Woman Shoots Terminally Ill Husband Dead In Florida Hospital

Ellen Gilland told police her husband, Jerry Gilland, had been ill for some time and they'd planned the shooting together. She now faces a first-degree murder charge.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A woman who fatally shot her terminally ill husband inside a Florida hospital was taken into custody over the weekend after SWAT team members used a nonlethal explosive device to distract her and then tried to use a stun gun on her, authorities said Monday.

However, the Taser gun failed to subdue 76-year-old Ellen Gilland, and she fired a shot into the ceiling of her husband’s room inside AdventHealth Hospital before dropping the handgun and being taken into custody after a four-hour standoff, according to a police report from the Daytona Beach Police Department.

According to police, Gilland told officers that her 77-year-old husband, Jerry Gilland, had been ill for some time and they had planned the shooting together.

Ellen Gilland now faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of aggressive assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, stemming from when she pointed her gun at staff members who had entered the hospital room after hearing a gunshot, according to the police report.

She remained in jail on no bond on Monday, and her court-appointed public defender didn’t respond to an email inquiry.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot