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WATCH: Daytona Beach police negotiate with woman accused of killing terminally ill husband in hospital

Ellen Gilland, 76, was arrested at AdventHealth Daytona Beach

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Beach police released a portion of body-camera video on Monday, showing officers attempting to negotiate with a woman after they say she shot and killed her terminally-ill husband in a hospital room.

Ellen Gilland, 76, was arrested Saturday at AdventHealth Daytona Beach.

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The body-camera video picks up as several officers are outside the hospital room where the shooting occurred.

The officers can be heard on the video ordering Gilland to “drop the gun.”

About 40 seconds into the video, it appears an officer with a shield begins to position himself in the doorway of the room, but another officer orders him to “back up.”

“We’ve got time,” the officer can be heard saying. “We’ve got nothing but time, guys.”

The officers continue to order the woman to drop the gun, but the officer who advised taking time again steps in.

“Hold on, hold on. Build dialogue,” the officer can be heard saying in the video around 55 seconds in.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he is then heard shouting into the room in the video. “We don’t want to hurt you. Tell me what’s going on.”

The officer is then heard in the video trying to talk to the woman further, but her responses are not picked up by the bodycam.

Around a minute and 14 seconds into the video, it cuts to Gilland being wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair with her hands bound.

Records show, officers attempted to negotiate with Gilland for roughly two and a half hours.

SWAT officers eventually threw a flashbang into the room with Gilland, according to the charging affidavit, and attempted to use a Taser on her. Officers were unable to shock the woman, who fired a shot into the ceiling before dropping her gun, according to investigators.

Gilland was then arrested without further incident.

The woman told officers her 77-year-old husband Jerry Gilland had been ill for some time and they had planned the shooting together three weeks prior, police said. Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young later said the planned shooting was intended to be a murder-suicide.

“The goal was for him to do it, but he did not have the strength, so she had to carry it out for him,” Young said.

Gilland faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

She is being held without bond.

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About the Author
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Thomas Mates is a Streaming Executive Producer for News 6 and ClickOrlando.com. He also produces the podcast Florida Foodie. Thomas is originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania and worked in Portland, Oregon before moving to Central Florida in August 2018. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Journalism in 2010.

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