An elderly American man killed his wife before committing suicide because he could not afford her medical bills, according to a Newsweek magazine report.
Whatcom County Police Office is treating the death of the 77-year-old man and his 76-year-old wife as murder and suicide after being summoned on the morning of August 7 to the scene.
The police were called by the husband who told them that he would shoot himself, and gave them information about his location and instructions on how to reach him.
One policeman tried to keep the man on the line, but to no avail.
After about 15 minutes, the officers arrived at the house, and one of the crisis negotiators tried to call the husband and wife by phone and talk to them through the loudspeaker for about an hour.Then, the department deployed a robot camera to enter the house.The husband and wife were found dead from their wounds.
The officers read the letter left by them, which referred to "severe and persistent medical problems suffered by the wife, where the couple expressed fears that they did not have sufficient financial resources to pay for medical care."