Man Guilty of Killing Woman Who Pulled Into Wrong Driveway

UPDATE Jan 24, 2024 1:00 AM CST

Kevin Monahan was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, and tampering in the fatal shooting of Kaylin Gillis, the 20-year-old woman who was in a car that accidentally pulled into Monahan's driveway while trying to find a party at a friend's house. Monahan faces up to life behind bars when he is sentenced on March 1, NBC News reports. He testified he was frightened when a motorcycle and two cars, all of which were part of the group looking for the party, appeared to block his driveway in. He first fired a warning shot before, he testified, he tripped and accidentally fired the shot that killed Gillis.

Apr 18, 2023 3:00 AM CDT

An innocent mistake led to the unimaginable Saturday night in upstate New York: After a car pulled into the wrong driveway in Schuylerville, one of the passengers in the car was fatally shot as it turned around to leave. Kaylin Gillis, 20, was one of four people in the car; they were looking for a friend's house when they accidentally ended up in Kevin Monahan's driveway in the rural area, which is dark at night and easy to get lost in. The Washington County sheriff says no one exited the car or approached Monahan's home before the 65-year-old came out and fired two shots from his porch, the Times-Union reports. The car was not in the driveway long, the sheriff adds: "There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened."

Gillis was struck; the driver of the car she was in drove to a neighboring town so they could call 911, the New York Post reports. The sheriff says the area has little cellphone reception. Emergency responders attempted CPR, but Gillis did not survive. Meanwhile, someone else had called to report shots fired at Monahan's residence, and authorities had to speak to him through a 911 dispatcher and in person for more than an hour before he agreed to come out. He was taken to the county jail and charged with second-degree murder. A GoFundMe campaign is raising money for Gillis' family. (A teenager was recently shot in Kansas City when he went to the wrong door by mistake.)