A jury found Kevin Monahan guity of all three charges, including second-degree murder, in the shooting death of Kaylin Gillis.

The jury delivered the verdicts Tuesday afternoon, shortly after closing statements were made in the Washington County trial. 

In addition to the second-degree murder charge, Monahan was found guilty of first-degree reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

The Washington County man was found guilty of shooting and killing Gillis, 20, in his driveway last spring after police say she and a group of friends got lost.

It took the jury a little less than two hours to come to a consensus of guilt on all three charges Monahan faced. The 66-year-old had little to no reaction as the verdict was handed down.

Prior to deliberations, the defense and prosecutors pleaded with the jury one last time.

Arthur Frost, Monahan's lead defense attorney, tried to argue that the 20-gauge pump-action shotgun Monahan used the night Gillis, 20, was shot dead in his driveway will fire even when no one pulls the trigger. He scrutinized testimony given by a forensic scientist who specializes in firearms and conducted a series of drop tests with the shotgun.

“Do you have confidence that if he drops it now it won’t blow a hole in the roof?” Frost said.

Frost maintained it was a terrible accident; that his client was scared, unsure of the people in his driveway and their intentions, who, after firing a warning shot into the air, stumbled on nails that had come up on his deck.

“I offer them to you so that you can see this can happen. These nails can pop,” he said.

Prosecutors said Monahan acted recklessly and murdered Gillis.

Washington County Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris rehashed the timeline, highlighting various pieces of evidence, including photos of the property that Gillis and her friends were trying to find on April 15, 2023, when they pulled into Monahan's driveway. Morris said the properties share similar features, and that the evidence shows the group did what lost people do and turned around.

“Everything told them they were at the right house, but when they didn’t see those lights and they recognized that this house isn’t exactly this house, they stopped,” Morris said.

He also replayed body cam footage of law enforcement’s first interaction with Monahan that night.

Morris asked the jury why, after having experienced such a traumatic experience, did he not tell responding officers what had happened minutes earlier?

“It’s all still the same charade," Morris said. "He sat up on that stand, and he told you he lied to them.”

The jury was able to consider new charges — manslaughter as an alternative to the initial second-degree murder charge, and second-degree reckless endangerment as an alternative to first-degree reckless endangerment.

Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan credited Gillis’ friends, neighbors and other witnesses for helping secure justice.

“I hope it sends a message of hope, that there are people willing to step up … and that the system works,” Jordan said.

Jordan said he expects an appeal in the case, but his office intends to seek the maximum penalty a second-degree murder charge carries, which is 25 years to life. Monahan will be sentenced on March 1.

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