On April 15, 2023, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was murdered in Hebron, New York, after the car she was traveling in turned into the wrong driveway. The shooter, Kevin D. Monahan, was arrested after a standoff and taken into custody. On January 23, 2024, he was convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, plus a consecutive sentence of 1 3/4 to 4 years in prison on March 1, 2024.[1]
| Murder of Kaylin Gillis | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photo of Kaylin Gillis | |
| Location | 1263 Patterson Hill Road Hebron, New York, U.S. |
| Date | April 15, 2023 |
Attack type | Murder by shooting |
| Victim | Kaylin Gillis |
| Perpetrator | Kevin D. Monahan |
| Motive | Retaliation for a car driving into his driveway that he assumed were trespassers. |
| Verdict | Guilty on all counts |
| Convictions | |
| Sentence | Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 26+3⁄4 years |
The shooting shared similarities with two other shootings in the U.S. that occurred in the same week, including the shooting of Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri, after he mistakenly rang the wrong doorbell, and the shooting of two cheerleaders in Elgin, Texas, after they entered the wrong car.[2][3]
Victim
editKaylin A. Gillis (born February 23, 2003) lived in Schuylerville, New York, and graduated from Schuylerville High School in 2021.[4][5]
Shooting
editKaylin Gillis was killed on April 15, 2023, just before 10 p.m., in Washington County, an upstate New York county that borders Vermont.[4] Gillis and her friends were looking for a friend's house. Their vehicle was being driven by her boyfriend. Their car and another vehicle mistakenly pulled into the driveway of Kevin D. Monahan, who lived on a ridgetop plot in the rural town of Hebron, on Patterson Hill Road.[4][6]
After turning into the wrong driveway, the group realized they had the wrong address, and began to back the vehicle out of the driveway to leave. Gillis was one of four people in the last car to pull away.[4] As the group was leaving, Monahan exited his home and fired two shots at the vehicle[4][7] using a 20-gauge shotgun.[8] Gillis was struck in the neck.[9] Unable to get cell phone reception in Hebron, the group drove toward the neighboring town of Salem, where they were able to reach 9-1-1.[10] Gillis died before medical help could arrive.[9]
After police arrived at Monahan's home, he initially refused to surrender to police officers and state troopers. During an hour-long standoff, he was on the phone with a police dispatcher and with his attorney before eventually surrendering.[8] Eight police body-worn cameras captured his encounter with police.[9] According to papers filed in Washington County Court, Monahan had initially claimed to police that he had been "in bed since 8:30 p.m." and suggested that hunters had been responsible for the killing.[9]
Perpetrator
editKevin D. Monahan (born October 28, 1957) was charged in the killing. He was born and raised in Salem, New York. Long-time neighbors described him as frequently hostile, sour, and sometimes aggressive. He had no criminal record in New York State but was arrested and charged in Vermont with aggravated assault with a weapon in 2001. That charge was later dismissed.[4][8][11][12]
Legal proceedings
editAfter his arrest, Monahan was briefly held at Washington County Correctional Facility in Fort Edward, where Gillis's father is a correctional officer, before being taken 15 miles (24 km) away to the Warren County Jail in Lake George.[6][8][13]
He was arraigned in Washington County Court on April 16, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. He was denied bail at a hearing the next day, with the prosecuting attorney saying that Monahan's reputation as "confrontational and hot-tempered", in addition to the seriousness of the crime, weighed in favor of pretrial detention.[6][8][13]
A new indictment was issued in May 2023; in addition to second-degree murder, he also faced charges of reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence. The murder charge was also reduced from "intentional murder" to "reckless depraved indifference murder." The court again denied his request for a bond. Jury selection for the trial was set to begin in September 2023,[14] but following further procedural delays was postponed until October 30. On October 25, the presiding judge granted a defense request for additional time to seek expert analysis of certain evidence.[15] The court rescheduled the trial start date for January 8, 2024.[16]
On January 23, 2024, Monahan was found guilty of second-degree murder.[17] On March 1, 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.[18]
On March 14, 2024, Monahan was moved to Elmira Correctional Facility in Elmira, New York. He was later transferred to Wende Correctional Facility, where he is currently being held.[19]
References
edit- ^ Sanchez, Ray (March 1, 2024). "'You just don't get it.' Judge admonishes NY man who fatally shot woman in his driveway and sentences him to 25 years to life". CNN. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Shanahan, Ed (April 18, 2023). "Man Charged With Murder in Shooting of Woman Who Went Up Wrong Driveway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ Timothy Bella, What we know about who shot Ralph Yarl, Kaylin Gillis and Payton Washington, Washington Post (April 20, 2023).
- ^ a b c d e f McKinley, Jesse; Meko, Hurubie; Root, Jay (April 18, 2023). "New Details Emerge in Deadly Upstate Shooting of Woman in Wrong Driveway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Deuso, Caton (April 18, 2023). "Schuylerville school officials remember graduate shot and killed in Hebron". Glens Falls Post-Star. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c Planas, Antonio; Stelloh, Tim (April 18, 2023). "Boyfriend of N.Y. woman who was gunned down in the wrong driveway recalls her final moments". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ Nguyen, Thao (April 18, 2023). "New York woman driven to wrong address fatally shot by homeowner, sheriff says". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Moore, Kathleen; Ward, Rebekah F.; Hughes, Steve (April 19, 2023). "Accused shooter in Kaylin Gillis killing is denied bail". Times Union. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Wendy Liberatore, Suspect in fatal driveway shooting suggested hunters might be to blame, Albany Times-Union (May 25, 2023).
- ^ "Woman shot dead in New York state after a friend drove into wrong driveway". The Guardian. April 18, 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ "Criminal Complaint: People of the State of New York Vs. Kevin D. Monahan (DOB 10/28/57)" (PDF). WNYT-TV. April 18, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 18, 2023.
- ^ Olson, Emily; Escobar, Natalie (April 18, 2023). "65-year-old kills 20-year-old in unincorporated New York". NPR. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ a b McKinley, Jesse; Root, Jay; Marcius, Chelsia Rose (April 19, 2023). "Victim's Father Breaks Down as Bail Is Denied in Wrong-Driveway Shooting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Singleton, Mikhaela (May 24, 2023). "Judge again denies bond as Kaylin Gillis murder suspect faces additional charges". NEWS10 ABC. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ Arnold, Chad (October 25, 2023). "Trial postponed for man accused of shooting Kaylin Gillis". The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ Vaughn-Holdridge, Natasha (October 30, 2023). "New trial date set for man accused of killing Kaylin Gillis". The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ McKinley, Jesse (January 23, 2024). "Man Found Guilty of Murder in Wrong-Driveway Shooting in Upstate N.Y." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ Gavin, Robert (March 1, 2024). "'Coward' Kevin Monahan gets decades in prison for killing Kaylin Gillis". Times Union. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Gorenstein, Ben (May 28, 2024). "A&E producers seek Monahan for show about driveway shooting". WNYT.com NewsChannel 13. Retrieved October 9, 2024.