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A New York man has been convicted of second-degree murder for shooting and killing a young woman when she mistakenly drove onto his rural driveway.
Kevin Monahan, 66, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the case of Kaylin Gillis, 20, according to the Associated Press.
Ms Gillis and her friends drove into Monahan’s driveway near the Vermont border on a Saturday night last April while they were trying to find another house.
The group was attempting to pull out of the driveway when Monahan walked onto his porch and fired a shotgun twice at the vehicles. The second shot hit Ms Gillis in the neck. She was sitting in the front passenger seat of an SUV her boyfriend was driving.
Monahan’s defence attorneys argued that the shooting was not intentional, and was the result of a faulty firearm. The lead defence attorney, Art Frost, reportedly repeated the lines “[Monahan’s] gun will fire even when no one pulls the trigger” during the trial, according to WAMC.
Just before the closing arguments, defence attorney Kurt Mausert filed a motion for a mistrial, citing prejudice against his client.
Mr Mausert argued that the court showed favour to the prosecution, citing alleged instances of coaching during the trial and in pre-trial hearings, and claimed he believed the court limited his ability to cross-examine witnesses.
Judge Adam Michelini rejected the motion, and chided Mr Mausert for having a “pretty odd way of interpreting things.”
“In that way, we have something in common,” Mr Mausert shot back.
District Attorney Tony Jordan spoke to reporters following the delivery of the guilty verdict.
“We wanted them to know that we believed in what they were saying. That there’s a purpose and that there will be justice. And our hope is today that they can begin to find that little bit of faith and justice that they can begin to move forward, to heal,” he said. “Because, this is not the end for them, and they have a long road ahead of them and we’re hopeful that this is a part of it.”
