DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A disgraced attorney Richard Merritt will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole – after a jury found him guilty of killing his 77-year-old mother with a dumbbell and a knife.
Prosecutors said Richard Merritt brutally beat and stabbed his mother, 77-year-old Shirley Merritt, to death in 2019, on the same day he was supposed to report to prison for unrelated financial crimes.
Wednesday was day 3 of the trial that has gotten national attention.
This case started back in February 2019 on the day Merritt was supposed to turn himself in to prison for stealing money from elderly clients. His family said he planned on cutting off his ankle bracelet and leaving town so he didn’t have to serve his time. His mother Shirley didn’t want him to do that, so he killed her and took off to Tennessee.