For more than a year, Merry Jackson has been waiting for her former son-in-law to admit he shot her and her daughter in a Sioux Drive home last May.
Jackson’s wait ended Tuesday.
Scott Gellatly, 46, pleaded guilty before Judge Frank Iannotti at Superior Court in Milford to charges of murder and attempted murder in connection to the killing of his estranged wife, Lori Jackson, and the shooting of her mother, Merry, in her house in Oxford.
A plea deal in the case calls for Gellatly to serve 45 years in prison.
Several members of Jackson’s family cried in the first row of the courtroom as Gellatly entered his pleas while State’s Attorney Kevin Lawlor reviewed the facts of the case.
Lawlor said Gellatly’s wife Lori was estranged from Gellatly and was living with her parents and the couple’s twin children at her parents’ house on Sioux Drive in Oxford.
About 5:45 a.m. the morning of May 7, 2014, the two were awakened by Gellatly trying to break into the home.
Lori dialed 911 and told police her husband was at the house and that she was in fear for her life, Lawlor said.
State police rushed to the home to find Lori suffering from four gunshot wounds to the head and torso, Lawlor said, and Merry Jackson suffering from gunshot wounds to the head.
State cops put out an all points bulletin for Gellatly, who was eventually found trying to poison himself with carbon monoxide in the parking lot of a defunct Winsted restaurant.
Family Reacts
Jackson said outside court that she has since recovered from her wounds, though she lost her left eye in the shooting last May.
Seeing Gellatly finally admit his crimes was a relief, she said.
“This is going to help. This is a big victory for my daughter. I’m so happy it’s over with,” Jackson said. “We just want to go on living, that’s all.”
Click the play button on the video above to see Jackson’s remarks.
Lori was “an angel,” Jackson said.
Before the shooting, Gellatly made a series of rambling, angry posts on social media about his wife.
Merry Jackson alluded to those posts Tuesday, saying Gellatly “spread terrible lies” about Lori.
“She was very soft-spoken, she was quiet, she was always in the background,” Jackson said, her voice breaking at times. “She was a good student, she loved her kids tremendously, and it breaks my heart that she’s not here to bring them up.”
Lori and Gellatly’s twin children, who will turn 3 in November, are in the custody of Lori’s family members.
“She was a great daughter. She was like my best friend,” Jackson said of Lori. “We did everything together and I loved her tremendously. I miss her every day.”
She said she was satisfied with the plea deal.
“I would have loved to hear ‘life.’ To tell you the truth I would like the death penalty, but that’s not possible,” Jackson said. “I feel that this is a life sentence for him.”
Lawlor agreed.
“This is basically a life sentence for Mr. Gellatly,” he said outside court. “I think based on his age now and when he’d be eligible for release — 45 years to serve on a murder, he’s going to have to serve every single day — and I think that will bring him to about his 90th birthday.”
Given that fact, Lawlor said he and the family didn’t see much sense in bringing the case to a trial.
The prosecutor thanked Jackson’s family for “being strong throughout this whole process.”
“This is the first step towards justice for their daughter in this horrible, horrible case,” Lawlor said.
Click play on the videos below to see Lawlor’s remarks. The article continues after the videos.
Gellatly’s plea to the attempted murder count was made under the Alford doctrine, which means he doesn’t agree with all of the prosecution’s accusations but concedes that a conviction is likely if the case went to trial.
Judge Iannotti scheduled Gellatly’s sentencing for Nov. 17.
