A 78-year-old woman pleaded no contest to killing her terminally ill husband as part of a suicide pact, according to court records.
Ellen Gilland, who was scheduled to stand trial on January 6, entered a no contest plea to manslaughter with a firearm and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She appeared in court on Tuesday to enter the plea.
As part of the deal, the state agreed to a 10-year maximum prison sentence and waived a three-year mandatory minimum on one of the aggravated assault charges.
Prosecutors also agreed to waive the sentencing guidelines. Volusia County Judge Kathryn D. Weston will sentence Gilland on February 28.
Gilland was indicted on charges of assisting in self-murder, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and one count of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer with a firearm in the shooting death of her husband, 77-year-old Jerry Gilland, on January 21, 2023, at Advent Health Hospital.
Daytona Beach police previously stated that the couple allegedly planned the murder three weeks before. Jerry Gilland was supposed to be the shooter, but he became too frail, Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young stated.
A detective testified under cross-examination at a bond hearing that the husband loaded the gun, and that Ellen Gilland held the gun to her husband’s head while he held her wrist. The husband lacked the dexterity to do it himself, the investigator testified.
However, prosecutors argued that Ellen Gilland was a danger not only to herself, but also to others. The original charges included first-degree murder. Body camera footage showed responding officers outside the hospital room where she had holed up after allegedly shooting her husband.
Police had drawn their guns and repeatedly ordered her to drop her firearm.
“Tell me what’s going on,” an officer inquired. “I do not want to hurt you. We do not want to hurt you. Tell me what is going on. Just talk to me.
According to the charging affidavit, police responded to the hospital for a shooting. Ellen Gilland was in room 1106 with a gun when police arrived on the 11th floor. Witnesses claimed they 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,” according to the confession. “The defendant was seated with her back against the far wall, the patient bed between her and the room’s entryway.
W1 noticed the defendant holding a black revolver handgun, which she had aimed at W1 and W2. W1 saw the victim lying motionless on the bed in a pool of blood.”
Gilland allegedly stated that she had a gun and instructed them to leave. Both witnesses reported smelling burnt gunpowder when they entered the room.
Officers attempted to persuade Gilland to surrender, but she kept her gun pointed at the room doorway while authorities called out to her from outside, according to the affidavit.
Police said they arrested Gilland without shooting anyone else, but she allegedly opened fire again.
“The tazer [sic] was deployed [after they used a flashbang], however it was unsuccessful in subduing the defendant,” according to the confession. “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 hit the ceiling was intended for officers. He claimed that a box containing 45 live rounds remained in the hospital room, and that Gilland’s vehicle contained more than 100 live rounds.
A psychiatrist for the defense testified that he did not believe Gilland posed a serious threat to herself or others. Her major depressive episode, which was triggered by her husband’s terminal illness, had ended, he said.
Two of the woman’s nieces testified that if she were released, they would help care for her, with one saying the defendant could live with her. Another niece stated that she would ensure that no firearms were present in the home and would assist Gilland in getting to court hearings.
Prosecutors admitted that the defendant clearly “loved her husband,” but described the case as “troubling.” They claimed, however, that Gilland posed a direct threat to everyone in the hospital by bringing and discharging a loaded weapon inside a crowded hospital, then pointing the gun at several others before firing it again.
That bond hearing, which was under the original murder charge, ended with Judge Karen Foxman denying Gilland’s release. She posted a $600,000 bond for the lesser charges in the indictment.
