A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed after accidentally pulling into a homeowner’s driveway. Kevin Monahan of Hebron, New York, opened fire on Kaylin Gillis after her vehicle drove into the driveway of his home. She’s said to have been with three other passengers, and the group was looking for a friend’s house at the time, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said during a press conference. Gillis didn’t survive her wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a news release, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said that Gillis hadn’t intentionally trespassed on Monahan’s property on Patterson Hill Road. Nevertheless, without thinking twice, he “fired at least two shots” at the car, killing Gillis. The group then drove away and to the nearby town of Salem before dialing 911. Kevin Monahan was not interested in talking to authorities when questioned.
Sgt. Murphy added that the property is in an extremely rural area and that Gillis and her friends would have struggled to locate their friends house given the lack of cell service in the area. “It’s a very rural area, it’s dirt roads, there’s not a lot of cellular services or any type of internet,” he added.
“Monahan was uncooperative with the investigation and refused to exit his residence to speak with police. He was later taken into custody with the assistance of the New York State Police Special Operation Response Team after several hours,” the release stated. Monahan has since been charged with second-degree murder.
A GoFundMe campaign has been created in the wake of Kaylin Gillis’ death by Beth Palleschi and Nikki Thomas. They say that Gillis had “just turned 20” before she “lost her life in a tragic shooting.” The campaign aims to raise $125,000 to help the Gillis family pay for Kaylin’s funeral and other costs. At the time of writing, more than $105,000 has been raised.
