GA GA - Shirley, 87, & Russell Dermond, 88, Putnam Co, 2 May 2014 - #13

[dancinunderthemoon]

I have often wondered if they looked for foot prints. This screams family each time I think of this the 1st thing that comes to mind is the family

It was discussed early in the threads IIRC but dont recall if it was discussion only or if this was actually reported

BUT...Ya gotta wonder if it was or not!.….Seems to me that murder of anyone, parents or otherwise... is coldblooded.....Im not sure the beheading was intended or planned...….something went amiss...Ive stated this time and again on why I think this..….

SO....maybe an unintended beheading would make a murder not coldblooded ?

People kill their parents everyday and have beheaded them...…...not sure WHO On here KNOWS the family so well to specifically say the family was or was not involved

Remember if we don't know who did, we cant so who did NOT

I know SS says it was not the family in his opinion and he's said he has some persons of interest STS, but nothing to even move forward in the investigation, just a hunch of his he says

Until he does have something to move forward in investigation...……..we have no suspect and no DNA known

 

[Deleted member 162919]

Well SS says they aren't suspects but he really can't come out and say if they were because the lawsuits would start pouring in and it could blow any chance of nailing the murderer. I think 1 of the reasons why I suspect family is the info about the female family member who wasn't telling the truth about something during the 1st questioning and then SS had to take a firmer tone with her and she broke down. SS says they are all cleared but that female family member breaking down and misleading investigators is very suspicious to me. It might not be one of their kids but someone in that family she was protecting possibly a grandchild or an inlaw.

 

[Deleted member 162919]

when the female broke down it was during the 2nd round of questioning I might add so SS checked her story out once and caught her lying

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Well SS says they aren't suspects but he really can't come out and say if they were because the lawsuits would start pouring in and it could blow any chance of nailing the murderer. I think 1 of the reasons why I suspect family is the info about the female family member who wasn't telling the truth about something during the 1st questioning and then SS had to take a firmer tone with her and she broke down. SS says they are all cleared but that female family member breaking down and misleading investigators is very suspicious to me. It might not be one of their kids but someone in that family she was protecting possibly a grandchild or an inlaw.

RIght, he said it was a hunch or some term similar......cant start naming people you THINK are involved without evidence and even then, you need arrests, indictments...….that says more, but not even then always meaning they're guilty

Yeah that sticks in my mind too, why the need to lie? Who was that? grandaugther? daughter? Daughter in law? Neice?

Well, we don't know, but some things just seem very suspicious, but if we don't know who, we cant say who didn't...…...

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

when the female broke down it was during the 2nd round of questioning I might add so SS checked her story out once and caught her lying

Yes because they realized after the first round that she wasn't quite truthful so went back and questioned further, I think SS said he was a little more forceful the 2nd round...…..but then what? Just take their word for it? He said he didn't think she had anything to do with it, but " I never say never " SS stated

Well.... lies usually lead cops to the criminal...…..so there's that

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

I respect your opinion but I just don't see the family being involved. (Maybe indirectly). There would have been much easier ways to accomplish the D's demise. This was cold hearted and cold blooded imo.

because we don't have that kind of mind...…...somebody out there certainly did, could be family, could be ANYONE...the fact it doesn't seem random makes many suspicious it was family or connected I guess......I just wish whoever did this would be Caught soon, before they get into old age and get to avoid punishment...….this was SICK, no matter WHY they beheaded, just sick

 

[Deleted member 162919]

I would really like to know how the D's business was doing when they retired, who sold the restaurants the D's or the kids. Wendy's and Hardees are both very popular and rarely underperform. A guy in my town owns 7 Wendys and he's loaded. Wendys is all he owns and I know his house is worth 6 million, he has his own private jet he also has a summer home on Nantucket Island. The D's owned 19 and their net worth was 1.5 million ? My guess is they were worth much more and they could have the money in trusts which SS could not get access to.

 

[Razz]

I would really like to know how the D's business was doing when they retired, who sold the restaurants the D's or the kids. Wendy's and Hardees are both very popular and rarely underperform. A guy in my town owns 7 Wendys and he's loaded. Wendys is all he owns and I know his house is worth 6 million, he has his own private jet he also has a summer home on Nantucket Island. The D's owned 19 and their net worth was 1.5 million ? My guess is they were worth much more and they could have the money in trusts which SS could not get access to.

I agree with you 100% on this. Where is/was their money?!

 

[Deleted member 162919]

Either the kids ran the company into the ground or they sold out and made a good profit. But we'll never know is my guess

 

[wildebeest]

I respect your opinion but I just don't see the family being involved. (Maybe indirectly). There would have been much easier ways to accomplish the D's demise. This was cold hearted and cold blooded imo.

Hi, Razz! I have thought from the beginning a family member(s) were involved. This was an elderly couple, who seemed to be active, healthy, and enjoying life. Who would want them murdered? Who would have something to gain? That leaves a serial killer knocking on their door or encountering them in the yard. They did live in a gated community. Please tell me your thoughts, as I do respect your opinion.

 

[wildebeest]

I would really like to know how the D's business was doing when they retired, who sold the restaurants the D's or the kids. Wendy's and Hardees are both very popular and rarely underperform. A guy in my town owns 7 Wendys and he's loaded. Wendys is all he owns and I know his house is worth 6 million, he has his own private jet he also has a summer home on Nantucket Island. The D's owned 19 and their net worth was 1.5 million ? My guess is they were worth much more and they could have the money in trusts which SS could not get access to.

