Woman, 78, sentenced to prison for killing terminally ill husband as part of suicide pact

A 78-year-old Florida woman was sentenced to just a shade over a year behind bars for killing her terminally ill husband as he lay on his hospital bed.

Ellen Gilland pleaded no contest to manslaughter with a firearm and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the 2023 shooting death of her husband, 77-year-old Jerry Gilland.

On Friday, a judge sentenced her to 366 days in prison with 42 days credit for time served plus a dozen years probation. She also must write letters of apology to the surviving victims she pointed a gun and shot at, including a nurse and first responders.

Her family members expressed some surprise at the sentence. “I really thought I’d be bringing her home today,” one of her nieces Bo Timme told Orland0 NBC affiliate WESH. “I’m a little bit shocked and, I’m very worried about her. but I’m told it’s fair and that it’s actually a good outcome. ”

Gilland testified to her actions before hearing her fate. “I held the gun behind his ear. I pulled it away and asked him if, he was sure,” she reportedly said. “He raised his hand; and placed it on my arm and pushed the gun to his head. There was a loud bang, and he was gone.”

Testimony from a nurse who was working at the hospital at the time of the shooting made clear that he was severely impacted. “I didn’t feel safe anymore,” said Hector Aponte. “I left my job. I have nightmares at night.”

That’s what ultimately persuaded the judge to send her to a short-prison sentence.
“I can’t begin to understand how difficult it would have been for you to actually pull the trigger to assist your husband in ending his own life,” Circuit Judge Kathryn Weston said, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “I do believe that’s what you did.”

As Law&Crime previously reported, Gilland faced up to 10 years in prison after her no contest plea in December. She was indicted on charges of assisting in self-murder, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and a count of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer with a firearm in Gilland’s January 2023 shooting death at Advent Health Hospital.

Daytona Beach police previously said the couple allegedly planned the killing three weeks earlier. Jerry Gilland was supposed to be the actual shooter, but he grew too frail, Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young said.

A detective testified under cross-examination at a bond hearing that the husband was the person who loaded the gun, and Ellen Gilland held the gun to her husband’s head while he held her wrist, the detective said. The husband lacked the dexterity to carry it out himself, the investigator testified.

Prosecutors argued that Ellen Gilland was a danger to not just herself, but others too.
Ellen’s original charges included first-degree murder, with body camera footage showing responding officers outside the hospital room, where she was holed up after the shooting.

Police had pulled out their guns and repeatedly told her to drop her firearm. “Tell me what’s going on,” an officer said. “I don’t want to hurt you. We don’t want to hurt you. Tell me what’s going on. Just talk to me.”

According to the charging affidavit, police said they responded to the hospital regarding a shooting. Ellen Gilland was in room 1106 with a gun when officers arrived on the 11th floor. Witnesses claimed to have heard at least one gunshot from inside the room.

“W1 and W2 entered room 1106 and observed the defendant seated on the left side of the patient’s bed,” the affidavit stated. “The defendant was seated with her back to the far wall and the patient bed between her and the entryway of the room. W1 observed the defendant holding a black revolver handgun which she had aimed at W1 and W2. W1 observed the victim laying unresponsive on the bed in a pool of blood.”

Gilland said she had a gun and told them to leave. Both witnesses said they smelled burnt gunpowder upon entering the room.

Officers worked to convince Gilland to surrender, but she kept her gun pointed toward the room doorway while authorities called out to her from outside, the affidavit stated.

Police said they managed to arrest Gilland without anyone else getting shot, but they claim she opened fire one more time.

“The tazer [sic] was deployed [after they used a flashbang], however it was unsuccessful in subduing the defendant,” the affidavit stated. “As the tazer [sic] was fired at the defendant, she fired one round from her handgun which struck the ceiling tiles above the victim’s bed.”

The detective testified that he believed the bullet that struck the ceiling was meant for officers. He claimed that there was a box with 45 live rounds remaining in the hospital room and more than 100 live rounds in Gilland’s vehicle.

A psychiatrist for the defense testified that he did not believe Gilland was a serious danger to herself or others. Her major depressive episode — which was triggered by her husband’s terminal illness — had passed, he said.

Two of the woman’s nieces testified they would help care for her if she were released, with one saying the defendant could stay with her. Another niece said she would ensure there were no firearms in the home, and she would help Gilland make it to court hearings.

Admitting that the defendant clearly “loved her husband,” prosecutors described the case as “troubling.” They said, however, that Gilland posed a direct threat to everyone in the hospital when she brought and discharged a loaded weapon inside a full hospital, then pointed the gun at several others before discharging it again.

That bond hearing, which was under the original murder charge, ended with Judge Karen Foxman denying Gilland the chance at release. She posted a $600,000 bond with the lesser charges in the indictment.