Man admits killing his hospitalized wife because he couldn’t afford to care for her, police say

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City-area man charged with murdering his hospitalized wife told police he couldn’t care for her or pay her medical bills, court records say.

Ronnie Wiggs made his first appearance Monday on a second-degree murder charge and was referred to the public defender’s office. A hearing to review his $250,000 bond has been scheduled for Thursday.

A telephone message left with the public defender’s office was not immediately returned.

His wife was getting a new connection for her dialysis when staff at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence called a “code blue” Friday because she was unresponsive.

Staff managed to regain her pulse, but determined she was brain dead and made preparations for organ removal, the probable cause statement said. His wife died on Saturday.

After the attack, Wiggs left the hospital. But the statement said the woman’s son brought Wiggs back to her and he confessed. Staff heard him say, “I did it, I killed her, I choked her,” the statement said.

He was then arrested and told an investigator that he covered his wife’s nose and mouth to stop her from screaming, the statement said. He said he was depressed and couldn’t cope with the care and bills.

He said he also tried to kill his wife while she was in a rehabilitation facility, but she woke up and told him not to do that again, the statement said. He said he would try to kill his wife another time while she was in the hospital, but he didn’t have the chance because she was hooked up to multiple monitors.