Kevin Monahan: man jailed for 25 years for murder of Kaylin Gillis after she mistakenly drove into his driveway

A man who shot and killed a 20-year-old woman who mistakenly drove onto his driveway has been jailed for 25 years.

Kevin Monahan, 66, was found guilty of second degree murder for the death of Kaylin Gillis at his property in the rural town of Hebron, New York. He shot her in the neck after her boyfriend drove a car up the driveway while they were looking for the correct address for a party.

After realising that they were at the wrong address, both the car that Ms Gillis and three other were in and a car which followed behind began to back out if the driveway. Monahan then came out of his home and fired two shots from a 20-gauge shotgun towards the vehicle carrying Ms Gillis.

During his trial in January, the jury took only two hours to find him guilty of second-degree murder, as well as reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence. He was handed the 25-year prison sentence during a hearing on March 1. Monahan reportedly chose not to speak during the sentencing.

Neighbours had described Monahan as frequently frustrated with people mistakenly driving into his rural driveway, while also describing him as sometimes aggressive and hostile. The court heard during that trial that the driver and passengers of the car had not noticed a 'private property' sign which sat at the entrance of Monahan's driveway.

He argued that he thought his property was "under siege" after the two cars drove onto the property. His lawyers argued that the fatal shot, which caught Ms Gillis in the neck, was fired accidentally after he tripped on the porch step and dropped a defective shotgun. However the prosecutors argued that Monahan has actually "acted out of anger", adding: "He grabbed his shotgun and intended to make them leave as fast as possible and he didn't care if they were hurt or killed."

Andrew Gillis, father of Ms Gillis, spoke of the family's heartbreak ahead of the sentencing. He said: "Every day we wake up to the harsh reality that that she's no longer here. We will never see her beautiful face, hear her laughter."