WEBVTT
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All they have is a flashlight. A narrow, white beam
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from an iPhone. It shakes around inside the SUV, searching
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for where the blood is coming from. They say her
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name again and again, but she doesn't answer. The light
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lands on a wound on the left side of her neck,
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the blood still flowing. One of the guys puts his
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hand over it to stop the bleeding, but it continues,
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his hand sliding around uncontrollably. He grabs a cloth, pressing
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down harder this time. It soaks through. Outside the car,
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there's only darkness. It's a little after 10 p.m., and
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in this part of New York, the rural town of Hebron,
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there are no streetlights and no visible neighbors. They need
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an ambulance or police. Somebody. One of them pulls out
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their phone and dials, but when they press call, it
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fails instantly. The only thing left to do is to
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keep pressure on the wound and drive as fast as
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they can. Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares, true crime
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for bedtime, where nightmare begins now. It's Saturday, April 15, 2023.
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A group of friends are all hanging out together at
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Blake Walsh's parents' house. Blake is 19 years old, and
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his girlfriend, Kaylin Gillis, is 20. One of them just
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got an invitation through Snapchat to a party in Hebron,
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New York. It's a boring weekend, so this invite seems
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like a blessing. A little after 8 p.m., the group
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leaves Blake's parents' place in three vehicles. a Ford Explorer,
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a Jeep Compass, and a motorcycle. Blake drives the Ford,
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and Kaylin takes the passenger seat, while two more friends
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pile into the back. The plan is that one of
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the girls, Catherine, will lead the way in her Jeep.
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She knows the area better than the others, having grown
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up nearby. She's been to this house before, or at
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least she thinks she remembers enough to find it again.
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But years have passed, and in the dark, the roads
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around Hebron don't give them much to work with. So
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they roll out together as sort of a loose caravan,
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all following the leader, hoping they won't get split up.
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One set of headlights follows another for the half-hour drive.
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But as their destination nears, the less certain they become.
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The houses all have long, hidden driveways and sit far apart.
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An address that looks clear on Google Maps can become
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much harder to find in the pitch-black night Soon, Catherine
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makes a turn. This seems like the right one, she thinks.
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Their tires crunch over the gravel, trees rushing past on
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either side. But as they get closer to the end
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of the road, something feels off. There are no other cars,
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no people outside, no music, and no lights. This doesn't
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seem like a party. The driveway bends away from Patterson
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Hill Road and pulls them farther from the paved street.
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But Catherine keeps driving, hoping there will be a spot
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to turn around. Blake follows behind her in the Ford Explorer.
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The unpaved driveway is narrow, so Rory, the guy on
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the motorcycle, decides to drive closer to the house to
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see if there's anything that looks like a party. The
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mistake they've made settles in. The windows are completely dark.
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They're not at the right place. For a few seconds,
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they're all trapped in the awkward mechanics of turning around
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on this narrow path. Making a three-point turn in someone's
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driveway isn't ideal. But it's happened to all of us.
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Catherine turns at the steering wheel and starts to turn
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back towards the main road. Blake follows. Rory has already
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ridden back down the hill, but now his motorcycle stalls.
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When the first loud pop, cuts through the driveway, he
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thinks for a second that the sound came from his
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own bike. In the Ford Explorer, Blake hears it too,
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a loud pop, then a metallic ping. The house lights
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are on, and the group can see a man standing
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on the porch. He's holding a gun. Then comes the
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second shot. This time, the sound is followed by the
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sharp cracking of metal inside the Ford. Blake ducks and
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hits the gas. The SUV tears down the gravel driveway
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away from the house. Finally, the tree line thins and
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Blake can see the main road. The two in the
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back are frantic, but Kaylin is silent. Blake looks over
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at his girlfriend in the passenger seat. She's slumped over.
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Her long blonde hair is covering her face. She's been shot.
