Global Courant 2023-04-19 03:36:14
When Kaylin Gillis and her friends took a wrong turn in a driveway in upstate New York last weekend, little did they know that the property belonged to a man who, according to a neighbor, had become increasingly bitter about people over the years who rode on it. his country by mistake.
This time the error proved fatal. Hebron landowner Kevin Monahan opened fire Saturday nightkilling 20-year-old Gillis when she and her friends drove off after flipping on the long dirt driveway, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said.
Monahan, 65, was arrested on second-degree murder charges and remains in custody pending a hearing.
One of his neighbors, Adam Matthews, who runs an auto repair shop in nearby Salem, said Monahan had become increasingly distressed in recent years by people taking the wrong turn in his driveway.
“I’m just a little overwhelmed,” Matthews said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, after speaking to other news outlets. “It’s a tragic event.”
Murphy said Gillis and her friends got lost when they went to another friend’s house nearby. They were driving two cars and a motorcycle when they pulled into Monahan’s driveway. When they realized the mistake and turned around, Monahan fired two gunshots at them as they drove off, Murphy said.
One of the bullets struck the back of the car Gillis was in and hit her, fatally injuring her, Murphy said.
Gillis’ father, Andrew Gillis, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that his family is devastated.
“Kaylin was a kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to all who were lucky enough to know her,” the post read. “She was just starting to make her way in the world with kindness, humor and love…She was taken from us way too soon.”
Andrew Gillis wrote that his daughter was an honors student and talented artist who looked forward to attending college in Florida and dreamed of becoming a marine biologist.
“Our family will never be the same, but we will be guided by Kaylin’s positivity, optimism and joy as we learn to live with her loss,” he wrote.
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Speaking publicly for the first time on Tuesday, Monahan’s attorney called the sheriff’s version of events a “shallow, simplistic” account of what actually happened.
The attorney, Kurt Mausert, declined to discuss details of the shooting, citing the pending criminal case.
“I believe we made a series of mistakes that led to tragedy,” he said in a telephone interview. “But I don’t believe my client is a villain. But not every case of tragedy has a villain, and I think this is one.
The sheriff described Monahan as uncooperative and said he initially refused to leave the house before peacefully surrendering after about an hour.
Mausert disputed that there was a standoff, saying he was on the phone with his client while law enforcement officers were at Monahan’s doorstep. He said Monahan was talking to police outside his door and officials would not say why they were there and did not have a warrant for their arrest. The lawyer said Monahan was exercising his right to remain silent when he refused to talk to police about what happened.
When police officials told the lawyer over the phone that someone had died, Mausert said he helped arrange the peaceful surrender.
“They told me there was a fatal accident, and then it started to make sense to me,” he said. “At that point it is dangerous for everyone. My goal at the time was to ensure that my client could safely turn himself in to the police.”
As Gillis’ family mourned Tuesday, officials from the school system she attended held a press conference to express their grief over her death. Gillis graduated from Schuylerville High School in 2021, about 20 miles from Monahan’s home in Hebron. Her two younger sisters are in seventh and ninth grades in Schuylerville.
“We have a very tight-knit community,” says Katie Elsworth, the high school’s principal. “And we tell them that we will always be your school family. We will always be there to support you and care for you and love you. And if something happens to one of the graduate students, it hurts our hearts as much as when they are here.”
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 she entered or any club activity she participated in.”
School officials said Gillis was on the high school competition cheerleading team for two seasons, participated in Future Farmers of America programs, and was an avid performer.
A celebration of Gillis’ life was scheduled for Friday in Schuylerville.
