The jury found the disgraced lawyer guilty Richard Merritt guilty on all charges in under an hour. Merritt who was on trial for the murder of his 77-year-old mother Shirley Merritt. Check out our live blog below for all the updates from the verdict and sentencing immediately after.
The Case:
Richard Merritt, a disgraced lawyer, is accused of killing his mother on the day he was supposed to report to prison for unrelated financial crimes in February 2019.
Prosecutors allege Merritt brutally stabbed 77-year-old Shirley Merritt while she was cooking him what was supposed to be his last meal before he went off to prison. Merritt allegedly stabbed his mother multiple times in the back and face — the force of the stabbings was so large that the handle of the knife he was using broke off.
Investigators also found a 35-pound dumbbell with hair and blood on it that Merritt allegedly used to beat his mom’s head in. Immediately after the murder, Merritt took off to Tennessee where he lived under a new alias. He got a job at a bar, started online dating, and met a new girlfriend. Eight months later, U.S. Marshals caught up with Merritt and arrested him for the horrifying crime.
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