Man charged with strangling wife in hospital bed over medical bills
A Missouri man faces charges of second-degree murder for reportedly strangling his wife to death while she was in a hospital bed, prosecutors revealed.
According to reports, just before 11:30 p.m. on Friday night, staff at the Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence contacted an off-duty police officer regarding an alleged assault on a patient in the ICU. The patient, identified only as a female, was at the hospital for a new port for dialysis, as per Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
Prosecutor Baker stated that while the woman was in her hospital bed, her husband, Ronnie Wiggs, began choking her, covering her mouth and nose to prevent her from calling for help.
Upon the officer's arrival, Wiggs' wife was unresponsive and lacked a pulse, according to court records. However, she was still alive and placed on life support, as mentioned in the probable cause statement.
Hospital staff allegedly overheard Wiggs confessing, saying, "I did it. I killed her. I choked her," according to court.
Wiggs was subsequently arrested for first-degree domestic assault and taken to the Independence Police Department. Tragically, his wife was removed from life support when she exhibited no signs of brain function, the court records indicated.
During police interrogation, Wiggs purportedly admitted to strangling his wife, revealing that he had attempted to kill her twice before, according to the court documents.
He allegedly disclosed that he committed the act because he could no longer care for her or afford her medical expenses, as detailed in the court records.
Wiggs now faces a charge of second-degree murder, as reported by the Kansas City Star. He remains in custody with a $250,000 bond, and it's uncertain whether he has legal representation at this time.
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