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At 1263 Patterson Hill Road, Kevin Monaghan was at home
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with his wife, Jinx. Kevin is 65 years old and
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the couple had lived on this rural plot of land
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in Hebron for years. The modern A-frame cabin is set
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back from the main road, hidden by trees and a
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long unpaved driveway. Visitors would have to turn down the
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gravel path and keep driving following the narrow, winding driveway
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as it curved up through the property toward the house.
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But on this night and most other nights, Kevin and
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Jinx weren't expecting any visitors. A car couldn't just appear.
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It had to come up slowly, headlights first, moving through
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the pitch black. This distance allowed Kevin and his wife
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plenty of time to see someone coming. It was a
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little after 10 p.m. when Kevin heard a noise outside.
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A motorcycle. Then he saw headlights. It wasn't just one,
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but multiple vehicles. Three that he could count. All of
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them were moving towards the house where he and his
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wife had just gone to bed. From the front of
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his house through giant windows overlooking the valley, Kevin could
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see all the way down the hill. The driveway wraps
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up towards a house from below, and he could see
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the whole thing. He watched the vehicles as they made
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their way up, knowing it would take some time to
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drive the distance. Kevin woke his wife, whispering about what
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he'd seen outside. He snatched the shotgun from the side
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of the bed and told her to stay away from
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the windows. Then he marched downstairs. As he opened the
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front door, the house lights clicked on. By the time
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Kevin got outside, the vehicles were close enough for him
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to see movement, headlights, and shapes in the driveway. But
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Kevin didn't call out. He didn't ask who they were.
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He didn't tell them they had the wrong house or
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give them a chance to explain. Instead, he stood silently
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on the deck with a shotgun in his hands. Down below,
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the cars were starting to drive in the opposite direction
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away from the house and back towards the main road.
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That's when Kevin fired. The first shot cracked across the property,
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missing his target. From the deck, he was above them,
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looking down at cars from the corner closest to the driveway.
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The first shot was close enough that everyone inside the
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Ford Explorer ducked and flinched. They felt something hit the vehicle.
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Five seconds passed. Then Kevin fired again. This time the
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slug slipped right through the Ford Explorer's metal frame. It
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punched through the metal column near the rear passenger seat,
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through pieces of plastic and interior through the car, passed
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through the cabin and struck 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in the neck.
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The caravan had been driving away from the house when
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Kevin fired that final shot. Then the group was gone,
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ripping down the driveway and back into darkness. And Kevin
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went back inside. Kevin and his wife went upstairs and
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sat at the end of the bed, then moved to
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the kitchen table on the main floor. For the next
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25 minutes, they stayed there. Then another vehicle came up
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the driveway. This time it wasn't kids looking for a party,
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it was law enforcement. The spotlight hit the house. Officers
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had been told a shooting happened, and they believed 1263
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Patterson Hill Road was where it started. They knew someone
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at the house may have fired a gun. They knew
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that person may still be armed. So, they didn't just
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walk up to the front door. That would be really stupid.
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From Kevin and Jakes' perspective, it Must have looked like
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the night was starting all over again. But Kevin didn't
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go back outside with the shotgun, not this time. This
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time he picked up the phone and did the right thing.
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He called 911. When the dispatcher picked up, Kevin didn't
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just explain that there had been a shooting at his house. No,
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he said, There's a car in my yard with lights
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shining at my house. Do you have a call here?
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The dispatcher said that she'd spoken with the officers and
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they were in the area for a noise complaint. Kevin said, well,
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they're right in the driveway shining the lights in my house.
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My driveway is about a half a mile long. Kevin
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gave her an explanation. He'd been sound asleep, but there
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had been some guys hunting with dogs at night. Maybe
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that's what had caused the noise. The dispatcher clarified that no,
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The complaint was about a party, something about loud music
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coming from the house nearby. Again, he said he'd been
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sound asleep. He was an older man, he said. He
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went to bed around 8.30 and hadn't heard anything. Outside,
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officers were trying to get Kevin to come down and
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talk to them. With the phone still in his hand,
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Kevin glanced at the flashing lights outside and asked the
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dispatcher how much longer they'd be in his yard. He
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wanted to go back to bed, after all. He said
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he wished they'd just finish up whatever they were doing
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and leave him alone. But that's not how it works, Kevin.
