A woman was arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing her terminally ill husband Saturday at a Daytona Beach, Florida, hospital in what police are calling a murder-suicide pact between the couple.
Ellen Gilland, 76, was taken into custody a few hours after firing a single, fatal shot into the head of 77-year-old Jerry Gilland, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jabari Young said during a Sunday news conference.
Volusia County jail records show that Ms. Gilland has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond.
Police responded to a call about the shooting on the 11th floor of the AdventHealth hospital shortly after 11:30 a.m., according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Authorities said that Ms. Gilland planned to turn the gun on herself, but couldn’t go through with it. Hostage negotiators spoke with Ms. Gilland until about 3 p.m., when police said they used flash bangs and a taser to get Ms. Gilland to drop the gun.
She was taken into custody soon after. No one else was injured in the course of the standoff.
“Apparently because he was terminally ill, they had a conversation about it and they actually planned this approximately three weeks ago, that if he continued to take a turn for the worse, that … he wanted her to end this,” Chief Young said.
“Apparently the goal was for him to do it, but he did not have the strength, so she had to carry it out for him,” he added.
Police didn’t say what illness Mr. Gilland was struggling with, or how Ms. Gilland was able to get the gun inside the hospital.
“It’s a tragic circumstance because it just shows that none of us are immune from the trials and tribulations of life,” the police chief said.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.