GUILTY GA - Richard Vinson Merritt, 44, attorney, arrested for mom's murder, DeKalb Co., 5 Feb 2019

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enelram said:
I wanna hear from his high school or college buds. Betcha he
was a hellion and nobody could tell him what to do.
Also guessing that his father was very successful in his profession

and this son could never measure up and always tried to take the easy way out instead of working hard and steady for his money.
Saw one article that called him (RVM) an 'ambulance chaser'. Not a
good reputation for an attorney.
Click to expand...

RVM worked for the Mississippi Attorney General's office at one time. He's smart so he had a plan. Something derailed him and his career...alcohol? Was that it? Or more? Drugs?
I think you won't hear from college/ law school friends- most likely afraid of him.

JMO...

From AVVO
" Tried over fifty (50) cases to verdict by age thirty-four (34). Admitted, all Georgia state trial courts, Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court, Northern, Middle, and Southern Federal District Courts, 11th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals; member, State Bar of Georgia, American Bar Association, Tort/Insurance Practice Section of State Bar of Georgia, Atlanta Bar Association, UGA Alumni Association; barrister, Lamar and Bleckley Inns of Court; graduate, 2004 NAAG Trial Advocacy, 2002 DUI/Vehicular Homicide and 2001 BASIC Litigation Courses; judge, William F. Daniel and state high school mock trial competitions; legal intern/clerk, Mississippi Attorney General's Office; while at UGA, elected president of the Demosthenian Literary/Debate Society (oldest in the South); member, Defender/Advocate Society; chairman/president, UGA College Republicans (largest in the nation); selected for UGA at Oxford Program (Oxford University, England); undergraduate summer intern for Baker & McKenzie in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia."
 
enelram said:
From this article I gather younger brother Richard was spoiled
by the mother and she probably bailed him out many times
over the years. Older brother resented it and disagreed with
his mother over it.
Mother was fixing Richard's favorite meal when he beat her
and killed her.
I wonder how old Richard was when the father died? Could
be he never had any discipline instilled for bad behavior when
he was younger.
Doctor Dru says boys who grow up without a father or father
figure in their life, never learn how to regulate aggression.
Add in alcohol addiction and anger, aggression and lack of
impulse control plus no respect for mother or others (clients)
and you get this user attorney who used others for his own
benefit. No wonder his wife divorced him.

Fugitive lawyer Richard Meritt's brother issues challenge: 'Man up & give up'
Click to expand...

Looks like Richard's dad died in 2000, so 19ish years ago Richard would have been around 25 at the time his father died. Right out of law school no doubt.

Robert Kenneth Merritt (1937-2000) - Find A Grave...
 
That's quite a resume on his father. Very straight-laced military
and corporate background. Sometimes those are tough dads to have. Dad had high standards and principles according to the obit.
Did RVM go away to private school or military school? Did
the family live together when father was at the Pentagon all those
years?
Can't help but wonder if RVM stayed the course in his education
and career until his father died, then he strayed into a bit of
delayed rebellion and off the straight and narrow path. MOO.
 
justchrissy47 said:
No updates? Hope they find him soon
Click to expand...
I was sure they'd find this guy well before now. I suppose he could be anywhere at all. If he ditched his mother's car, which I presume he would have, seems a little odd that hasn't been found. There are a bazillion different parking lots and other places it could have been left, however. Let's hope he makes a huge mistake very soon and gets caught before someone else gets hurt.
 
Tripod said:
I was sure they'd find this guy well before now. I suppose he could be anywhere at all. If he ditched his mother's car, which I presume he would have, seems a little odd that hasn't been found. There are a bazillion different parking lots and other places it could have been left, however. Let's hope he makes a huge mistake very soon and gets caught before someone else gets hurt.
Click to expand...

I'd be looking in Mississippi and NW Alabama. RVM father was from Laurel and RVM went to law school in Mississippi.
Maybe the car was torched. There has to be a camera trail of SM car from the gas station near Cartersville. Cameras on highways....grocery stores, big box stores, Walmart. Still thinking he has a fake ID and bought another car.

