A man has been charged with the murder of his wife at a hospital, with his alleged motive being his inability to pay her medical bills. According to a detective’s probable cause statement, Ronnie Wiggs confessed to police that he strangled his wife at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Missouri, while she was there for dialysis treatment.
Detective Todd Winborn stated that Wiggs admitted to choking his wife and covering her nose and mouth to prevent her from screaming. This confession came after Wiggs was informed of his Miranda rights.
The incident occurred when medical staff responded to a “Code Blue” call around 8:30 p.m. local time on Friday. They discovered the victim unresponsive and without a pulse. Although not declared dead at the time, the victim had no brain function, leading medical staff to cease life-saving efforts.
Witnesses reportedly overheard Wiggs confessing to hospital staff that he had killed his wife by choking her. He was subsequently arrested by an off-duty police officer working at the hospital.
Wiggs admitted to the officer that he had attempted to kill his wife on two previous occasions during her hospitalization, citing depression and financial strain due to medical bills as reasons for his actions.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced that Wiggs faces a second-degree murder charge and is being held on a $250,000 bond.
The tragic incident highlights the mounting issue of medical debt in the United States, which affects millions of Americans. According to a joint investigation by NPR and The Kaiser Family Foundation, over 100 million Americans, including 41% of adults, had medical debt in 2022. This debt has become a significant burden for many, as highlighted by the National Institutes of Health, with medical debt now being the largest category of debt in collections.
