New York man is convicted of the murder of a woman who pulled into the wrong driveway

A New York man was convicted Tuesday of killing a woman who mistakenly had pulled into his driveway.

Kevin Monahan, 66, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering in the driveway shooting trial.

Kaylin Gillis, 20, was fatally shot April 15 after the car she was traveling in, as well as another vehicle and a motorcycle, mistakenly pulled into Monahan’s driveway in Hebron. They were lost and looking for a party at a different house, in an area without cell service.

Washington County District Attorney J. Anthony Jordan told reporters after the verdict that his office’s goal had been “to seek justice for Kaylin.”

The killing not only affected the young woman’s family but her friends who were there, he said.

“These kids, you all know, they feel responsible.”

With the guilty verdict, “those kids know, or they’ll have a basis to know, that there’s nothing that they did that was wrong,” he said.

Monahan, who is set to be sentenced on March 1, could face life in prison. The murder charge carries a maximum of 25 years to life, and Jordan said “we will be asking for the judge to impose the maximum sentence.”

He had testified that the shot that killed Gillis was an accident after he tripped, NBC affiliate WNYT of Albany reported.

Monahan testified at trial that he felt threatened by the appearance of the motorcycle and other vehicles, turned on his floodlights and grabbed a 20-gauge shotgun, according to the station.

He told jurors Friday he saw a motorcycle come all the way up the driveway, felt threatened by the presence of the two other vehicles, and thought he was being blocked in, the station reported.

“I’m nervous. Real nervous. Because cars have our driveway blocked and he’s waving them up into our intimate area,” Monahan said.

Monahan said he fired a warning shot. But he said the second shot happened by accident, after tripping over nails on the deck, WNYT reported.

“I just feel like my soul is dead. There’s just a hole in me. I took someone else’s life. It’s just horrible,” he testified, according to the station.