Upstate New York homeowner convicted after fatally shooting woman who turned up wrong driveway
Kevin Monahan maintains the shooting of Kaylin Gillis was a 'terrible accident'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An upstate New York homeowner is facing a possible life sentence after he fatally shot a young woman who drove up the wrong driveway with her friends while on their way to a party last April.
After less than an hour of deliberation, a Washington County jury found Kevin Monahan, 66, guilty of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence for the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis.
"Obviously it’s a just result, but a very sad time for the family," attorney Donald Boyajian, who is representing the Gillis family, said after the jury handed down its verdict Tuesday. "It doesn’t change what is going to be forever, which is the loss of their beautiful daughter."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Monahan is scheduled to be sentenced in March and faces 25 years to life for the second-degree murder charge.
Kaylin Gillis was in a car that turned down the wrong driveway in upstate New York in April 2023 when the homeowner allegedly opened fire. The former high school cheerleader from nearby Schuylerville died of a gunshot wound. (Kaylin Gillis, Schuylerville Varsity Cheerleading/Facebook)
Gillis, her boyfriend and their friends were driving to what they thought was the correct address for a party in upstate New York near the Vermont border, but they eventually lost the signal for their GPS and daylight, and turned up the wrong driveway. The group pulled up to the Hebron home in two cars and a motorcycle.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When they approached Monahan's property, the 66-year-old shot at the vehicle Gillis and her friends were in twice, hitting Gillis in the neck. After hearing the shots ring out, Gillis' friends noticed that she was slumped over and not responding in the back seat, according to witness testimony.
NEW YORK WOMAN SHOT, KILLED BY HOMEOWNER AFTER CAR SHE WAS IN PULLED INTO WRONG DRIVEWAY
A New York jury found Kevin Monahan, 66, guilty of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence for the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Kailyn Gillis. (Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP, Pool)
Gillis' 20-year-old boyfriend, Blake Walsh, described the moment as "frantic."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"People were screaming," he testified last week.
KAYLIN GILLIS DRIVEWAY SHOOTING DEATH: FATHER SAYS HE HOPES SUSPECT ‘DIES IN JAIL’
Andrew Gillis, right, is consoled after the verdict in his daughter's murder case. Donald Boyajian, who is representing the Gillis family, said the jury's verdict was "just" but "doesn’t change what is going to be forever, which is the loss of" the Gillis family's "beautiful daughter." (Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP)
Monahan has maintained that the shooting was a "terrible accident" due to a misfired gun and that he was scared when he heard the group of people coming up his driveway late at night. The first shot, he said, was supposed to act as a warning, while the second was a misfire after he tripped on an object in the dark.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When you’re by yourself, you have to figure out the worst-case scenario," Monahan said on the stand last week, as the Times Union of Albany reported. "My only job is to protect my wife."
Kevin Monahan has maintained that the fatal shooting of Kaylin Gillis was a "terrible accident" due to a misfired gun. (Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP, Pool)
Monahan added that the shooting has left "a hole" in him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s indescribable," he testified. "I don’t even know how to respond. I just feel like my soul is dead."
The group of friends were only able to call for help when they got cell service back several miles down the road after turning around. One of Gillis' friends who testified last week said he held his hand to her neck after the shooting in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
A police evidence photo showing the entry point of the shot that fatally struck Kaylin Gillis last April after she and friends accidentally pulled into Kevin Monahan's driveway, is displayed during summations in Monahan's murder trial, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at Washington County Courthouse in Fort Edward, New York. (Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The defense noted that the group did not see private property signs leading up to Monahan's property. Some of them had been either drinking or smoking marijuana before they began driving to the party, according to testimony.
Gillis has been described as a driven young woman with a love for animals and dreams of becoming a veterinarian one day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.