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- * Richard Mueller, who is accused of drowning his wife
at their home in Edwardsville, suffered impaired judgment and had an increased
propensity for violence, psychiatrist says.
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- A psychiatrist testified Friday that Richard Mueller
Jr. suffered from a mental disorder caused by an antidepressant drug when
his wife was killed in 1997.
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- Dr. Kevin Miller said Mueller suffered from hypomania,
a mild form of mania with symptoms that include impaired judgment and an
increased propensity for violence.
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- Mueller, 43, is being tried on a charge of first-degree
murder in the drowning death of his wife, Kimberly, 37, on July 6, 1997,
in a bathtub at their home in Edwardsville.
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- Richard Mueller testified Thursday that he and his wife
both fell into a bathtub as they struggled with each other during a quarrel.
He and other witnesses have testified that the couple's marriage was troubled
and that the relationship deteriorated after Mueller began taking Prozac
in late 1996.
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- Miller, who teaches at St. Louis University's medical
school, said another doctor prescribed Prozac to treat Mueller's depression
and general anxiety. The drug produced some positive changes in Mueller's
personality but also caused the hypomania, Miller said.
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- He said someone suffering hypomania tends to be more
impulsive, more likely to engage in violent behavior and less sensitive
to the negative effect of his behavior on other people.
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- Miller said he took Mueller off Prozac and started him
on a different antidepressant when he became his treating physician in
spring 1999, but the result was continued hypomania. Miller said the condition
disappeared when all antidepressants were stopped, and he concluded that
Mueller is especially sensitive to antidepressants.
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- Prosecutors contend Mueller killed his wife because he
was enraged by her plans to separate from him and keep their two children.
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- The nonjury trial is expected to conclude Monday. Circuit
Judge Edward Ferguson said Friday that he would rule shortly after the
end of the trial.
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