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You can't just shoot someone and go back to bed.
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The cops wouldn't leave, obviously. And after a few minutes
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of shouts from law enforcement, Kevin called 911 again. This time,
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he was more agitated. Like a carrot. He demanded to
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know what was going on. The officers wanted him to
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come to them, obviously. And Kevin complained about the distance,
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saying they expected him to walk an eighth of a mile.
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As if the distance of his driveway was their problem.
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The dispatcher tried to keep him on the phone, but
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Kevin said he had to make another call. Apparently something
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else was more important. So he hung up. Outside officers
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were still waiting, confused and growing impatient. After an infuriating hour, Kevin,
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the old out-of-it that he was, finally came outside and
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was promptly arrested. The standoff ended without gunfire, but not
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without a headache. The house at 1263 Patterson Hill Road
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was quiet yet again. But now the driveway, the deck...
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the hill and the gravel path, all mattered. It had
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become one giant crime scene. Investigators would come looking for shells, wadding, residue,
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anything that could show where Kevin had stood, where the
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gun had been pointed, and what happened after the cars
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left the property. By then, the evidence of what he
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had done was no longer on his property, but inside
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Blake Walsh's Ford Explorer. Kalen Gillis never makes it to
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the hospital. After Kalen's boyfriend Blake maneuvers out of Kevin
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Monaghan's driveway, he tries to get the group's attention. He
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tells them Kalen's been shot. The group heads back towards
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the village of Hebron. At the intersection of Patterson Hole
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Road and Route 30, they stop again, shouting between vehicles,
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trying to figure out where to go next. Finally, after
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numerous failed attempts, they connect with 911. But by then,
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the dispatcher tells them to stop trying to get to
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the hospital. They need to give their location and wait
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for first responders to come to them. By sheer coincidence,
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a local fire chief happens to be nearby, coming back
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from another call when he hears the radio traffic and
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realizes he's just past the group of cars as they're
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pulling over. He swings back around to help. Soon, law enforcement, EMTs,
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and paramedics arrive as well. They crowd around Kaylin, but
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they're too late. By the time she's assessed, there are
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no life-saving measures left to perform. The 20-gauge slug has
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severed her spinal cord. On a dark rural road surrounded
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by her hysterical friends, Kaylin Gillis is gone. After all
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the noise and all the chaos, there's suddenly nothing left
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for them to do. The emergency is over, but only
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because the worst possible outcome has happened, and it's absolutely irreversible.
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Now the night will be taken over by deputies walking
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along Kevin's driveway, investigators photographing the house, prosecutors listening to
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the 911 call, and eventually the jurors who will have
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to decide what really happened that night. By the time
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Kevin Monaghan enters the court system, the story has already
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dramatically changed. Which isn't a surprise to anyone who knows him,
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it turns out. In the first version, Kevin didn't know
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anything about a party or a noise complaint. He just
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wanted police to stop shining their lights on his house
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and let him go back to bed. But in court,
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Kevin's defense is a little different. After all, he's facing
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second-degree murder charges. Now he tells the jury that he
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and his wife were terrified. That they thought the house was, quote,
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under siege. Like it's some kind of movie. And they're
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the protagonist. There had been break-ins in the area over
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the years. And when the cars came up his driveway
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that night, he thought they were being attacked. Maybe he
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just watched a really action-packed movie and let his mind wander.
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Who knows? He said he grabbed a shotgun to protect
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his wife, and that the first shot was a warning.
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He says he fired into the air to scare them off,
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which is illegal, by the way. The second shot, the
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one that killed Kalen, he says was an accident. Maybe
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if you're that accident-prone with a shotgun, you should never
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pick one up. Just my cup of tea there. According
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to Kevin, he tripped over nails sticking out of his
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shitty wooden deck. This caused the shotgun to hit the
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floor and fire on its own, apparently. Or so he says.
