Man threw his wife off balcony because of costly medical bills

A MAN threw his seriously ill wife four storeys to her death because he could no longer afford to pay for her medical care, US prosecutors said in charging him with second-degree murder.

According to court documents filed in Jackson County Circuit Court in Kansas City, Missouri, Stanley Reimer walked his wife to the balcony of their apartment and kissed her before throwing her over.

The body of Criste Reimer, 47, was found on Tuesday night outside the apartment building, near the upmarket Country Club Plaza shopping district.

Stanley Reimer, 51, was charged yesterday. He remained jailed on $250,000 bond and was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday.

In the probable cause statement filed with the charges, police said Reimer was desperate because he could not pay the bills for his wife’s treatment for neurological problems and uterine cancer.

Investigators said Reimer was in the apartment when they arrived. He told them, “She didn’t jump,” but did not elaborate, they said.

Criste Reimer’s carer told police she could barely walk and would not have been able to climb over the railing of the balcony, according to the probable cause statement.

Reimer’s alleged motive emerged after several more hours of questioning, police said. According to Jackson County Probate Court records, Criste Reimer had been in ill health for several years. According to the court records, she had no health insurance to pay for medical bills that came to about $1,000 per week.

The documents listed her assets at approximately $6,700, with monthly income of $725 from oil royalties and a government payment for the disabled.