The man accused of killing an upstate New York woman riding in a car that pulled into his driveway by mistake says he was sleeping when the the shotgun blast killed Kaylin Gillis and had no idea anything had happened.
Kevin Monahan, 65, told investigators he had “been in bed since 8:30” on April 15, according to a court filing obtained by WNYT. Further, the document says, he told the officers that there are “hunters shooting in the area all the time.”
Gillis and three friends were in a car searching for a friends house in rural Washington County shortly before 10 p.m. on April 15, as CrimeOnline previously reported. They turned into a driveway but quickly realized it was the wrong house and began backing out to turn around. Gunshots rang out, striking Gillis.
With no cell signal in the remote area, the group drove five miles to Salem before they had a signal strong enough to call 911. First responders arrived and pronounced Gillis dead at the scene.
Monahan refused to speak with police when they arrived later in the night. Instead, he ran inside the house and called his lawyer. The lawyer, Kurt Maurert, negotiated Monahan’s surrender after his client told him he “had no idea” what was going on.
Mausert said that the characterization of his client as uncooperative in the initial stages of the investigation was “complete hooey,” the Albany Times Union said.
“He exercised his right to call counsel,” Mausert said. “The police knew if he stepped off his porch that they could arrest him without a warrant.”
But according to the document obtained by WNYT, Monahan told police refused to come speak with police “because I wasn’t going to walk down there in the dark.”
“I mean, you guys are cops, but you know, who knows these days,” he reportedly said, adding that “he was kind of nervous about walking up on a cop car in the middle of the night.”
When asked what happened back at his house, Monahan replied, “Nothing that I know of.”
Monahan has been denied bail three times, the Times-Union said, despite Mausert’s insistence that his client is not a flight risk. He was arraigned this week on charges of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence and pleaded not guilty, as CrimeOnline reported.
Mausert, meanwhile, said there was no way he could be ready for trial by the September 7 trial date set by the judge and vowed to go to a higher court to have the date changed, WNYT reported.
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[Featured image: Kaylin Gillis/GoFundMe]
