Former attorney sentenced to life after jury finds him guilty for killing his mom
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Former Georgia attorney Richard Merritt has been found guilty on all charges and was sentenced to life for the 2019 murder of his mother.
After more than an hour of deliberation, a DeKalb County jury found him guilty on all counts including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.
Merritt first made headlines in 2019 after pleading guilty to defrauding several of his clients during his time as an attorney. After he was sentenced to 15 years he failed to turn himself in.
Authorities say he cut off his ankle monitor, stabbed his mother to death, and took off in her SUV prompting a nationwide manhunt that lasted for 8 months.
A judge sentenced Merritt to life without parole, plus five years.
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