May 10, 2023 by Maggie Trautner (‘25)
On the night of April 15, twenty-year-old Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed after driving up the wrong driveway. Her car contained three other people, one of whom was Gillis’ boyfriend, Blake Walsh (19), and was accompanied by a second car and a motorcycle. Around 10 p.m., Gillis and her passengers were reportedly looking for a party when they got turned around on the windy, desolate roads of Hebron County. They were about twenty miles Northeast from Gillis’ home in Schuylerville when they took a fatal turn down Patterson Hill Road.
Gillis and her friends mistakenly drove up Hebron County resident Kevin Monahan’s driveway on which “Private Property” signs are displayed. They reportedly realized their mistake and were trying to turn to leave when Monahan (65), upon appearing on the porch, fired at least two shots at them, one of which hit Gillis, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car. With no cell service, Gillis’ friends were unable to contact emergency services until they had driven around five miles away to a nearby cemetery. The local police and ambulance arrived, and Gillis was pronounced dead on the scene.
Monahan’s neighbors had heard the gunshots and alerted the authorities. The shooter was uncooperative with the police, and it took several hours and the assistance of the New York State Special Operation Response Team to take him into custody. Monahan was then arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of Kaylin Gillis and transferred to Warren County Jail.
Washington County Sheriff, Jeffery J. Murphy said in an interview with The New York Times that “there was no threat” made by Gillis or her friends and that “they were leaving” the property when she was shot. He additionally described the attack as “unprovoked and unexplained”. On Wednesday, April 19, Monahan was denied bail in a hearing where he pleaded not guilty. In a report with WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, Monahan’s lawyer, Kurt Mausert, claimed his client was “afraid when he pulled the trigger.” Gillis’ father addressed the media in which he said, “I wasn’t going to speak to the media, but Kaylin deserves to have her story told.” Gillis’ father, Andrew, is a correctional officer at Washington County jail, which is most likely the reason Monahan was sent to the Warren County jail to be held instead. After an interview with The New York Times in which Andrew Gillis stated, “I just hope to God he dies in jail,” the choice of jail location of Monahan became even clearer.
Gillis was twenty years old at the time of her death and is survived by her mother and father, Andrew and Angelique Gillis, as well as her two sisters, Madilyn and Lilliana. In Gillis’ obituary with Flynn Bros Funeral Home, she was described as “the glue of her family.” In an effort to spread her story and raise money for funeral costs, as well as a scholarship in Gillis’ honor, a GoFundMe was set up. A heartwarming $147,000 has already been raised, surpassing the original goal of $140,000. This display of public support as well as the silent vigil held in Gillis’ honor does not fix what has happened, but it provides a little bit of closure for Gillis’ loved ones after such an unexpected tragedy.
As a graduate of Schuylerville High School, class of 2021, Gillis positively impacted many. The school is reportedly providing counseling for those who may need it, including her two younger sisters. Gillis was on the varsity cheer team for her high school and a Facebook post was made in her memory, which includes old pictures and a beautiful description of Gillis and her contributions throughout her high school experience. More questions of gun control arise from concerned parents and members of the community, as this is the second “wrong house” shooting that has taken place within one week. Kaylin deserves justice for the decades she lost of her precious life just because one man decided to pull the trigger.