Ex-Officer Gets Bail in Mercy Killing : Crime: A Chicago man allegedly shot his crippled wife because he feared he could no longer care for her. He faces heart surgery.

A retired Chicago policeman who allegedly killed his crippled wife on Christmas Eve, saying he feared he would not be able to care for her after he undergoes heart surgery, was released on bond Tuesday. He faces first-degree murder charges.

Gerald Williams, 67, shot his wife of 44 years in the head with a .38-caliber revolver as she sat in her wheelchair and then called police to confess and turn over the murder weapon, authorities said. Alice Williams, 64, able to control only the muscles in her right hand after a 20-year-long battle with multiple sclerosis, was totally dependent on her husband.

“She’d been failing right along the last six months. She lost a lot of weight and recently lost muscle control of her face,” said Marie Kitzmiller, who lives next door to the Williams’ house on the southwest side of Chicago. “He was completely dedicated to her,” Kitzmiller said.

“His wife was completely dependent upon him for vital care,” said Police Sgt. George Owen. “She was totally helpless and in considerable pain.” Williams told investigators that his wife had begged him to end her life.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Cook County Circuit Judge David Erickson postponed additional hearings until after the New Year and released Williams in the custody of his only child, Alice Kyle, on a $250,000 personal bond.

Williams had served as a bodyguard to former Chicago Mayors Richard J. Daley and Jane M. Byrne and had received a department commendation and 30 honorable mentions during his 28-year tenure with the Chicago police force.

“His health wasn’t the best and hers was deteriorating,” said police Sgt. Ronald Palmer, who noted that Williams had undergone a heart operation two years ago but recently learned that the problem had recurred and that he faced additional surgery.

“He said he would be unable to take care of his wife and himself,” Palmer said.

Williams told police that “all his wife did was complain about how much she was suffering, and she begged him to end it,” Palmer added.

Williams’ daughter told police she had spoken to her father earlier Sunday and that he told her his doctor had advised him that he required a second major heart operation and he wouldn’t be able to care for his wife, Palmer said.

“He was a very nice man,” said Chester Ciezczak, a neighbor. “He seemed to always help his wife . . . . He cared for her very much.”

Neither Williams nor his daughter answered their phones on Tuesday. Williams’ attorney, Matthew J. Carmody, did not return phone calls.