Ronnie Wiggs: Missouri man charged with second-degree murder for 'choking' wife to death as she lay on hospital bed

Warning: This article contains recollection of crime that may trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.

INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI: A man has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing his wife by strangulation while she was receiving kidney dialysis while lying in bed at a Missouri hospital.

According to the affidavit, Ronnie Wiggs admitted to putting his thumbs on his wife's throat and covering her mouth and nose to stop her from yelling.

A woman was found unconscious with 'suspicious injuries'

According to a probable cause statement, Centerpoint Medical Center staff members alerted Independence Police Department detectives that the woman was awake at 7:30 on Friday, May 3.

But when they checked on her an hour or so later, she was unconscious. After activating "code blue", she was moved to the critical care unit. She had no mental capabilities at all.

According to the affidavit, medical personnel observed that she had "suspicious injuries", including redness around her neck and a recent wound on her throat.

When the staff contacted the woman's husband Ronnie Wiggs regarding her condition, he stated he did not have a car to get to the hospital. When they called the victim's son, he promised to come and get his father to the medical facility.

Ronnie Wiggs admitted that he killed his wife

Ronnie Wiggs allegedly admitted to killing his wife to a nurse and the victim's son while they were in the hospital room. "I did it, I killed her, I choked her," he allegedly said. Police arrested him and took him to a jail.

Wiggs told police that he killed her and then fled the hospital, Law&Crime reported.

Wiggs reportedly claimed to have attempted to kill his wife twice before. Detectives wrote that although he began the plan, he couldn't bring himself to complete the task the first time.

When his wife awoke, she warned him not to repeat that action.

“The defendant advised he was depressed and killed the victim because he could not take care of her anymore and he could not pay the medical bills that had been acquired,” detectives wrote.

Doctors declared her dead at 8:30 on Saturday morning, May 4. On Saturday, Wiggs was charged with second-degree murder by the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office. He is being held at the Jackson County Jail with a $250,000 bond.