Advertisement Man tells deputies he shot his ill wife because he couldn’t pay for medication Husband said his wife was in poor health, authorities say Share Shares Copy Link Copy

An elderly Treasure Coast man is behind bars accused of murdering his ill, 78-year-old wife because he didn't have money for her medication.William Hager, 86, was arrested Monday night and charged with premeditated, first-degree murder.Neighbor Sandy Ford said Carolyn F. and William Hager seemed like sweet people."Tragic! I mean I came home yesterday and I couldn't believe it. In disbelief they seemed like such a nice couple, down the earth, seemed to be happy, so it was quite a shock," said Ford.Download app: iOS | AndroidAccording to an arrest affidavit, St Lucie County Sheriff's deputies were called to the 7800 block of Meadowlark Lane near Port St. Lucie at approximately 12:50 p.m. on May 16 for an alleged verbal dispute.The report stated that when deputies arrived on scene, Hager was on the phone and invited the deputies inside.Once the deputies were inside, he told them, "I have bad news. I shot my wife at 7:30 this morning. I want to apologize I didn't call earlier. I wanted to tell my kids what happened first."Deputies found his wife inside a bedroom, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.Hager told deputies he had been thinking about killing his wife for several days because she was in pain.He said his wife has told him in the past that she wanted to die, but has never asked him to specifically kill her.“Obviously based on our conversation it was very personal to Mr. Hager. He felt that he was at a point that this was his only course of action," said Chief Deputy Garry Wilson.Hager was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail without bond.