The grieving father of the 20-year-old woman who was shot to death after turning into the wrong driveway has spoken out.
As previously reported, a 65-year-old homeowner identified as Kevin D. Monahan allegedly killed Kaylin A. Gillis after firing at a car that had pulled into the driveway of his home in Hebron, New York.
Law enforcement stated that Monahan fired two shots from his porch at the car, one of which struck Gillis who was still in the vehicle with her three friends.
Shortly after officers arrived at the address, the young woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The alleged shooter has since been charged with second-degree murder and remains detained pending a bond hearing.
Kaylin's father, Andrew Gillis, has now opened up about his loss to CBS News and shared that his daughter "was an honor student. She had hopes and dreams of becoming … a Marine biologist, and this man took that away from her."
According to investigators, Gillis, her boyfriend Blake Walsh, and her friends were traveling in an SUV through the town of Hebron just before 10:00 PM when they got lost while searching for another friend's house nearby.
They were driving two cars and a motorcycle when they lost service and sunlight, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey J. Murphy, per Fox News.
That was when Monahan allegedly started shooting, hitting Kaylin.
"[It] angers me so badly," Mr. Gillis told the outlet. "I just hope to God that he dies in jail."
He revealed that he spoke with his daughter's boyfriend after the tragedy, saying: "The first time I saw Blake after this happened, he said, 'It's all my fault.' And I said, ’No, it’s no one’s fault except for that man that pulled the trigger. You guys had no idea that something that bad could happen on a backcountry road.'"
Per The New York Post, several neighbors described the shooter as unhappy and wary of trespassers. One man named Adam Matthews said: "It’s shocking, but I’m not surprised. He had a short fuse. There was never any doubt he had a short fuse."
A second unnamed neighbor described Monahan as an "irritable character, kind of ornery," adding: "From what he told me, it seemed he presumed the worst in people. He was more cynical, just an irritable personality, someone who was easy to get into an argument with."
Monahan's lawyer, Kurt Mausert, stated that the police's version of horrific events was a "superficial, simplistic" account of what actually happened, as cited by CBS News.
"I believe we have a series of mistakes that led to a tragedy," Mausert said. "But I don't believe my client is a villain. But not every case with a tragedy has a villain, and I think this is one of them."
A GoFundMe has been launched to help cover the costs attributed to the 20-year-old's tragic death. At the time of writing, $139,846 has been raised of the $140,000 target.
Our thoughts are with Gillis's family and friends at this time.
