AN elderly woman who killed her terminally ill husband while he was hospitalized has said they planned his death together.
Ellen Gilland, 76, fatally shot her husband Jerry Gilland, 77, at the AdventHealth Hospital in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Saturday, January 21.
After the shooting, Ellen confined herself in Jerry's hospital room, local NBC affiliate WTVJ reported.
She remained in the room by herself with the body for nearly three hours, The New York Times reported.
Police had to use a flash-bang device and a beanbag gun to take her into custody.
Still, they said Ellen was never a threat to the other patients and no one else was injured during the incident.
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Ellen claimed she and Jerry made a suicide pact about three weeks before the shooting because his health was in decline.
She said Jerry would have used the gun on himself, but he didn't have enough strength by that point.
Ellen claimed she was supposed to kill herself with the weapon after shooting him but ended up not doing so.
It is still unclear how Ellen managed to sneak a gun into the facility.
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AdventHealth did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Some of the couple's neighbors in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, were stunned by the shooting, local Fox affiliate WOFL-TV reported.
"Yeah, completely shocked," George Kotsonis told the outlet. "I didn't know that he was that ill."
Ellen, who's being held without bail, went before a judge for the first time on Sunday, local NBC affiliate WESH reported.
She was charged with first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
"It's a tough situation," Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young told the outlet.
"She was already in a depressed state just based on her husband being terminally ill and knowing that the end was near."
