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Topics: Crime, Health, Mental Health, US News, Sex and Relationships
Emily Brown
Topics: Crime, Health, Mental Health, US News, Sex and Relationships
Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.
A 75-year-old man from Missouri has been charged for killing his wife because he allegedly could not afford her medical bills.
Ronnie Wiggs, from the Kansas City area, was charged with second-degree murder after his wife died in hospital on Saturday (4 May).
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The woman, whose name has not been shared, had been at the Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence to get a new port for kidney dialysis when staff found her unresponsive at about 8:30pm local time on Friday.
Medics quickly got to work and were able to get her pulse back, after which she was moved to the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. However, medics sadly determined the woman was brain dead.
According to a probable cause statement, doctors then made preparations to harvest her organs.
Following her death, the woman's son brought Wiggs to the hospital to see her.
While there, staff heard him say: "I did it, I killed her, I choked her."
A witness pointed out injuries on the woman's neck which seemed suspicious, with a court document noting that the victim appeared to have a fresh wound in the middle of her throat.
Wiggs was arrested for first-degree domestic assault and taken to the Independence Police Department, where he then told a detective he had covered his wife's nose and mouth to prevent her from screaming as he choked her.
He described experiencing depression, and said he couldn't handle the caregiving or bills that came with his wife's health issues.
On top of the attack in the hospital on Friday, Wiggs admitted he had previously attempted to kill his wife while she was in a rehabilitation facility, but she woke up and told him not to do it again.
He claimed he was also going to try to kill his wife on another occasion, while she was hospitalized, but he didn't get the chance to try because she was hooked up to several monitors.
Wiggs made his first court appearance on Monday (6 May) after being hit with the second-degree murder charge, which can carry between 10 and 30 years in prison.
A judge set his bond at $250,000, which will be reviewed in a hearing on Thursday.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline on 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 24/7. You can find a list of local resources here.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.