Police said they arrested an elderly woman on Saturday after she killed her terminally ill husband at a Daytona Beach, Florida, hospital as part of a pact the couple made weeks earlier.
She could be charged with first degree murder.
“Apparently because he was terminally ill, they had a conversation about it, and they actually planned this about three weeks ago, if he continued to get worse,” said the police chief. of Daytona Beach, Jakari Young, at a press conference. . “He wanted her to end this.”
Authorities received an alert about 11:45 a.m. Saturday about the shooting on the 11th floor of AdventHealth Hospital in Daytona Beach. After the 76-year-old shot her 77-year-old husband in the head, police spoke to the woman. They talked to her until 3 p.m., when they were able to arrest her after using a flash grenade to distract her.
Authorities say they do not know how the woman brought a gun to the hospital. The police chief said she did not threaten hospital staff or other patients.
During negotiations, authorities learned that the original plan involved the man shooting himself and his wife, whom Young described as “in a depressed state”. However, the woman took over after realizing he was too weak to do it herself.
“Initially I think the plan was a murder-suicide,” Young said. “So she killed him, and she wanted to turn the gun on herself, but she couldn’t continue.”
Authorities partially evacuated other patients to the 11th floor, which is usually reserved for terminally ill patients. The woman will be transported to the Volusia County Jail in Daytona Beach.
Young told reporters that incidents like this are unfortunately common, especially during the holiday season.
“It’s a tragic circumstance,” Young said. “It just goes to show that none of us are immune to life’s trials and tribulations.”
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