Elderly Floridian cannot afford medicine, kills suffering wife
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Reuters
7 hrs ago © St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Booking photo of William J. Hager.
An elderly Florida man was in jail on Thursday after he said he fatally shot his ailing wife because her medications were no longer affordable and she was in pain.
William J. Hager, 86, was being held without bond in jail after telling responding authorities on Monday that he had shot his wife, Carolyn, in the head as she slept that morning in their home in Port St. Lucie, according to an arrest affidavit released by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
Hager called the 911 emergency line at 1 p.m., several hours after the fatal shooting, the affidavit said. Hager told authorities that after the shooting he went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and called his daughters to tell them what he had done.
"I want to apologize I didn't call earlier. I wanted to tell my kids what happened first," Hager told authorities, according to the affidavit.
Hager told authorities that he had been thinking of killing his wife, 78, for several days because she was in pain, the affidavit said. While she had told him that she wanted to die in the past, she never asked him to kill her, according to the affidavit.
A dispatcher at the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said Hager remained in jail on Thursday on a charge of first-degree, premeditated murder after an initial court appearance on Tuesday.
Hager could not be immediately reached on Thursday evening and it was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Local broadcaster WPTV reported that the couple had filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and that Carolyn Hager had been suffering from severe arthritis and other medical issues for 15 years.
The AARP, a non-profit advocacy organization for people 50 years and older, said in a report last November that increasing costs for certain specialty prescription drugs have put them out of reach for many people and that Medicare does not necessarily make those drugs affordable.
Authorities did not say what specific drugs Carolyn Hager was taking nor what kind of insurance the couple may have had.
A search of records at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement does not show a prior criminal history for William Hager. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Sharon Bernstein and Sandra Maler)
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/elderly-floridian-cannot-afford-medicine-kills-suffering-wife/ar-BBtfWNO?li=BBnbfcL
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Hager told authorities that he had been thinking of killing his wife, 78, for several days because she was in pain, the affidavit said. While she had told him that she wanted to die in the past, she never asked him to kill her, according to the affidavit.
I wonder if they had a Medi-Gap HMO or insurance? In many areas they are cheap or free (Ours from United Healthcare doesn't cost us anything) and they have a pretty good range of pain relievers available, with low co-pays. Sure they won't cover some, like Oxy, cheaply (if at all), but there are a lot of pretty strong pain relievers that are generic now and they cover a lot of them.
I hate to say it, but it sounds to me more like he was just tired of taking care of her.
It may be a little of both, her wanting to go and him tired of taking care of her.
Whatever the reason I find it disturbing that they may not have been able to afford the medicine. Of course the investigation is ongoing so there is probably more to the story that will come out. Very sad situation.
I couldn't agree more. A very sad situation no matter what his true motive is shown to be. If he was overwhelmed with taking care of her on his own without any significant help, then that is unacceptable in a nation such as ours. If she was overwhelmed with pain because the proper and needed medical relief was not available, then that is every bit as unacceptable. Either way our country let these people down just when they are at an age when they needed us most.
I worry about that myself. I'll be 60 on my next birthday and my wife will be 73 and is as stubborn as a mule in not seeing the doctor. A few months ago she struggled to get out of bed and was too weak to stop herself from falling to the floor, if I hadn't grabbed her under the arms and lowered her. Then she urinated without control, vomited on herself and fell to her side unable to move. She spent 3 days in the hospital with a high fever and high blood pressure. Yet now that she is feeling better (on BP meds) she is minimizing it and actually was upset that I called 911. She even thought that I should pay half the ambulance co-pay out of my private disability account because she thought I over-reacted. I did just to shut her up. She did go to get blood work done and then to the doctor the other day. He wants more blood work so I said we'd stop off at the LabCorp to get a blood draw and she said the doctor told her to get it at her leisure, which for her means never. I know if/when she is unable to take care of herself I'll never be able to do it myself. I am not strong enough to lift her up or even really help hold her up. We have no family in this part of the country to help and I'm afraid she'd have to go into a nursing home.
Agree and I don't see things getting better with regards to how we take care of each other. Our mantra has changed to "every man for himself".
BTW - How's your wife doing? I hope you haven't had any more scares.
I was writing more while you were answering.
How is she doing? In denial about how bad it was and stubborn, stubborn, stubborn!
I remember that incident. It was crazy scary. I think we all voted her down and felt you did the right thing. You're right, we women can be stubborn. I tend to avoid going to the doctor's also so I'm like your wife in that respect. With that said, I think we need to be cognate about what is realistic expectations on what our spouses are capable of doing for us and the care they can give us as we age. My husband and I are fairly close in age. He is only 5 years older than I am. My plan is to keep my fingers crossed and hope our good health continues for a bit longer.
Well the fact that it took two really strong firefighters to lift her up and hold her from falling, then not being able to say the day of the week and telling the medic she was 63 years old, even though she was right about her birthday being in 1943 that did it. I have medical power of attorney over her (as she has over me) if she can't make decisions on her own and I said you'll either go and maybe come home that night if the doctor said so (wasn't going to happen) or I'd sign off with the medics when they said they'd put her on a 72 hour psychiatric hold. Stubborn is one thing, but it was Sunday, not Tuesday and she is not 63 years old.
But that's when I spent the next 3 days at home alone thinking about how if something bad happened to her, I couldn't take care of her. I just am not strong enough to be her nurse's aide. I worry about that...too much maybe.
It sounds to me as if she were ready to go-- and that he helped her to go.
I can relate to horrible pain and no relief. It is very disheartening, and one can get quite desperate. I can take my next pill in about 30 minutes, so in an hour and a half, I'll be better. I can live with that. But, I don't want my husband to do it-- he'll get into trouble. He'll have to help me open the gun safe, but I can take care of that myself!
If we owned a gun I'd be dead already and NT would have one less liberal member. Can't have that as liberals are in the minority here already.
If she was in as much pain as he say she was then that meant he likely had to do everything for her from feeding her to helping her to the bathroom to baths, etc. Doesn't Medicare have a plan to keep people home and out of nursing homes? I know they could get a nurse to come in once a week for free, a physical therapist a couple of time a week and then most cities have free (or very low cost) dial-a-ride and meals on wheels. What about their family or church? If he's going to prove he killed her out of compassion then he's going to have to show that he looked into all other options first. It's a very high bar.
If we owned a gun I'd be dead already and NT would have one less liberal member.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I HATE when you talk like that. You promised the last time that you wouldn't do it any more.
Besides, I had no idea you were Ashton Kutcher to your wife's Demi Moore. I think you should write about it. Slowly, of course, and in great detail.
But please keep your promise about that other thing.
I don't remember promising that Sister and can't. It's part of what I am and a part that is only under control (barely) via medications. Sorry.
No need for an apology. Just remember that people would be hurt if you left us prematurely.
Promised my wife I would do my best not to do it while she was alive. Other then her there are not many who would be surprised or miss me in my personal life. I have burned a whole lot of bridges over the years.
Good luck, Randy. Try to stay strong. I know it can seem unbearable at rimes.
Good points Hal but you're assuming that the man is comfortable surfing the internet. Not everyone in that generation has adapted to the internet or the other new technologies. For instance, my parents won't get a cell phone because they can't figure out how to use them. For them it's too complicated and they get frustrated (plus I think it makes them feel dumb because they can't figure it out).