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In his civil lawsuit filed in Washington County Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 20, Blake Walsh says he has been “rendered emotionally distressed” and “suffered psychological harm” after Kevin Monahan fatally shot 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis.
Sheriff’s officials said Walsh was driving one of three vehicles that mistakenly turned onto Monahan’s rural property in the town of Hebron just before 10 p.m. Saturday, April 15, 2023, while looking for a friend’s house.
After realizing their mistake, they turned around and were leaving the property when Monahan fired two shots at their vehicle from a 12-gauge shotgun. Gillis, who was seated in the front passenger seat, was struck in the neck.
Walsh had to drive nearly five miles away from the shooting scene in order to get cell reception and call 911. Gillis, a 2021 graduate of Schuylerville High School in Saratoga County, died from her injuries.
In February 2024, a Washington County jury found Monahan guilty of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Walsh’s lawsuit accuses Monahan of acting in a “careless, negligent, and reckless” manner when he opened fire on the vehicles.
It also lays blame on Monahan’s wife, Jinx, claiming she knew that her husband had a history of becoming “volatile, agitated, aggressive and at times, violent, in his response to whatever he perceived to be stressful or threatening situations.”
That included “when uninvited motorists would erroneously enter the Monahan property and/or driveway to turn around,” reads the lawsuit.
Despite this, Mrs. Monahan kept “several” firearms in the home, including a 20-gauge shotgun, that were “unsecured and readily accessible," Walsh alleges.
“Given Jinx Monahan's knowledge of Kevin Monahan's agitation and emotional outbursts, it was negligent, careless and reckless for her to permit the firearms located on the premises to be unsecured and readily available to defendant, Kevin Monahan,” the lawsuit reads.
Walsh is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
Gillis’ father Andrew Gillis has filed a separate wrongful death lawsuit against Monahan seeking at least $5 million in damages.
Click here to read the full lawsuit.
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