In the quiet town of Winder, Georgia, a beloved elderly couple, Dorothy E. Hess, a 72-year-old white female, and her husband, Willard 'Ron' Hess, 70, were found murdered in their home on Southridge Road in May 2019. The gruesome discovery was made by their teenage grandson who lived across the street and had gone to check on them. He immediately alerted authorities, and the case was swiftly classified as a double homicide.
Investigators from the Barrow County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no signs of forced entry, leading them to believe the couple may have known their killer or were otherwise deceived into allowing them into their home. Both Dorothy and Willard Hess had been shot to death. Neighbors described the couple as extremely caring and sweet people, and Dorothy was last seen alive a few days prior, cutting her grass.
A key piece of evidence that emerged early in the investigation was a dark-colored, four-door sedan seen in the neighborhood around the time of the murders. Authorities released images of the vehicle of interest, hoping for public assistance in identifying the driver, but this lead did not immediately result in any arrests. The neighborhood had only one entrance and exit, making the presence of the unfamiliar car particularly noteworthy.
A significant development in the case came over a year later when the FBI linked the murders to a broader investigation into an international opioid ring and the dark web. It was discovered that within days of their deaths, the Hesses' identities had been stolen and their personal information was being sold online. Their credit cards were used fraudulently after their deaths. This led federal agents to a man named Durrell Tyler, who was indicted in a fraud case involving the purchase of stolen information from numerous elderly victims, including the Hesses, on the darknet. While Tyler was a suspect in the fraud case and pleaded not guilty, authorities did not name him as a suspect in the murders. The investigation into the brutal slaying of Dorothy and Willard Hess continues.
