MURDER SUSPECT HAS HISTORY OF PROBLEMS

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Richard Meyer, 42, of Scott City, who is accused of killing a woman and dismembering her body, has suffered from wild mood swings associated with a mental disorder. He also has a history of substance abuse.

Meyer was arrested only once -- that for driving while intoxicated -- prior to being charged with first-degree murder in the July 11 stabbing death and dismemberment of Ernestina Hinojosa, 43, of Kennewick, Wash., in a motel room in Peru, Ill.

In fact, his dealings with police were generally as an aid. For example, the only records at the Cape Girardeau Police Department involving Meyer indicate he once returned a lost wallet and served as a witness to a vehicle accident.

He also was involved in a vehicle accident, according to the Cape Girardeau police.

"He's never done anything," said Polly Meyer, Richard Meyer's estranged second wife.

Friends and relatives said the slaying was not in keeping with Meyer's normally mild manner and friendly personality.

"He was a really nice guy. In fact, he was so nice he was released to his wife because he was so remorseful," said Scott City police officer Joe Hahn, who arrested Meyer on the drunken-driving charge last summer after he failed several sobriety tests.

Meyer had been diagnosed last year with bipolar disorder, a mental disorder characterized by roller-coaster-like emotional states ranging from euphoria to extreme depression, and had received medications to stabilize the mood swings.

He later voluntarily admitted himself to Missouri's Farmington State Hospital, where doctors switched his medication and informed him he was suffering from anxiety problems and depression instead of bipolar disorder.

Relatives said Meyer also had completed two treatment programs at Gibson Recovery Center in Cape Girardeau for assistance to overcome addiction to methamphetamine and alcohol.

"He had been seeking help, but when your everyday living is not stable, that doesn't help with the kind of problems Rick had," said his mother, Anna Marie Urhahn of Scott City.

Urhahn said she believes her son was no longer taking medication to treat his mental disorder and may have been abusing alcohol or drugs.

"When he is drinking he's a totally different person," said Urhahn. "If Rick had been taking what he was supposed to take, he never would have hurt anyone."

Polly Meyer said her husband is not a violent man. Despite his mental and substance abuse problems, he loves his children and was well-liked by anyone who met him, she said.

"He had numerous problems with trying to get the substance abuse under control, but he never did anything that would indicate he would ever hurt someone else," said Polly Meyer. "I still can't even imagine it.".

BIPOLAR DISORDER

Symptoms

* Alternating mania (exaggerated feeling of well-being) or depression

* Little or no observble change in mood, or mood is inappropriate for the situation

* Anxiety, strees and tension

Treatment

In some people, lithium therapy has prevented recurrence of symptoms. In others, poor compliance with lithium therapy or unwanted side effects have made it less effective. Hospitalization may be required during an acute phase to control the symptomsw. In severe cases, electocunvulsive therapy may be used to treat depression.

If treatment is missed or not maintained

Decreased lithium levels often lead to a relapse of the individual to a manic or depressive episode. A number of factors can lead to a decrease in lithium levels, despite consistant intake of medication, such as, dehydration, low salt tiet, severe vomitting and diarrhea. Dosage should be closely monitored with age.

Medication Richard G. Meyer was taking

* Xanax -- taken for anxiety and insomia, depression and panic disorders with or without agoraphobia

* Paxil -- a class of antidepressant medication which balances the saratonin level in the brain

* Depakote -- taken to reduce manic symptoms and help prevent future manic episodes. Until 1995 this drug was used exclusively for the treatment of epilepsy.