A man has been charged with murder after he allegedly shot and killed a young woman in a car that mistakenly pulled into her driveway in rural New York state, authorities said.
The incident happened Saturday night just before 10:00 PM ET in the small town of Hebron, about 60 miles northeast of Albany. A group of four youths were looking for a friend’s house in the area when they drove their car the wrong way. They were turning around when they realized their mistake when the owner, identified as 65-year-old Kevin Monahan, got out with a gun and fired into their vehicle, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy.
“It’s a very rural area, it’s dirt roads, there’s not a lot of cell service or any kind of internet,” Murphy said during a press conference Monday. “It’s easy to get lost.”
Kaylin Gillis is shown in this senior portrait taken Sept. 7, 2020.
Chucky Stark
Monahan fired at least two shots, one of which struck one of the car’s passengers, identified as Kaylin Gillis, 20, of Schuylerville, New York. The group drove away, and due to poor cell phone reception, was unable to contact 911 until they reached the nearby town of Salem. First responders arrived at the scene and attempted to perform life-saving measures on Gill, but she was pronounced dead, according to Murphy.
The sheriff described Gill as “a young, innocent girl” and said she comes from “a very good family,” whom he knows “personally.”
Kaylin Gillis is shown in this senior portrait taken Sept. 7, 2020.
Chucky Stark
“This is a very sad case,” he told reporters. “There was no reason for Mr Monahan to feel threatened, particularly as the vehicle appears to have been moving away at the time.”
Murphy said there was no known interaction between the group and Monahan and that investigators believe the car was only in his driveway for a “very short time” before shots were fired. The sheriff did not disclose what type of firearm was used.
Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy speaks at a news conference in Fort Edward, New York on April 17, 2023.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office/YouTube
When investigators determined Monahan owned the residence in Hebron, they attempted to contact him, but he refused to come out of his home to speak with them, according to Murphy.
“He was uncooperative with patrols at the scene,” the sheriff told reporters. “After approximately over an hour of talking back and forth through 911 and trying to speak with him in person at the scene, he was taken into custody.”
Kevin Monahan, of Hebron, New York, is seen in this undated booking photo released by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on April 17, 2023.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Monahan, who Murphy said has no known criminal record, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He is due in court on Wednesday.
Monahan’s attorney Kurt Mausert said WTEN, Albany ABC affiliate that there were “three vehicles, one of them a noisy motorcycle, described as coming up my client’s long driveway, a 3-mile driveway, at high speed, flashing their lights at his house late at night.”
“[Monahan] I had no idea who they were, what they were doing there. It wasn’t just an in, out, out, that’s being portrayed again by the sheriff,” Monahan said. “So the facts of this case are going to have to come out both through witness interviews and the forensic analysis. tests It’s too early to plead guilty and say what someone is thinking, and whether they had a right to be afraid or not.”
“We have an elderly gentleman and his elderly wife who live in the dark woods of Washington County with three vehicles roaring into their driveway at high speed, lighting up their house and not leaving when they turn on the floodlights , so there was certainly reason for an element of fear on the part of Mr. Monahan,” he said.
ABC News’ Mark Remillard reports:
