In May 2016, Lana Clayton walked into the York County Sheriff's Office and told deputies she'd accidentally shot her husband in the head with a crossbow while he slept. Steven Clayton backed up her story. Accident. No charges were filed. They moved on.

Two years later, Steve was dead — found at the bottom of the staircase in the South Carolina mansion he'd built as an exact replica of George Washington's Mount Vernon. The first theory was a fall, maybe a heart attack. It took his family's insistence on an autopsy, and a coroner who'd never even heard of the chemical she was looking at, to uncover what had actually happened.

This week, we're digging into the marriage behind the headlines — the six-time-married millionaire and the quiet VA nurse, a crossbow story that changed three separate times over the years, a judge who called it "the strangest case" of his career, and a family that waited a full year to bury their own brother so they could do it without the woman accused of killing him in the room.

And we're not done with this method yet. Because Lana Clayton's case didn't stay contained to South Carolina — and next week, we're following the thread to a second case that investigators believe was directly inspired by this one.

To see more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.

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For over a decade, Sheriff Howard Sills has carried the unsolved murders of Russell and Shirley Dermond with him — a case that's outlasted every other investigation of his forty-year career. In this episode, we go deep into the man behind the badge, the staggering range of theories the public threw at this case — mafia, cult, extremism, even an alligator — and the family who's spent twelve years asking not for revenge, but simply for an answer.

We also trace the forensic breakthroughs that have quietly reshaped this case in recent years: cellphone geolocation data, a touch-DNA discovery on Russell's own clothing, and a 2026 update suggesting these threads are finally converging. Somebody out there knows what happened at that lake house. This episode asks how much longer they can stay quiet

This case is still open. If you have any information about the murders of Russell and Shirley Dermond, contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 706-485-8557 or the FBI at 404-679-9000. A reward is still active.

If this episode kept you up thinking about it, follow Crime Clueless so you don't miss what we cover next — and leave us a rating or review, it genuinely helps other listeners find these cases.

To see more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.

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Russell and Shirley Dermond had been married for over 60 years. Retired, well-liked, and settled into a quiet gated community on Lake Oconee, Georgia, they were the kind of couple who never missed a neighborhood gathering — until the weekend of the 2014 Kentucky Derby, when they simply didn't show up.

Days later, concerned friends walk into their unlocked home and find a horrifying scene.

No forced entry. Nothing stolen. No known enemies.

In this episode, we walk through the disappearance, the discovery, and the earliest theories in a case that would go on to baffle investigators, the community, and their loved ones.

This case is still open. If you have any information about the murders of Russell and Shirley Dermond, contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 706-485-8557 or the FBI at 404-679-9000. A reward is still active.

If this episode kept you up thinking about it, follow Crime Clueless so you don't miss what we cover next — and leave us a rating or review, it genuinely helps other listeners find these cases.

To see more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.

Find Crime Clueless socials, website, and more here

Thank you for listening - we are grateful for you!

Support Crime Clueless - Buy Me A Coffee

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