FBI increases reward in Lake Oconee murders of elderly couple to $25,000
By Adam Murphy
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — The reward to find a killer is now swelling to $25,000. This is a major new incentive to help solve the mysterious murder of an elderly Georgia couple almost 10 years ago.
The double murder of Russell and Shirley Dermond remains a mystery nearly a decade later. They were killed at their home on Lake Oconee in May of 2014. Russell had been beheaded in his garage and Shirley was found floating in the lake a few miles away.
Last week, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told Atlanta News First that he sent articles of clothing from the victims to the Sorenson Forensics lab in Utah, where they found traces of DNA belonging to someone other than the Dermonds.
“What I can say today is Sorenson has found DNA on some of the articles that I submitted to them, that I gave them, that contains DNA of someone other,” Sills said.
On Monday, the FBI in Atlanta announced it was offering a new $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
The $20,000 is in addition to $5,000 being offered by local authorities.
The FBI in Atlanta hopes that by increasing the reward it will generate more interest and tips to help investigators solve the case.
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