the killer almost 10 years later.
"Over the last couple of years, we have taken articles of potential evidence, things that we've had since these crimes occurred," to labs outside of Houston and Salt Lake City, Putnam Sheriff Howard Sill told 11Alive's Cody Alcorn last week. "These laboratories have found DNA on these articles and yesterday I got a call from one of the labs, informed me they had located DNA or found DNA on some of the things we took to Utah that did not come from Shirley or Russell Dermond."
Sheriff Sills said the lab is currently looking for more DNA to "hopefully get enough to where it can be submitted" to criminal DNA databases. Sills noted they can't yet entirely rule out the DNA may belong to a law enforcement officer, investigator, state crime lab technician or someone else who has been involved in the case over the years.
Nearly a decade later, authorities have not given up on the murder investigation and finding justice for the couple. The case has shaken up the Lake Oconee neighborhood.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the FBI Atlanta Office at 770-216-3000 or the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 706-485-8557.