After two weeks of testimony about the April 15th, 2023 driveway shooting, jurors swiftly found Kevin Monahan guilty in the murder of Kaylin Gillis on Tuesday.
After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury found the 66-year-old guilty of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, and tampering with evidence.
Jurors concluded that Monahan had acted with a depraved indifference to human life when he fired upon two SUVs and a motorcycle that had mistakenly entered the winding driveway of his rural Hebron home – rejecting the lesser charge of second-degree homicide.
Monahan’s attorneys Art Frost and Kurt Mausert centered their defense around a claim that Monahan’s 20-gauge shotgun could fire even if the trigger was not pulled.
Monahan testified that he had fired one warning shot, and that the second shot went off after he tripped on nails protruding from his deck, hitting his gun on the railing.
Speaking to reporters after jurors came back, 1st Assistant District Attorney Chris Morris reflected on Monahan’s testimony, when Monahan said he hoped to start some sort of dialogue by firing the first time.
“My hope with that, and if you were there for cross examination, is that the absurdity of something like that was just patently clear in the room. That you could hear a pin drop if anybody had any thought of actually considering that to be true,” said Morris.
Morris’ closing arguments lasted more than two hours. He showed jurors photos of shooting targets, after Monahan and his wife, Jinx, testified that Monahan rarely fired his gun.
The defense said Monahan could not have fired the second shot because of a decades-old wrist injury, but on cross-examination Morris highlighted that Monahan currently works in construction, and participated in long, high-speed motorcycle races as recently as 2018.
Moments before returning their verdict the jury asked Judge Adam Michelini for clarification on the difference between manslaughter and homicide, and had testimony re-read to them in which Jinx Monahan said her husband only fired his gun once or twice a year gun to kill groundhogs.
Gillis’ friends who were in the caravan when she was struck in the neck, bleeding to death moments later, took the stand to recount the traumatic events of the evening.
During a post-verdict press conference, District Attorney Tony Jordan thanked the young men and women who testified, saying he hopes the outcome of the trial assuaged any guilt they carry.
“These kids, you all know, they feel responsible. And because our neighbors in Washington County were willing to get involved, those kids know, or they’ll have the basis to know, that there’s nothing that they did that was wrong,” explained Jordan. “Because, you know, adults tend not to believe kids. And so, it was really nice for them to have people that could say to them, ‘you were right, you did nothing wrong, you were just lost.’”
Much of the defense’s case also revolved around a lack of communication between Monahan and the young adults as well as law enforcement. Told that police officers were at his home hours after shooting at the caravan for a noise complaint, prosecutors said Monahan lied and said that he had been asleep since 8:30, and that hunters in the woods behind his home could have caused the disturbance.
During closing arguments, Frost reiterated the defense’s stance that the death was unintentional, echoing his opening statement.
“I told you in the beginning that when we got here, I would ask you to say two words, ‘not guilty.’ Because this was a terrible accident and you, they jury, have realized that by now,” said Frost.
In his own closing argument, Morris said Monahan had lied to the police, suggesting hunters as the source of the noise complaint because he knew they were there over shots fired.
Monahan, Morris said, did not act out of fear:
“He acted out of a baser emotion than that, he acted out of anger. That is the only thing that can be inferred from shooting at people within 90 seconds of being in your property,” he said. “These vehicles were in his driveway, they were at his house, interrupting his night, and they were not leaving fast enough. 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, just so long as they left.”
Jordan also hoped the guilty verdict would help heal those hurt by Monahan’s actions.
“And our hope is today that they can begin to find that little bit of faith and justice that they can begin to move forward, to heal. Because, this is not the end for them, and they have a long road ahead of them and we’re hopeful that this is a part of it.”
Gillis’ death made national headlines amid a string of similar cases. Just days prior to Gillis’ death, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in Missouri after looking for his brothers at the wrong house.
Sentencing will be March 1st, with Monahan facing 25 years to life. Monahan plans on appealing. The defense filed multiple unsuccessful motions for mistrial throughout the case.
Monahan’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