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His defense attorney also argues that the gun was defective. Oh,
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so blame the gun. That's original. They claim that this
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had happened before. Which, you know, begs the question, why
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pick up the gun then? If it's defective. But... The
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prosecutors offer a much simpler version of events, which is usually,
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you know, a little thing they call the truth. Kevin
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saw vehicles in his driveway, came outside with a shotgun,
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and fired twice at people who were already trying to leave,
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just because he was annoyed that they'd woken him up.
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When Kevin's neighbors offer their testimony, it becomes clear which
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version is closest to the truth. According to them, it
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was an unusually warm April night. Lots of people were outside.
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Households had their windows open, and people living near Kevin's
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property could see the caravan driving up Patterson Hill Road
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that night, then come back down only a few minutes later.
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They say they didn't hear any screaming from the driveway.
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No one revved their engine or beeped their horn. And
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no one heard Kevin shout any warnings. What they say
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they heard was two gunshots. And after Kalen's death, some
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of these people who know Kevin started describing a guy
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who had quite a reputation. He wasn't known to be
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a frail, reclusive, scared old man, like he'd prefer a
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jury to believe. No. He was notoriously confrontational, hot-tempered, and
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especially sensitive about his property, specifically his driveway. Typical ornery
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old man, get off my lawn kind of shit. You
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know the type. You're listening to one of them. One
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neighbor recalls Kevin's short fuse, saying that people frequently mistook
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his driveway for a road, and that Kevin complained about
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it all the time. You know, there's a simple solution
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to that. You put up a fucking sign, you lazy fuck.
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In fact, this one neighbor even goes as far as
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to call Kevin a narcissist. Can you imagine? Kevin, a narcissist.
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He says that Kevin could do no wrong in his
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own eyes, which, you know, fits the pattern of somebody
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that would pull out a gun and start shooting when
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they got annoyed. This theory is further evidenced by a
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recent DMV incident where prosecutors described Kevin as hot-tempered and impulsive. Apparently,
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he'd caused quite the scene when he was required to
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make an appointment and be there in person This time
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it's way too valuable for that. He yelled and he
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stomped and even took photos of the workers before storming
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off like a four-year-old. We all have to do things
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we don't like, Kevin. Grow the fuck up. At this point,
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the whole situation is starting to look like a culmination
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of a long-running grievance. This guy's just pissed off and
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he wants the world to pay for it. If Kevin
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wants the jury to believe that he was scared and
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all this was just an accident, prosecutors have yet another
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problem for him. There was missing evidence at the scene.
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You see, when you fire a shotgun, it leaves pieces behind.
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The shells, the wadding, maybe even a dent from where
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Kevin says the gun smacked into the deck. But you
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know what investigators found? Do you want to guess? I'll
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give you a guess. Oh yeah, nothing. They found absolutely
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nothing to substantiate his claim. Inside his house, the shotgun
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was propped neatly beside the bed. It had the safety
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nearly fully engaged and was unloaded. Kevin had tried to
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make it look like nothing had ever happened, but that
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wasn't true. He may not have known it yet, but
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He had killed a young woman for absolutely no reason.
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The jury didn't take long to deliberate. On January 23, 2024,
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after just under two hours, they find Kevin Monaghan guilty
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on all counts. Second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, and tampering with
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physical evidence. For Kalen Gillis' family, the verdict puts a
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small band-aid on a gaping wound. At sentencing, they finally
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get a chance to speak directly to Kevin to tell
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him what he took from them. Kevin, the pussy that
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he is, declined to speak. In March of 2024, he
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was sentenced to 25 years to life. After a All
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the testimony, the legal arguments, the questions about warning shots
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and missing shells. The story comes back to just one
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simple thing. A group of friends found themselves in the
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dark trying to correct a mistake. They turned down the
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wrong driveway. And Kevin Monaghan decided that was enough. If
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you enjoyed the show... please consider joining PLUS at swordandscale.com
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00:24:11.450 --> 00:24:15.430
slash PLUS. But if you can't, consider leaving us a
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00:24:15.509 --> 00:24:22.079
positive review on your preferred listening platform. Sweet dreams and
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00:24:22.099 --> 00:24:22.480
good night.