JMO
 
OTPTarheel2018 said:
I'd be looking in Mississippi and NW Alabama. RVM father was from Laurel and RVM went to law school in Mississippi.
Maybe the car was torched. There has to be a camera trail of SM car from the gas station near Cartersville. Cameras on highways....grocery stores, big box stores, Walmart. Still thinking he has a fake ID and bought another car.

JMO
Click to expand...
All very possible. It's also possible he's no longer among the living. If that were true, it's just as imperative for him to be found so family and others can have peace of mind.
 
Found an article from last week. Unfortunately, there is still no news:

“[SBM]

Gail Stuck, Shirley [Merritt]’s sister, was stunned to find out what had happened and that the accused killer was none other than her nephew, prominent Cobb County, Georgia attorney Richard Merritt.

[SBM]

His whereabouts remain completely unknown, but Gail Stuck firmly believes that Merritt’s family in Laurel, Mississippi and his love for fishing and Irish pubs could lead him to our Coast or possibly New Orleans.

Richard’s brother, Robert, is a health scientist and professor at Emory University in Atlanta. His theory is that Richard could be virtually anywhere, alive or dead.

[SBM]”
The Hunt for Richard Merritt - WXXV 25
 
inmyhumbleopinion said:
Found an article from last week. Unfortunately, there is still no news:

“[SBM]

Gail Stuck, Shirley [Merritt]’s sister, was stunned to find out what had happened and that the accused killer was none other than her nephew, prominent Cobb County, Georgia attorney Richard Merritt.

[SBM]

His whereabouts remain completely unknown, but Gail Stuck firmly believes that Merritt’s family in Laurel, Mississippi and his love for fishing and Irish pubs could lead him to our Coast or possibly New Orleans.

Richard’s brother, Robert, is a health scientist and professor at Emory University in Atlanta. His theory is that Richard could be virtually anywhere, alive or dead.

[SBM]”
The Hunt for Richard Merritt - WXXV 25
Click to expand...
Thanks for this, IMHO. I was just thinking about this creep the other day.
Maybe St. Patty's day festivities will lure him out to some pubs where he'll get wasted and get arrested! Wouldn't that be loverly?
 
Lynetta said:
"...... Merritt’s 77-year-old mother was found dead in her posh Stone Mountain home. Investigators say she suffered several stab wounds and had been beaten in the head multiple times with a 35-pound dumbbell......" :eek::eek::(

The search continues for Richard Merritt

This is a long, well detailed article. I hope this guy is found. What a monster. :mad:
Click to expand...
Thanks for the article. I'm a little surprised the car he was driving hasn't shown up yet, but the guy is clever. A clever, sick monster, for sure.
 
OTPTarheel2018 said:
New article from AJC.

THE LATEST NOW: Where is the disbarred lawyer accused of killing his mom?

Where is that Lexus?

JMO
Click to expand...
From the article:

“‘There’s been absolutely no credible sightings of him since the night he disappeared,’ said Inspector Frank Lempka with the U.S. Marshals.

Merritt could be in Oxford, England, or more tropical locations like the Caribbean or Mexico, since he has gone on vacations to those places before, Lempka said. Investigators have conducted interviews with his associates, family members and other people who knew him.” (BBM)

Wouldn’t his passport have been flagged!?

I’m also surprised that presumably, the judge didn’t order him to surrender his passport before he was let out on bond. Now, it must be missing along with Merritt himself.
 
inmyhumbleopinion said:
From the article:

“‘There’s been absolutely no credible sightings of him since the night he disappeared,’ said Inspector Frank Lempka with the U.S. Marshals.

Merritt could be in Oxford, England, or more tropical locations like the Caribbean or Mexico, since he has gone on vacations to those places before, Lempka said. Investigators have conducted interviews with his associates, family members and other people who knew him.” (BBM)

Wouldn’t his passport have been flagged!?

I’m also surprised that presumably, the judge didn’t order him to surrender his passport before he was let out on bond. Now, it must be missing along with Merritt himself.
Click to expand...
Who the heck knows? His passport certainly SHOULD have been surrendered, even if he had no past history of running, or violence!
 
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