A 66-year-old man was found guilty of murder for fatally shooting a woman who pulled into his driveway by mistake while looking for a house party.
Kevin Monahan is facing 25 years to life behind bars after he was convicted of reckless endangerment, second-degree murder, and tampering with physical evidence, NBC News reported.
Last April, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis rolled into the driveway at Monahan’s rural Hebron, New York, home while searching for the correct location.
According to the report, she didn’t have cellphone service at the time, and a motorcycle and another car pulled in with her. During his trial, Monahan argued that he felt vulnerable and that he was being targeted because of the unknown vehicles on his property. The noise is what woke him up that night.
“He’s really revving his bike, and he stopped. I’m nervous. Real nervous. Because cars have our driveway blocked and he’s waving them up into our intimate area,” Monahan said, referring to the person on the motorcycle. “He says nothing. No one gets out of their cars.”
According to WNYT, he claimed that he went to tell his wife to put clothes on and hide in the closet. That’s when he grabbed his gun and fired a warning shot.
Regarding the second shot that ultimately killed Gillis, Monahan said he didn’t fire it himself. It happened because he slipped on his deck and hit the railing, he explained in the courtroom.
“He truly believes what happened was an accident. That he stumbled and he fell and the shotgun went off by accident,” defense attorney Kurt Mausert told CNN. “You got a beautiful 20-year-old girl, who, of no fault of her own, is dead. There’s no way to look at this case other than a horrible tragedy. But an accident has been turned into depraved indifference and that’s a tragedy also.”
Shortly after the shooting, the crew left to get service and call authorities, but Gillis succumbed to her injuries. Responding officers described Monahan as “uncooperative,” the outlet reported.
The decision was a step in the right direction for Gillis’ family. Washington County District Attorney J. Anthony Jordan stated his mission was “to seek justice for Kaylin,” per NBC News.
The incident is reminiscent of the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black teen who was shot in the head after he accidentally went to the wrong Kansas City, Missouri, house when he went to pick up his siblings. Officials believe race played a role in gunman Andrew Lester’s actions. Yarl recovered from his injuries.
