A 78-year-old Florida woman was sentenced to a little more than a year in prison 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, Jerry Gilland, aged 77.
On Friday, a judge sentenced her to 366 days in prison, with 42 days credit for time served and a dozen years probation. She must also write letters of apology to the surviving victims at whom she pointed a gun and fired, which include a nurse and first responders.
Her family members expressed surprise at the sentence.
“I really thought I would be bringing her home today,” one of her nieces, Bo Timme, told Orlando-based NBC affiliate WESH. “I am shocked and concerned about her. But I am told it is fair and a positive outcome.
Gilland testified about her actions before learning her fate.
“I positioned the gun behind his ear. “I took it away and asked him if he was sure,” she reportedly said. “He raised his hand, placed it on my arm, and pushed the gun towards his head. There was a loud bang, and he disappeared.”
A nurse who was working at the hospital at the time of the shooting testified that he had been severely injured.
“I did not feel safe anymore,” admitted Hector Aponte. “I left my job. “I have nightmares at night.”
That was what ultimately convinced the judge to sentence her to a short prison term.
“I can not begin to understand how difficult it would have been for you to actually pull the trigger and assist your husband in ending his own life,” Circuit Judge Kathryn Weston said, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “I do believe that is what you did.”
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Gilland faced up to ten years in prison following her no contest plea in December. She was charged with assisting in self-murder, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm in Gilland’s January 2023 shooting death 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.
Prosecutors argued that Ellen Gilland was a danger not only to herself but also to others.
Ellen’s original charges included first-degree murder, and body camera footage captured responding officers outside the hospital room where she was holed up after the shooting. Police had drawn their guns and repeatedly ordered her to drop her firearm.
“Tell me what is 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 claimed she had a gun and ordered 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.