Independence man strangles wife while in hospital bed: court docs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence man is facing second-degree murder charges for killing his wife as she lay in a hospital bed on Friday night, according to Jackson County prosecutors.
Court records released on Saturday said that just before 11:30 p.m., an off-duty officer at Centerpoint Medical Center was called to the ICU for an assault. Upon arrival, the victim, a woman, was unresponsive and had no pulse.
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Medical staff told police they had heard the victim’s husband, Ronnie Wiggs, saying, “I did it, I killed her, I choked her,” according to court records.
The officer placed Wiggs under arrest and on an investigative hold for first-degree domestic assault and took him to the Independence Police Department. At that time, the victim was not pronounced dead. But shortly after, she was taken off life support for no reported brain function, court records said.
While being interviewed by police, Wiggs admitted to strangling his wife and leaving the hospital. After leaving, he said he asked a relative to pick him up and take him back to the hospital.
When he returned, a witness — the relative who picked him up — and hospital staff said Wiggs admitted to killing his wife and choking her. This was after another witness had reported “suspicious” injuries and fresh wounds to the victim’s neck, court records said.
Wiggs told police he had covered her nose and mouth to keep her from screaming and placed his thumbs over her throat. He also admitted to trying to kill his wife two other times during previous hospital and rehabilitation visits.
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In the interview, he told detectives he killed his wife because he was depressed and could not take care of her anymore nor pay for her medical bills.
Court records said the victim was at the hospital to get a new port for dialysis.
Wiggs is currently being held on a $250,000 bond, police said.
