- Kevin Monahan, 65, faces second-degree murder charges in the death of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis.
- The sheriff told CNN that Monahan "has not shown any remorse in this case," according to CNN.
The man who is accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in upstate New York hasn't shown "any remorse," the local sheriff said, as her boyfriend says he's trying to imagine a world without her.
Gillis was a passenger in a car with her friends and boyfriend, 19-year-old Blake Walsh, when they pulled into the wrong driveway around 10 p.m. on Saturday. As the group tried to figure out whether they were at the right address, two shots were fired at the car. Gillis was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
"I had high hopes, and I had plans," Walsh, who was with Gillis for over four years, told NBC News. "I didn't want to be with anybody else, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."
"My world was taken from me Saturday," Walsh added.
Kevin Monahan, 65, faces second-degree murder charges. Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said as police responded to the home, Monahan "refused to exit his residence to speak with police" and was taken into custody "after several hours" with the assistance of the New York State Police Special Operation Response Team, according to a press release.
The sheriff added that Monahan "quite frankly, has not shown any remorse in this case," according to CNN.
"There was clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle. There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened," Murphy added to the outlet.
Monahan's attorney, Kurt Mausert, said his client gave him a different version of events, CNN reported.
"This was not a simple case of coming up a driveway and turning around," Mausert told CNN. "The description I was given by my client is there were multiple vehicles, including a motorcycle, revving engines, coming up the driveway at a high rate of speed."
Mausert told The New York Times that Monahan "sincerely regrets this tragedy" and "feels terrible that there was a fatality." He added that the sheriff has acted "as judge, jury and executioner."
"When there's a tragedy and a victim, everyone wants a villain," Mausert told The Times. "But sometimes they're just tragedies and victims and there are no villains. And this is one of those times."
Mausert told CNN that his client believed the multitude of vehicles on the rural road "created an atmosphere and a fear that there was menace going on."
Sheriff Murphy told the outlet that there were two cars and a motorcycle that were driving along the road and pulled into the driveway looking for the right address. He added that there were no 911 calls from Monahan or any of his neighbors of noise complaints.
"I don't know how they could menace anyone with those type of actions, but they were clearly leaving the residence when the shots were fired," Murphy added, citing forensic evidence.
Mausert told CNN that his client was unaware the shots he fired had struck anyone. Mausert said Monahan called him to say that he had "no idea" why there were four sheriff's deputies on his road, at which point Mausert contacted police and found out there was a fatality and a criminal charge.
"This was not a standoff," Mausert told CNN. "This was my client and I not knowing what was going on in terms of the charges that were pending."
Mausert said in a comment to Insider that Murphy "has been spinning false narratives on several points," including his client's "emotional state."
"He never spoke with my client, nor was Mr. Monahan interviewed by any member of law enforcement because he invoked his right to counsel. The Sheriff should confine his remarks to things he actually knows," Mausert told Insider, adding that he disagreed with the sheriff's characterization that Monahan was "uncooperative with the police."
Walsh, who told NBC he was driving the car that Gillis was a passenger in, said he planned to attend Monahan's bond hearing on Wednesday.
"I need to see who took my girlfriend away from me," Walsh told NBC. "I need to look at him."