Killing of Kaylin Gillis

Kaylin Gillis was killed on April 15, 2023, just before 10 p.m., in Washington County, an upstate New York county that borders Vermont.[4] Gillis and her friends were looking for a friend's house. Their vehicle was being driven by her boyfriend. Their car and another vehicle mistakenly pulled into the driveway of Kevin D. Monahan, who lived on a ridgetop plot in the rural town of Hebron, on Patterson Hill Road.[4][5]

After turning into the wrong driveway, the group realized they had the wrong address, and began to back the vehicle out of the driveway to leave. Gillis was one of four people in the last car to pull away.[4] As the group was leaving, Monahan exited his home and fired two shots at the vehicle[4][6] using a 20-gauge shotgun.[7] Gillis was struck in the neck.[8] Unable to get mobile phone reception in Hebron, the group drove toward the neighboring town of Salem, where they were able to reach 9-1-1.[9] Gillis died before medical help could arrive.[8]

After police arrived at Monahan's home, he initially refused to surrender to police officers and state troopers. During an hour-long standoff, he was on the phone with a police dispatcher and with his attorney before eventually surrendering.[7] Eight police body-worn cameras captured his encounter with police.[8] According to papers filed in Washington County Court, Monahan had initially claimed to police that he had been "in bed since 8:30 p.m." and suggested that hunters had been responsible for killing.[8]

Gillis grew up in Schuylerville, New York and graduated from Schuylerville High School in 2021.[4][10]

Kevin D. Monahan (born October 28, 1957) was charged in the killing. He was born and raised in Salem, New York. Longtime neighbors described him as frequently hostile, sour, and sometimes confrontational. He had no criminal record in New York state, but he was arrested and charged in Vermont with aggravated assault with a weapon in 2001. That charge was later dismissed.[4][7][11][12]