Man Receives Maximum Sentence for Killing Woman Who Accidentally Drove Into His Driveway

The judge showed no leniency to Kevin Monahan in handing down the maximum-allowed sentence, and in fact chastised the man. Monahan was convicted January 23 on second degree murder, reckless endangerment, and tampering with evidence, per CrimeOnline.

The jury took just two hours to return a guilty verdict for the April 15 shooting. On Friday, Judge Adam Michelini expressed that he believed Monahan was a risk to kill again, despite the low rate of recidivism among convicted murderers.

"With you, I really think you could do the same thing again," Michelini told Monahan, per the Albany Times-Union. "It’s obvious to me that you feel justified. You don’t take any responsibility for the outcome of your actions. You just don't get it."

The judge also mentioned that during his defense testimony, Monahan had told the jury he had plans to continue working on his home and possibly return to his previous career as a motocross racer.

"You senselessly took the life of Kaylin Gillis and you have the gall to sit here and talk about how you plan to finish the work on your house and race motocross in the future?" he told Monahan at his sentencing. "You don’t deserve that."

"You murdered Kaylin Gillis. You shot at a car full of people and you didn’t care what happened and you repeatedly lied about it," he continued. "You deserve to spend the maximum time in prison allowable under our law." The judge added a consecutive term of one-and-three-quarters to four years for evidence tampering.

Monahan declined to speak at the sentencing, leading someone in the crowd to shout, "Coward!" But Gillis' boyfriend did take the opportunity to speak to Monohan.

"We all know that this was not an accident," Walsh said to Monahan and those assembled on Friday. "I'll never be able to forgive you for your actions  — I wouldn’t even think about it. Words can’t describe how happy I am for the justice system, seeing this decision the way it is. But if it were my decision, you’d be under the jail."

The young woman's father also spoke. "Losing her has left us with an indescribable void in our life -- one that can never be filled," he said. "Every day, we wake up to the harsh reality that she is no longer here and we will never see her beautiful face, hear her laughter or simply be able to hug her."

He also called out Monahan's attempts to lie to the courts and his lack of apparent remorse. "You were deceitful. You hid the truth. And you’ve never shown remorse," he said, adding that his not taking responsibility for his actions sealed his fate. "Our hope is that your actions will haunt you for the rest of your life," he concluded.

Monahan fired twice from a 20-gauge shotgun as a group of seven friends in two vehicles and a motorcycle who'd gotten turned around looking for a nearby party were already backing out of his driveway, realizing they were at the wrong place. This was about 9:45 p.m. ET.

It was the second shot that proved fatal, piercing Gillis' neck as she sat in the passenger seat. Walsh was driving while two friends in the backseat attempted to reach 911. Cell phone service was spotty in the rural area, so by the time they were able to get through and emergency services responded to the scene, Gillis was dead.

Monahan's story shifted multiple times, with the shooter first telling a 911 operator he believed there were hunters on his property. When an office arrived, he claimed to have been "sound asleep" and said nothing happened.

Then, he claimed the shooting was an accident, and that he believed he was "under siege" by intruders. He claimed he shot once as a warning and in an attempt to start "a dialogue." The second shot -- the one that struck and killed Gillis -- happened when he tripped over nails while trying to aim the shotgun at the ground. He said he lost his balance and the shotgun went off when it hit the deck.

Washington County First Assistant District Attorney Christan P. Morris spoke out about the shooting after seeing comments online feeling that Monahan was justified in shooting someone in his driveway.

"Every other person needs to know that you can’t murder someone because they pulled into your driveway," he said. "The sentence here today affects everybody."