Man convicted of murdering woman in SUV that pulled into wrong driveway

A New York man was found guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday for fatally shooting a woman in an SUV that accidentally drove into her driveway.

Kevin Monahan, 66, was found guilty of fatally shooting Kaylin Gillis, 20, after a jury deliberated for less than an hour. Gillis was shot to death last April as he and his friend parked their car in the suspect's rural driveway in upstate New York.

“This is an understandable outcome, but this is a very sad time for the family,” Gillis family attorney Donald Boyajian said, according to the Associated Press. “The eternal loss of my beautiful daughter remains the same.”

Boyajian added that the family is grateful for the court's decision.

Gillis and her friends, traveling in two cars and a motorbike, were looking for a house party the night she died. The group began to depart when they realized they had made a mistake.

However, the 66-year-old man went out onto the balcony and fired two shots. Gillis was hit by a second bullet, authorities said.

Prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments that the gunman was consumed by irrational anger.

“He acted out of anger. That's all you can infer from entering his property and firing at people within 90 seconds,” Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris said, the Associated Press reported. . “He was going to pick up a shotgun and get them to leave as quickly as possible. He didn't care if they got hurt or killed.”

Monaghan and his attorney argued that a defective gun was used in the shooting and that it was accidental.

The suspect said he believed his home was “under siege” by intruders in the stands and first fired warning shots to disperse the group. Monaghan said the second shot occurred when he tripped over a nail on the balcony and lost his balance, causing the shotgun to hit the deck.

“I had no intention of firing the second shot,” Monaghan said in testimony last week. “The gun went off.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.