In this file photo, Ellen Gilland, accused of killing her terminally ill husband, is escorted to the defense table, Thursday, March 2, 2023, for a bond hearing before Judge Raul Zambrano at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.

Ellen Gilland, the 76-year-old woman who police said killed her terminally ill husband at AdventHealth Hospital in Daytona Beach, has a trial set for October, unless she reaches an agreement with prosecutors before then.

Gilland was not present at Wednesday's pre-trial hearing before Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach. Her defense attorney, Matthew Ferry, was there.

Zambrano scheduled her trial for a three-week period starting Oct. 23.

The judge also set a "docket sounding hearing" for Oct. 17 to review the progress of the case.

“If the state is going to make a plea offer, it should be made by then,” Zambrano said. “If she’s going to plea open, then she needs to consider that or we are going to go to trial."

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An open plea is when a defendant enters a plea without any agreement on a sentence or sentencing range with prosecutors, giving judges more disecretion.

“So ramp up all the depos that need to be done so that we can get this case to conclusion,” Zambrano added.

Assistant State Attorney Kevin Sullivan said that depositions were scheduled in September.

How did Ellen Gilland kill her husband?

Gilland shot and killed her 77-year-old husband, Jerry, in his hospital room on Jan. 21, according to police. She then pointed the gun at a nurse and a hospital security officer, police said.

Gilland later fired the gun at least in the direction of police officers before she was arrested, according to testimony and reports.

Gilland was indicted Feb. 22 on a charge of assisting self-murder/manslaughter, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Gilland was also indicted on two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, stemming from accusations she pointed her gun at the nurse and the security officer. Each is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Additionally, Gilland was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer (firearm), which is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and which carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence of three years if convicted.

Gilland has been free since she was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail March 3 on $250,000 bond.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ellen Gilland, elderly woman accused of killing husband, gets trial date