A number of young people filed into a Washington County courtroom Thursday morning for a fifth day of witness testimony in the Kevin Monahan trial, with prosecutors calling some of Kaylin Gillis’ friends who were with her the night police say she was shot and killed in Monahan’s driveway after they had gotten lost looking for a party.

Blake Walsh, Gillis’ boyfriend and driver of the Ford Explorer she was riding in, testified first.

He explained how the group of friends had convened at his parents’ house on April 15, 2023. He admits there was alcohol and marijuana but said he didn’t partake. Shortly after 8 p.m., the group made its way toward Hebron in three vehicles — two SUVs and a motorcycle — after having received an invitation to a party via Snapchat.

Walsh said his friend Catherine Jade Rondeau led the way in her Jeep Compass, as she was more familiar with the Hebron area, having grown up in nearby Salem, and had even been to the house where the party was.

According to Walsh, the group pulled off Patterson Hill Road and onto Monahan’s long driveway before stopping several yards short of the home at the end. He said Rory Bain continued toward the house on his motorcycle, but turned around seconds later.

Walsh said he had pulled alongside Rondeau’s Jeep, and after a brief conversation, the group determined it was the wrong address and that it was time to leave. Walsh and Rondeau initiated three-point turns to leave, and as he was backing up toward the house, Walsh said he heard a “pop” and noticed lights at the house had come on. Seconds later, he recalled what sounded like a gunshot, metal breaking inside the vehicle, and his friend Jacob Payne yelling in the back seat that someone was shooting at them.

As Walsh sped down the driveway, he said, he asked everyone if they were OK, and got responses from everyone — except for Gillis, who he said was slumped against the front passenger door. The group scrambled to Cemetery Road, where they were finally able to connect with 911 operators, but Gillis had already succumbed to her injuries.

Lead defense attorney Arthur Frost took issue with Walsh telling the jury that he heard a pop, which he didn’t recall during grand jury testimony. Judge Adam Michelini did not think it was worthy of impeaching Walsh’s testimony.

Rondeau was emotional on the stand while telling the jury she had smoked marijuana prior to leaving Walsh’s house but didn’t believe it impaired her ability to find the party. Rondeau said she had been to the house where the party was about five years prior to the incident and said Monahan’s driveway and house looked similar.

Frost claims this was a “terrible accident” and that his client got scared, “stumbled” on his deck after firing a warning shot into the air, and calls the shotgun “defective.” The claim was refuted by a forensic scientist who testified Wednesday.

Jordan Caruso, a forensic scientist who specializes in DNA, was also on the stand this morning. She examined DNA samples collected from a gun allegedly used in the incident. Caruso says Monahan’s DNA matched DNA collected from various points of the gun, and that the chances of matching it to anyone else is 54.8 billion to 1.

Caruso also described how DNA can be wiped away or broken down.

In addition to second-degree murder and reckless endangerment, Monahan is charged with tampering with evidence. Caruso couldn’t say if it appeared DNA was wiped from the gun.

Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. Friday.