I didn’t know they owned this many restaurants! They should have had a lot more money. Unless, one or more children were extracting money from their parents through the years. Perhaps the parents became tired of doing this, seeing their net worth decrease, and put a stop to it?

IMHO

 

[TJtennispro]

7 Wendy’s isn’t even close to having a 6 million dollar house, private jet and home on Nantucket. Not even remotely close. Maybe he has lots of money in investments.

Also a warrant will get you information about trusts. Now you can’t get any of that money but you can find out how much was in the trust. The lake house doesn’t scream rich at all. It’s upper middle class.

I don’t think they were rich nor poor just a pretty normal amount of money for that area.

I would really like to know how the D's business was doing when they retired, who sold the restaurants the D's or the kids. Wendy's and Hardees are both very popular and rarely underperform. A guy in my town owns 7 Wendys and he's loaded. Wendys is all he owns and I know his house is worth 6 million, he has his own private jet he also has a summer home on Nantucket Island. The D's owned 19 and their net worth was 1.5 million ? My guess is they were worth much more and they could have the money in trusts which SS could not get access to.

 

[fred&edna]

Well SS says they aren't suspects but he really can't come out and say if they were because the lawsuits would start pouring in and it could blow any chance of nailing the murderer. I think 1 of the reasons why I suspect family is the info about the female family member who wasn't telling the truth about something during the 1st questioning and then SS had to take a firmer tone with her and she broke down. SS says they are all cleared but that female family member breaking down and misleading investigators is very suspicious to me. It might not be one of their kids but someone in that family she was protecting possibly a grandchild or an inlaw.

'Wish we knew more about why and how she initially lied.
'Seems mighty risky to lie to law enforcement - particularly when they are investigating the very vicious murders of family members. JMO

 

[Deleted member 162919]

Local tv station did a bio on him, went from teaching right into buying a Wendy's franchise mortgaged his whole future on the 1 and it paid off. Wendy's is a very profitable franchise as most people prefer Wendy's over McD's and BK.

 

[TJtennispro]

I want to bring jggordo post back forward from this summer. My edit. Keep in mind that hadn’t owned a fast food restaurant since 1994 when things were much cheaper. Everything will cost 73.55% more today than 1994. Edit 2 they owned 19 Hardee’s restaurants and had 1.3 million net worth total. Confirmed by DD.


Having spent my entire adult life in the food and beverage industry I can tell you that the profit margin in the fast food business is very small. Usually about 10% if all goes well. A family can have a very successful "Mom and Pop" restaurant and support a small family accordingly. However a "Franchise" restaurant is a very different situation. In essence the Franchisee owner works for the Franchisor. After paying all the "Franchise Fees" there is even less profit margin left.

Fees and Estimated Costs

• Application Fee – $5,000
• Background Check Fee – $325 per person
• Technical Assistance Fee – $40,000 per restaurant (franchise fee – for a 20 year term)
• Royalties – 4% of gross sales
• National advertising – 3.5% of gross sales
• Local advertising – 0.5% of gross sales
• Initial investment (for development of new restaurants) – There are many factors that influence the development costs for a new restaurant including, but not limited to: the cost of real estate, building size and design features, local labor and building supplies, permitting, etc. The estimated total investment required to begin operation of a new restaurant normally ranges from $2,000,000 to $3,500,000.

All in all, in the end the Franchise BELONGS to the Franchisor. The family can will the restaurants themselves with all the assets, etc. However that sign out front and the rights to use the name, menu and everything else is NOT the family's to transfer and must be approved by the parent Franchisor. It's kind of like giving your car to your child at your death. Without a license they can't drive it.

 

[dancinunderthemoon]

Wonder why someone would own so many if there is not much gain

Of course I think I remember that the franchises were opened purposely for his children

Wasn't that in an online interview? Or article?

 

[deugirtni]

Wonder why someone would own so many if there is not much gain

Of course I think I remember that the franchises were opened purposely for his children

Wasn't that in an online interview? Or article?

Exactly. I doubt if people would bother to waste their money owning multiple locations, or even own franchises at all, if there wasn't appropriate financial gain involved. There are a lot of easier ways to throw away money than to run a fast food franchise with lots of employees, health regs, and etc.

 

[fred&edna]

True Crime Chronicles podcast.

A Lake With No Leads

True Crime Chronicles

 

[TJtennispro]

My understanding is they owned Dermond Food Services which was dissolved in 2001 when the two sons sold the restaurants to Ramsey Development.

Brad Dermond is now a realtor for Sotheby’s International.

The reason one would own multiple of anything is the same across all businesses. If one store makes $15,000 dollar in revenue a year if you want to make good money you need to own about 15 of those businesses a year. That would give you $225,000 a year profit or about $158,000 after taxes which is probably about what the couple roughly made a year.

It’s also highly possible the restaurants were gifted to the children which would be a tax benefit for the couple while giving their children a future.

This wasn’t a poor family but my friend from high school Dad owned 22 Papa John Pizza Company’s in Nashville and they had a fairly similar net worth to the Dermonds.

Another friends Dad owned every Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut in Tennessee and Kentucky and had a lot more money. Probably closer to $500,000 a year.

The only difference is the second father owns more investments.

Wonder why someone would own so many if there is not much gain

Of course I think I remember that the franchises were opened purposely for his children

Wasn't that in an online interview? Or article?

 

[TJtennispro]

Starting at 7:40 into the podcast “ SS pauses before saying that the records he has reviewed don’t show anything heinous enough to warrant the vicious manner of killings”

The way I took that is that they screwed someone over big time but not this big time. He wanted to say something but didn’t and the FBI is finally involved.