No Bond for Elderly Woman Who Shot and Killed Her Terminally Ill Husband in His Hospital Bed.
A 76-year-old woman is behind bars after she killed her husband while he was in the hospital.
Authorities say that Ellen Gilland shot her 77-year-old husband, Jerry Gilland, as part of a murder-suicide pact.
The couple made the pact because Jerry was terminally ill. The plan was hatched three weeks ago for Jerry to shoot himself if his health deteriorated and then for Ellen to kill herself. This pact didn't go as planned because Jerry was too weak to shoot himself and Ellen shot him while he was still in the hospital!
He was the only patient in the room, according to police.
"Upon arrival, our officers were directed to the 11th floor, where they encountered an elderly female who had apparently shot her terminally ill husband," Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young said at a news conference.
Officers say staff and patients near the room were evacuated.
"She never put the gun down, so she never specifically made a threat that she was going to shoot any of us, but she never put the gun down," Young said. "So we would have to assume that, you know, if we were to rush in there, we didn't effectively communicate that it could have turned into a shootout situation."
So they used a device to distract her so she'd drop the gun.
"It's called a flash bang that the SWAT team uses," Young said. "They use it. It just makes a loud noise it's like a — pretty sure you're familiar with that. So they flew in a flash bang to distract her and luckily it worked."
The police had to call in a negotiator to get Ellen to come out of Jerry's hospital room and, she finally surrendered around 3p.m. Reports also say that Ellen Gilland was was hit with a "bean bag" before being taken into custody.
Ellen Gilland, who faced a judge for the first time Sunday night, has been charged with first-degree murder, she also faces three counts of aggravated assault. She has been denied a bond.
Considering the circumstances, do you think she should serve jail time?
