A Florida (USA) judge on Friday denied bail to a 76-year-old woman arrested and accused of shooting her husband to death last January, a terminally ill man who was hospitalized at AdventHealth Daytona Beach , in Volusia County, on the east coast of the state.
Judge Karen Foxman denied bail to Ellen Gilland, 76, charged with first-degree murder, after following prosecutors’ recommendation that after shooting her husband, Jerry Gilland, the woman confronted with a weapon at hospital personnel and opened fire when police officers appeared.
“I find that she (Ellen Gilland) is a danger to the community because of her behavior,” despite these tragic circumstances, and “I will deny the motion (for bail). I’m sorry,” said the judge, according to the local channel. WKMGTV.
The event occurred on January 21, when the woman barricaded herself armed in the room where her terminally ill husband was, which created a panic situation in the hospital. Many patients ran to hide in closets and others locked their rooms.
The elderly woman faces one charge of “first degree premeditated murder” and three other charges of “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said the couple had planned a “murder-suicide pact” but the man didn’t have the guts to carry it out, “so his wife did it for him.”
In video images released by the Police, armed SWAT special forces agents can be seen in the corridor of the plant negotiating with the woman for her surrender; but she was entrenched in the room and upset, she was slow to hand over the weapon and even opened fire.
The motion filed by the defense alleges that a doctor performed a psychiatric examination on her and that the woman “does not pose a greater risk of harm to herself or the community” if released on bail.
The elderly woman’s relatives also testified in court and said they would take care of her while the trial was being prepared, but the judge dismissed both the motion and this request.
Ellen and Jerry Gilland had been husband and wife for almost 60 years and resided in a house in the town of New Smyrna.