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. 
 
 Related Photos William J. Hager, 86, charged with first degree premeditated murder. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Related Photos William Hager, 86, killed Carolyn F. Hager, 78, his wife, in Port St. Lucie. 
 
 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. 
 
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 According 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. ||||| An 86-year-old Port St. Lucie man said he killed his wife while she slept because she was in poor health and he could no longer afford her medications, according to an arrest affidavit. 
 
 William J. Hager said he had been thinking about killing his wife Carolyn for several days because she was in pain, the arrest report said. 
 
 After Hager shot his wife, he went to his kitchen and drank coffee, called his daughters and later dialed 911, the affidavit said. 
 
 “I want to apologize I didn’t call earlier, I wanted to tell my kids what happened first,” detectives quoted him as saying. 
 
 The shooting happened around 7:30 Monday morning at 7865 Meadowlark Ln. in Port St. Lucie. 
 
 At a Tuesday afternoon news conference the sheriff’s office said Carolyn Hager had been ill and suffering for around 15 years. 
 
 Carolyn's neighbor says she knew behind Carolyn's beautiful art and garden work there was a woman in physical agony. 
 
 ”I saw her outside and she said I haven't been feeling very well at all, I've been in excruciating pain with my back. And that's about all she said," said Sandy Ford, neighbor. 
 
 That was a few days ago. Deputies say Carolyn was suffering from severe arthritis and other health issues. They will not release which medications Carolyn was on because of HIPPA confidentiality. 
 
 "I don't understand it. Because my feeling in life is there's always a way. You just have to find it," said Ford. 
 
 Records show the Hagers filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Staff at the Hands of St. Lucie County clinic say this is a tragic situation. They help people whose insurance won't cover necessary medications. 
 
 "These stories you hear from quite many people, that they actually decide whether they are going to pay the electric bill this month or buy the drug that may be keeping them alive," said Andrew Passeri, Executive Director at Hands of St. Lucie County. 
 
 It's unclear if Hager shared his financial situation with his family. Detectives say his daughters live out of state and will be in Florida later this week. 
 
 "It's hard to comprehend, in a nice beautiful neighborhood like this you wouldn't expect anything like that from such sweet people," added Ford. 
 
 The department says William took a job at Sears for a while to try and help pay for the medication. 
 
 The sheriff's office said there are always options for people in a similar situation. Anyone with a crisis on the Treasure Coast or in Palm Beach County can call 2-1-1 to talk to a helpline representative who can refer them to community resources. 
 
 Hager was transported to the St. Lucie County Jail and faces a charge of first-degree murder. 
 
 
 
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 Download the WPTV app: ||||| (CNN) A man in Florida told police he killed his wife because she was in poor health and they could no longer afford the medications necessary for her care, according to an arrest affidavit from the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office. 
 
 Police said William J. Hager, 86, told them on Monday that in the past his ill wife had told him she wanted to die, but she didn't specifically ask him to kill her. 
 
 The shooting took place at their home in Port St. Lucie, which is north of West Palm Beach. The husband said he shot 78-year-old Carolyn Hager in the head while she slept, according to the arrest affidavit. Hager then drank coffee and called his children before contacting authorities, officials said. 
 
 Officers were dispatched to their home about 1 p.m. Hager led them to a bedroom where his wife's body was covered in a blanket, the affidavit said. 
 
 "I want to apologize I didn't call earlier. I wanted to tell my kids what happened first," a deputy quoted Hager as saying. 
 
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– William Hager watched his 78-year-old wife, Carolyn, suffer from medical problems, including arthritis, for 15 years. But when the couple could no longer afford her medication, an ominous idea popped into his head, per CNN. Authorities say Hager, 86, called police around 1pm Monday, allegedly telling responding deputies, "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," reports WPBF. He said he shot his wife in the head as she slept because she previously said she wanted to die, was in pain, and couldn't afford medication, per an affidavit. "He felt that he was at a point that this was his only course of action," says the chief deputy in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Hager was booked in St. Lucie County Jail and charged with first-degree premeditated murder. A neighbor tells WPTV that Carolyn Hager had complained about "excruciating" back pain a few days earlier, but "they seemed like such a nice couple … so it was quite a shock." Another neighbor says she faced a similar situation when her husband couldn't afford his medication and asked her to shoot him, but she couldn't. "He suffered so badly and there's nothing you can do," she says, noting prescription medications should be more affordable. The Hagers filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and William took a job at Sears to help pay for Carolyn's medications; it isn't clear if he knew a local clinic helps people pay for medications not covered by insurance.