A US man who fatally shot a 20-year-old woman last year for mistakenly driving an SUV up his driveway was handed over 25 years in jail on Friday (Mar 1). Kevin Monahan shot Kaylin Gillis in the neck as she and her friends were turning back after realising their mistake. The group in the car was hunting for a party address before the deadly incident happened. Monahan later had said in his defence that he thought his property was under siege by intruders and he acted in self-defence.
Prosecutors claimed he “acted out of anger” and demanded a sentence of 25 years – the maximum. The court in January found the 66-year-old guilty of second-degree murder.
“I think it’s important for people to know that it’s not OK to shoot people and have them killed for turning down your driveway,” Judge Adam Michelini reportedly said.
Monahan ‘had become agitated’
A neighbour of Monahan was later quoted as saying in media reports that he had become more agitated by people making wrong turns up his driveway, which was long and curvy.
Friends of Kaylin Gillis said the private property sign by the driveway was not clearly visible, leading them to the wrong way. As they were turning back, Monahan emerged on the porch and fired two shots at the SUV driven by Gillis’s boyfriend. The second shot hit Gillis in the neck, killing her.
The boyfriend later told Monahan that he “will never be able to forgive” him.
The incident happened on a Saturday night in the small town of Hebron, about 55 miles (88km) northeast of Albany.
Arguments by Monahan’s lawyers
Monahan’s lawyers had claimed that the fatal shot was fired accidentally by a defective shotgun when he tripped on his porch and dropped it, an argument dismissed by the court.
The court found Monahan guilty of murder in addition to reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.
On Friday, as he appeared before the court, he declined the opportunity to speak. As he left, someone from the gallery shouted “coward” at him, as reported by AP news agency.
(With inputs from agencies)
