Kevin D. Monahan was sentenced for the killing of Kaylin A. Gillis. (Courtroom screenshot via WNYT/YouTube; Victim’s photo from GoFundMe)
A homeowner learned his fate this week in the fatal shooting of a young woman riding in an SUV that accidentally pulled into his driveway in rural upstate New York.
Kevin D. Monahan, 66, was sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison in the killing of Kaylin A. Gillis, 20. He was found guilty of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, and tampering with evidence, as Law&Crime reported.
“I think it’s important that people know that it is not OK to shoot people and kill them who drive down your driveway,” Judge Adam Michelini said. “I know in the county where we live and probably other countless rural areas, it’s a pretty common occurrence to drive down a wrong driveway.”
The judge further laid into him.
“It’s obvious to me that you feel justified. You don’t take any responsibility for the outcome of your actions. You just don’t get it. The first thing you do on the witness stand when you come up here and testify is you made a joke to the jury about them finally being able to see your face. You senselessly took the life of Kaylin Gillis, and you had the gall to sit here and talk about how you plan to finish up the work on your house and race motocross in the future. You don’t deserve that.”
Gillis’ family and friends shouted, “Bye Kevin,” “you coward,” and “justice served” as he was led out of the courtroom, NBC Albany, New York, affiliate WNYT reported.
The victim’s father, Andrew Gillis, said in his victim impact statement his daughter was “our pride, our joy, and we loved her with all of our heart,” the news station reported.
“Losing her has left us with an undeniable void in our life – one that can never be filled,” he said. “Every day, we wake up to the harsh reality that she is no longer here.”
Monahan’s defense attorney, Arthur Frost, had asked the judge for leniency, noting his client had no criminal record, and plans to appeal.
“I’ve seen his remorse,” Frost said. “He lives with the fact knowing that because of his actions – under any way that you view them – because of his actions, this poor young woman is dead. I don’t come to ask you for mercy. I ask you to rebuff vengeance and to do what is just.”
Gillis was in the passenger seat out riding with friends on April 15, 2023. They were looking for a friend’s home for a party, mistakenly making their way to the defendant’s half-mile driveway in the upstate town of Hebron.
Realizing the error, they returned around to leave, but Monahan opened fire on them from his porch.
At trial, his defense reportedly maintained that he was afraid. The group’s arrival woke him up from his sleep, and he feared that “a group of marauders” had arrived to attack him and his wife.
Monahan reportedly testified that he fired a warning shot and then accidentally opened fire after tripping on his porch.
Prosecutors, however, presented body camera footage and 911 calls to argue that Monahan and his wife lied to investigators at first. For example, Monahan reportedly acted like he did not know why neighbors heard gunshots and suggested that hunters were nearby.
The tampering with evidence charge stems from him cleaning the gun after the shooting.
Prosecutors reportedly said that the Gillis’ vehicle had turned around at the moment of the shooting.
The state argued that instead of being afraid, Monahan was mad the vehicle did not leave fast enough.
“Kevin Monahan did not act out of fear,” prosecutor Christian P. Morris reportedly said. “He acted out of a baser emotion than that: He acted out of anger.”
Authorities in April 2023 said that Monahan was uncooperative at the time and refused to leave his home to speak with law enforcement. There was no reason for him to feel afraid, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey J. Murphy said.
Law&Crime’s Alberto Luperon contributed to this report.
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