A man from the Kansas City area in Missouri admitted to murdering his ailing wife in her hospital bed due to difficulties in affording her medical bills and providing care for her, as stated by the police and corroborated by court records.
Ronnie Wiggs, aged 76, was present in court on Monday, May 6, 2024 facing allegations of second-degree murder following the death of his 72-year-old wife, Ellen Wiggs. She was a patient at the Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Missouri.
The unsettling event started on Friday, May 3, when Ellen was in the hospital to have a new port for her dialysis inserted. A hospital staff member confirmed that she was “alert and oriented” in her room around 7:30 p.m. However, by 11:30 p.m., she became unresponsive leading the medical staff to declare a “code blue”. Even though her pulse was briefly revived, she was soon declared brain dead and preparations were made to harvest her organs.
Wiggs initially left the hospital after the attack. According to the police, Wiggs confessed to the murder after returning to the hospital with his wife’s son after being informed of her condition. As per court documents, Wiggs was overheard confessing, “I did it, I killed her, I choked her.” A hospital staff member noticed suspicious injuries on Ellen’s neck and a fresh wound in the middle of her throat, which led to further investigation by law enforcement.
Investigators reported that Wiggs admitted to suffocating his wife by covering her nose and mouth to prevent her from screaming. He also confessed to feeling depressed and overwhelmed by the caregiving responsibilities and the mounting medical bills. Court documents reveal Wiggs admitting to two previous attempts to end his wife’s life: once at a rehabilitation facility, where she woke up and asked him to promise never to do it again, and another time at the hospital, where he abandoned his plan due to her being connected to multiple monitors.
He is currently detained with a bond set at $250,000.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker refrained from commenting directly on the case.
