Woman, 79, Explains Why She Would Not Change Her Actions After Fatally Shooting Terminally Ill Husband

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

An elderly Florida woman who was jailed for killing her terminally ill husband as part of a failed murder-suicide pact in 2023 has spoken publicly following her release.

Ellen Gilland, now 79, was arrested after shooting her husband, Jerry Gilland, 77, inside a hospital room in Daytona Beach. Investigators said she smuggled his firearm into the hospital and fired a single shot that killed him.

Police believed the couple had agreed to die together, but Gilland later told officers she had planned to shoot herself first and then her husband but was unable to follow through.

After the shooting, authorities said Gilland locked herself inside the hospital room and refused to drop the weapon. While she did not threaten anyone else, the situation escalated into a lengthy standoff that disrupted the hospital.

Gilland was sentenced to one year in prison and 12 years of probation. She entered a no contest plea to manslaughter, aggravated assault with a firearm, and aggravated assault on law enforcement, largely due to the danger caused to staff and bystanders.

Ellen Gilland was sentenced to one year in prison after fatally shooting her husband Fox 35 Orlando

Now free after serving her sentence, Gilland was asked by Fox 35 Orlando whether she would change what she did if given the chance.

"There wasn't anything else to do," she said.

Gilland explained that she sat with her husband, whom she described as her best friend, and spoke with him at length before pulling the trigger. She said she could not bring herself to carry out the planned suicide afterward.

"In the 76 years before this event happened, I had never been in trouble in my life, and never planned to hurt anyone," she added.

Gilland admitted she could no longer properly care for Jerry due to her own declining health, including serious vision problems and ongoing depression.

Reflecting on what followed, she said events unfolded in ways she never expected. When hospital staff entered the room, she was overwhelmed, leading to the armed standoff with police that lasted several hours.

Gilland met her husband in middle school Fox 35 Orlando

Although she initially faced a first-degree murder charge, a grand jury later reduced the charges. About six weeks into her one-year sentence, Gilland suffered a heart attack that doctors attributed to stress, and she completed the remainder of her sentence in a medical unit.

"I'm accepting the consequences," she told Fox 35. "I don't want people feeling sorry for me. I did what I did."

Since her release, Gilland has begun volunteering at a local animal shelter and is completing court-ordered community service. She has also become an advocate for some form of legalized assisted suicide. While she avoids revisiting the events of that day, she says she does not view herself as a violent person despite her conviction.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.