Woman accused of fatally shooting terminally ill husband at Florida hospital pleads no contest

Woman accused of fatally shooting terminally ill husband pleads no contest

Ellen Gilland, the woman accused of fatally shooting her terminally ill husband in a hospital room in Volusia County nearly two years ago, entered a plea of no contest in court on Tuesday morning.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Ellen Gilland, the woman accused of fatally shooting her terminally ill husband in a hospital room in Volusia County nearly two years ago, entered a plea of no contest in court on Tuesday morning.

She withdrew her initial not-guilty plea and entered a no-contest plea, meaning she will accept punishment without admitting guilt or contesting the charges. By doing so, she waived her right to a jury trial, which had been scheduled for January 6, 2025.

The 78-year-old was initially charged with first-degree murder following the deadly shooting, but her charges were later amended to assisting self-murder/manslaughter, aggravated assault, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

Gilland has a sentencing date scheduled for Feb. 28, 2025.

On January 21, 2023, police responded to a shooting at the AdventHealth hospital, located at 301 Memorial Medical Parkway in Daytona Beach. Authorities later determined that Gilland, who was 76 at the time, had allegedly shot and killed her husband in a room on the 11th floor.

According to authorities, the couple had planned the act for weeks, intending for Gilland to end her husband's life and then her own. However, after shooting him in the head, which triggered a hospital lockdown, she was unable to follow through with the second part of the plan.

She told police after the shooting that she was going to have law enforcement take her life in an attempt of "suicide by cop", according to an arrest affidavit.

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