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A man charged with second-degree murder for shooting a 20-year-old woman after the vehicle she was in took a wrong turn into an upstate New York driveway was known for his bitterness towards people driving onto his property by mistake, according to a neighbor.
Kaylin Gillis and her friends mistakenly drove onto the property of Kevin Monahan on Saturday night in the rural town of Hebron, when Monahan opened fire at their vehicles as they tried to turn around and killed Gillis, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said.
“While they were leaving the residence once they determined that they were at the wrong house, the subject came out on his porch for whatever reason and fired two shots, one of which struck the vehicle that Kaylin was in,” Murphy said during a news conference Monday.
Monahan was then arrested on a second-degree murder charge and remains detained pending a bond hearing.
Gillis’ death, which happened just days after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot and wounded in Kansas City, Missouri, when going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, has renewed national debates on “stand your ground” laws. Such laws govern the use of deadly force in self-defense.
On Tuesday, Monahan’s attorney spoke out for the first time on the incident, calling the sheriff’s version of the events a “superficial, simplistic” account of what actually happened.
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What we know about the incident
Murphy said Gillis and her friends got lost while going to another friend’s nearby house.
The group was driving two cars and a motorcycle when they turned into Monahan’s long dirt driveway, according to Murphy. After realizing their mistake, the group turned around but was met with gunfire.
Monahan had fired two gunshots at Gillis and her friends as they drove away, Murphy said. One of the bullets hit the rear of the car Gillis was in, striking her and causing a fatal injury.
Gillis’ friends then drove to the neighboring town of Salem, about 50 miles northeast of Albany, and called 911, according to Murphy. Emergency crews arrived and performed CPR but Gillis was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff noted that the area where Gillis was shot was a “very rural area” with limited cell service.
When authorities responded to Monahan’s residence, Murphy said Monahan was uncooperative and had refused to come out for about an hour before peacefully surrendering.
MORE: New York woman driven to wrong address fatally shot by homeowner, sheriff says
Neighbor says bitter behavior not uncommon over wrong turns
One of Monahan’s neighbors, Adam Matthews, said Monahan had become increasingly upset and bitter in recent years at people making wrong turns into his driveway.
New York woman fatally shot in wrong driveway: What we know about alleged shooter, victim
Monahan’s attorney, Kurt Mausert, has declined to discuss details of the shooting, citing the pending criminal case.
“I believe we have series of mistakes that led to a tragedy,” he said. “But I don’t believe my client is a villain. But not every case with a tragedy has a villain, and I think this is one of them.”
Mausert disputed there was any standoff and that Monahan was exercising his rights when law enforcement officers were at his door. Mausert said Monahan was talking to police outside his door but officials would not say why they were there and did not have an arrest warrant.
Mausert said he helped arrange the peaceful surrender after police officials told him over the phone that someone had died.
“They told me there was a fatality, then it started to make sense to me,” he said. “At that point, it’s dangerous for everybody. My goal at that point was to facilitate my client turning himself in to the police safely.”
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Who was Kaylin Gillis?
Gillis was described by family and community members as a talented artist with dreams of becoming a marine biologist.
“Kaylin was a kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to anyone who was lucky enough to know her,” Gillis’ father, Andrew Gillis, said in a Facebook post Tuesday. “She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love. … She was taken from us far too soon.”
Andrew Gillis wrote that his daughter was also an honors student and had been looking forward to attending college in Florida.
Gillis graduated in 2021 from Schuylerville High School, about 20 miles from Monahan’s home in Hebron. According to school officials, Gillis was on the cheerleading team for two seasons, took part in Future Farmers of America programs and was an avid artist.
School officials held a news conference Tuesday in remembrance of Gillis. Schuylerville High School Principal James Ducharme said Gillis had an infectious smile.
“Her smile would light up a room,” he said. “Her personality would light up any classroom that she walked into or any club activity that she participated in.”
A celebration of Gillis’ life was scheduled for Friday in Schuylerville.
Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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