Woman kills ill husband in botched murder-suicide pact at Florida hospital, cops say
A Florida hospital fell into chaos Saturday after a 76-year-old woman shot and killed her terminally ill husband in what was supposed to be a murder-suicide pact, authorities said.
Ellen Gilland faces charges of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Volusia County court records show. She remained behind bars as of Sunday night.
Around 11:35 a.m. Saturday, Daytona Beach police officers rushed to Advent Health Hospital to reports of a person shot, Police Chief Jakari E. Young said.
The New Smyrna Beach woman, Young said, had just carried out phase one of a plan she concocted three weeks ago with her terminally ill husband, Jerry Gilland, 77 — killing him in his hospital room.
The couple decided that if his health took a turn for the worse, he would kill himself and then she would do the same. But with Jerry not having enough strength, police said she shot him in the head.
“She is very sad, this is obviously a tough situation,” Young said. “Her husband is terminally ill so she was already in a depressed state ... and knowing that the end was near.”
Staff and patients around the room were evacuated, even though officers said the woman was not a threat to them.
Ellen Gilland wasn’t able to turn the gun on herself and barricaded inside the room. Police began negotiations.
“We used a distractionary device to get her to put that gun down long enough to hit her with [less than lethal force] and get her into custody,” Young said.
By 3 p.m., she was in cuffs, according to police.
“I’m very proud of my officers on how they responded to this situation,” Young said. “This was truly an example of how we should do it. It was a very trying day for us.”
Miami Herald staff writer Omar Rodríguez Ortiz contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 21, 2023 at 3:45 PM.
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