Jinx Monahan deemed hostile witness in husband's murder trial

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Witness testimony continued in the trial for Kevin Monahan. The Washington County man is charged with second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence in the shooting death of Kaylin Gillis. Gillis was a passenger in a car that mistakenly turned around in Monahan’s driveway in April 2023.

Jinx Monahan was called back to the stand Friday morning. Yesterday, she began recounting her perception of what happened April 15, 2023. She said Monahan woke her up because of the noise caused by a motorcycle and other vehicles entering their driveway, told her stay away from the windows and then went downstairs with his shotgun.

Monahan reaffirmed her claims that she was not told her husband fired his shotgun that night and said she did not recall a lot of specific details relating to events following the shooting. Monahan became emotional as she recalled going downstairs to speak to police, being handcuffed and then put in police cars.

During cross-examination, Monahan described what was going through her head when she was woken up and heard the sound of a motorcycle.

"I was afraid, I didn’t know what was happening, we were being invaded," Monahan said. “I was petrified, I didn’t know what to think."

When asked why neither of them called 911 following the shots fired, she said she did not feel the need to.

“I guess I didn’t feel there was a need to," Monahan said. "I didn’t know if they would come and Kevin was there to protect me.”

She also noted to the jury Monahan rarely uses his gun and did not believe he had firearms training.

Monahan's demeanor during cross-examination led Christian Morris, First Assistant District Attorney, to motion to treat the witness as hostile. Morris told Judge Adam Michelini that Monahan refused to meet with him prior to her testimony, on the advice of her attorney and Kurt Mausert, representing Kevin Monahan. He said Monahan's inability to recall a number of details from the grand jury testimony; in addition to inconsistent testimony and delivery between direct examination with him and cross-examination with Arthur Frost supported his motion.

Judge Adam Michelini questioned if Frost met with Monahan prior to her testimony, he refused to answer. We later learned through re-cross-examination that she did meet with the defense prior to her testimony, but not the prosecution.

 “I saw her today and it doesn’t appear she has cognitive issues," Michelini said. "It seems like slightness, elderly nature and age turn on and off depending on what she wants to do.”

First responders also testified about their response to a scene on Cemetery Rd and Route 30 in the Village of Hebron, where Gillis' friends were able to get in contact with 911 after the shooting. Those witnesses said they took certain measures to check for a pulse and determine the level of life-saving care needed upon arriving, but found Gillis to be dead on scene based on the amount of blood loss, critical nature of the wound and finding no cardiac activity.

An investigator with the Washington County Sheriff's Office talked about their efforts to secure the scene and locate Monahan's home. During cross-examination, Frost walked the investigator through the layout of Monahan's driveway, including signs that said "Private Road" and "No Trespassing."

Some of Monahan's neighbors also testified about the noises they heard that night and vehicles they saw going up Patterson Hill Rd. One neighbor, Jill Nadolsky, told Morris she made a note of a motorcycle and two vehicles going up the road, which she thought was unusual. Nadolsky said she heard two gunshots, fired within seconds of each other, and noticed the vehicles speeding back down the road, causing her to call 911. Frost questioned Nadolsky on the post-it notes she made after noticing the vehicles on April 15.

Mark Nelson, Officer with the Granville Police Department, testified he secured Monahan's property after the shooting. He said Monahan would not come down to speak with law enforcement when asked. Nelson corroborated what Kelsey Carpenter, a 911 call operator for Washington County, testified following opening statements.

Court will resume Tuesday Jan. 16, 2023.