The Trail Went Cold

May 6, 2014. Putnam County, Georgia. After he is not heard from for over four days, the beheaded body of 88-year old Russell Dermond is discovered inside his garage and his 87-year old wife, Shirley Dermond, is missing. Ten days later, Shirley’s body is discovered five miles away in Lake Oconee after she was weighed down in the water with some cinder blocks. Her cause of death is determined to blunt force trauma, but Russell’s head is never recovered. Investigators are unable to uncover any strong suspects and there is nothing in the Dermonds’ background to indicate why they would be the victims of such a brutal crime. In recent years, traces of unidentified touch DNA has been found on Russell’s clothing, but the murders continue to remain unsolved. For our first episode of 2026, “The Trail Went Cold” explores the unsolved double homicide of an elderly couple, which is considered to be one of the most baffling cold cases of the modern era. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killings_of_Russell_and_Shirley_Dermond https://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article228972684.html https://www.cbsnews.com/news/autopsy-elderly-georgia-man-dead-when-head-was-cut-off/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-have-person-of-interest-in-murder-of-georgia-elderly-couple/ https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/beheading-mystery-upscale-community-still-confounds-georgia-sheriff/FfLXS5am2RgITlUbahtphO/ https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/investigations/gone-cold-the-murders-at-lake-oconee-4-years-later-elderly-couples-son-opens-up/67-549362307 https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/5-years-later-murders-of-lake-oconee-couple-continue-to-confound/946649166/ https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/years-later-murders-lake-oconee-couple-continue-confound/TozzJXuLvXXbu8f7zbWcPL/ https://www.11alive.com/article/news/investigations/gone-cold/gone-cold-the-murders-at-lake-oconee-4-years-later-elderly-couples-son-opens-up/85-548449019 https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/lake-oconee-beheading-mystery-russell-shirley-dermond-putnam-county https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/community/more-than-a-number/sheriff-private-lab-finds-dna-in-dermond-murders-9-year-old-cold-case-3/93-007e80f5-99d4-4e50-adb0-5fabeaa17380 https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/cold-cases/fbi-new-leads-cellphone-data-dna-evidence-brutal-killings-elderly-georgia-couple-lake-oconee/85-9de921b0-385c-4305-9ebe-615ab3031eb4 https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/03/01/georgia-sheriff-expecting-dna-results-2014-double-murder-atlvault/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

“Below the Surface” is a true crime podcast covering a variety of strange and bizarre cases with one common theme; a water connection. The show features both solved and unsolved cases, some of which are well known, while others have received little attention. In this special preview of Episode 1, we explore the puzzling case of journalist Kim Wall who was best known for her articles in the Guardian, New York Times, and Vice. She disappeared in a submarine beneath the Oresund Strait after interviewing inventor Peter Madsen on August 10, 2017. We can only speculate on what exactly happened below the surface, but upon the submarine’s resurface, Kim was missing, but Peter Madsen was not.  Below the Surface is hosted by Olivia McKenzie (co-host of True Crime Society). It's produced by Mike Morford of AbJack Entertainment (co-host of Criminology). Research and writing by Abagail Belcastro (Campus Killings).   You can find Below the Surface on your favourite social media outlets.

Since “The Trail Went Cold” originally launched in February 2016, we have featured over 500 cold cases on the podcast, a number of which have wound up being solved or  experienced major developments. As a result, we have now released a total of seven special “update” episodes. In this particular episode, we’ll share a number of major updates which occurred in 2025, such as a resolution in the 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders, Tommy Zeigler’s most recent attempts to overturn his conviction for the 1975 Winter Garden Furniture Store Murders, the potential discovery of three missing victims from the 1958 Martin Family Disappearance, and the identification of a 1971 murder victim formerly known as “Little Miss Panasoffkee”. These are just some of the cases we’ll be discussing on our most recent “update” episode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Here are the links to our six previous “update” episodes:  https://trailwentcold.podbean.com/e/the-trail-went-cold-episode-155-update/  https://trailwentcold.podbean.com/e/the-trail-went-cold-episode-257-update-part-2/  https://trailwentcold.podbean.com/e/the-trail-went-cold-episode-310-update-part-3/  https://trailwentcold.podbean.com/e/the-trail-went-cold-episode-359-update-part-4/ https://trailwentcold.podbean.com/e/the-trail-went-cold-episode-369-update-part-5/ https://trailwentcold.podbean.com/e/the-trail-went-cold-episode-412-update-part-6/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

For the month of December, True Crime creators are getting together for a series titled “True Crime Convos” in which we have conversations about podcasting, true crime, and the nexus between the two. We discuss creating our shows, behind-the-scenes moments, fears and hopes, the cases that have gripped us, and more. In this episode, I will be joined by Nina Innsted from “Already Gone” and John from “Sins & Survivors”, as we discuss how we got into podcasting, our passion projects, what we have in store for 2026, our favourite holiday traditions, and also things you might not know about us! Enjoy this conversation and be sure to check out the rest of the “True Crime Convos” series: • Jessie (Love Murder), Bob (Buried), Joshua (Somewhere in the Pines) • Javier (Pretend), Kristen (Murder, She Told), Shaun (Sins & Survivors) • Patrick (True Crime Obsessed), Josh (True Crime Bullshit), Eric (True Consequences) • Gillian (True Crime Obsessed), Alvin (Affirmative Murder), Lanie (True Crime Cases with Lanie) • Aaron (Generation Why), Lucy (Wine & Crime), Kristen (Murder, She Told) • Amanda (Wine & Crime), Josh (True Crime Bullshit), Andie (Love Murder), Charlie (Crimelines) The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

Christmas Eve 1963. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 34-year old Lucille Rinaldi, who happens to be five months pregnant, is bludgeoned and suffocated to death inside an apartment belonging to her husband, Frank Rinaldi. Even though Frank was supposedly out Christmas shopping when the crime took place, he is charged and convicted of Lucille’s murder after investigators learn that Frank took out a life insurance policy on his wife and there are also allegations surface that he was a closeted gay man. However, after the Supreme Court of North Carolina rules that the jury was unfairly prejudiced at Frank’s trial, his conviction is overturned and he is acquitted at his retrial. Was Lucille Rinaldi actually murdered by her husband or did the real killer manage to get away with it? On this week’s holiday-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a controversial and sensationalist Christmas Eve murder case. Join us on Saturday, December 20 at 8:00pm ET for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link. Additional Reading: "Time of Death: The True Tale of a Quest for Justice in 1960s Chapel Hill" by Nora Gaskin https://www.newspapers.com/image/652430172/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/939529735/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/791770654/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1026944384/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/463569154/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/463569188/ https://indyweek.com/news/archives-news/cautionary-tale-d-a-jim-hardin/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.