NewsChannel 13 was first to learn of a deadly shooting on the night of Saturday, April 15, 2023.

Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed while riding in a friend’s SUV. The car she was a passenger in had mistakenly pulled into a driveway on Patterson Road in Hebron, Washington County.

The homeowner, Kevin Monahan, 65, had fired two shots at the Ford Explorer. One shot hit Gillis in the neck.

A lack of cell service in the area prevented Gillis’ friends from calling 911 until they’d driven several miles away. By then it was too late.

Police spent at least two hours trying to coax Kevin Monahan out of his home, as he called his attorney. He was charged with second-degree murder.

A couple of weeks after the deadly shooting, Monahan’s attorney argued his client should be granted bail.

The attorney told the judge that Monahan was 65 years old and had no prior convictions. Two different judges denied the request.

May 18, 2023: A Washington County grand jury returned an indictment, accusing Monahan of murder – that he acted with a depraved indifference toward human life.

He was also accused of reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

He was arraigned on those new charges one week later, pleading not guilty.

Late May 2023: Newly revealed court documents shed light on Monahan’s self-defense.

They revealed Monahan told police he was asleep at the time of the shooting.

When asked what happened, he reportedly answered “nothing that I know of”, and told police there are “hunters shooting in the area all the time”.

Monahan’s attorney would later request that those statements be suppressed.

July 25, 2023: Monahan’s attorney Kurt Mauser made a request to allow Monahan to return to his property, so he can do a walk-through and show him exactly where he and others were at the time of the shooting. That request was also denied.

Aug. 24, 2023: Gillis’ parents, Andrew and Angelique Gillis, filed a wrongful death suit against Monahan. It accuses Monahan, and his wife, Jinx, of negligence.

It alleges that Monahan didn’t mark his property or warn people to not turn around, and like the criminal charges, it does not claim they intentionally caused Gillis’ death.

Oct 25, 2023: The trial scheduled to begin on Halloween was officially postponed.

NewsChannel 13 learned that delays with the analysis of some evidence in the case forced the judge to adjourn the trial.

A new date was set for Jan. 8, 2024.

Legal motions came fast as the new trial date approached.

First, Monahan’s attorneys asks the judge to prohibit the use of certain words during the trial. Words like referring to Gillis as a “victim”, and Monahan as an “assailant” or “perpetrator.”

The district attorney’s office responded with their own filing, saying “It will be readily apparent to the jury that the prosecution’s theory of the case is that Kaylin Gillis is a murder victim and Kevin Monahan is the murderer.”

Monahan’s attorneys also asked that members of the public be barred from showing up at the courthouse with signs or clothing supporting Kaylin Gillis.

Just days before the start of the trial, we learned 500 jurors were summoned to the Washington County Courthouse – a record number for a trial in the county.