Deputies: 86-year-old man killed wife because she was ill

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) – An 86-year-old man is charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot his wife in the head, saying she was ill and they couldn’t afford medication.

Local media says William Hager was arrested Monday after he called the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say Hager led investigators to a bedroom where the body of his 78-year-old wife, Carolyn Hager, was on the bed covered in a blanket. She had a bullet wound to the head. He told them she had been ill but they couldn’t afford medicine.

He told detectives he had been contemplating shooting her for days. He said she wanted to die but never asked him to kill her.

Hager was being held without bail Tuesday. The public defender’s office had no comment.