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All they have is a flashlight. A narrow, white beam
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from an iPhone. It shakes around inside the SUV, searching
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for where the blood is coming from. They say her
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name again and again, but she doesn't answer. The light
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lands on a wound on the left side of her neck,
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the blood still flowing. One of the guys puts his
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hand over it to stop the bleeding, but it continues,
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his hand sliding around uncontrollably. He grabs a cloth, pressing
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down harder this time. It soaks through. Outside the car,
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there's only darkness. It's a little after 10 p.m., and
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in this part of New York, the rural town of Hebron,
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there are no streetlights and no visible neighbors. They need
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an ambulance or police. Somebody. One of them pulls out
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their phone and dials, but when they press call, it
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fails instantly. The only thing left to do is to
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keep pressure on the wound and drive as fast as
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they can. Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares, true crime
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00:01:36.409 --> 00:02:22.949
for bedtime, where nightmare begins now. It's Saturday, April 15, 2023.
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A group of friends are all hanging out together at
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Blake Walsh's parents' house. Blake is 19 years old, and
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his girlfriend, Kaylin Gillis, is 20. One of them just
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got an invitation through Snapchat to a party in Hebron,
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New York. It's a boring weekend, so this invite seems
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like a blessing. A little after 8 p.m., the group
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leaves Blake's parents' place in three vehicles. a Ford Explorer,
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a Jeep Compass, and a motorcycle. Blake drives the Ford,
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and Kaylin takes the passenger seat, while two more friends
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pile into the back. The plan is that one of
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the girls, Catherine, will lead the way in her Jeep.
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She knows the area better than the others, having grown
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up nearby. She's been to this house before, or at
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least she thinks she remembers enough to find it again.
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But years have passed, and in the dark, the roads
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around Hebron don't give them much to work with. So
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they roll out together as sort of a loose caravan,
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all following the leader, hoping they won't get split up.
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One set of headlights follows another for the half-hour drive.
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But as their destination nears, the less certain they become.
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The houses all have long, hidden driveways and sit far apart.
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An address that looks clear on Google Maps can become
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much harder to find in the pitch-black night Soon, Catherine
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makes a turn. This seems like the right one, she thinks.
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Their tires crunch over the gravel, trees rushing past on
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either side. But as they get closer to the end
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of the road, something feels off. There are no other cars,
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no people outside, no music, and no lights. This doesn't
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seem like a party. The driveway bends away from Patterson
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Hill Road and pulls them farther from the paved street.
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But Catherine keeps driving, hoping there will be a spot
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to turn around. Blake follows behind her in the Ford Explorer.
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The unpaved driveway is narrow, so Rory, the guy on
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the motorcycle, decides to drive closer to the house to
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see if there's anything that looks like a party. The
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mistake they've made settles in. The windows are completely dark.
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They're not at the right place. For a few seconds,
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they're all trapped in the awkward mechanics of turning around
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on this narrow path. Making a three-point turn in someone's
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driveway isn't ideal. But it's happened to all of us.
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Catherine turns at the steering wheel and starts to turn
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back towards the main road. Blake follows. Rory has already
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ridden back down the hill, but now his motorcycle stalls.
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When the first loud pop, cuts through the driveway, he
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thinks for a second that the sound came from his
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own bike. In the Ford Explorer, Blake hears it too,
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a loud pop, then a metallic ping. The house lights
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are on, and the group can see a man standing
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on the porch. He's holding a gun. Then comes the
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second shot. This time, the sound is followed by the
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sharp cracking of metal inside the Ford. Blake ducks and
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hits the gas. The SUV tears down the gravel driveway
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away from the house. Finally, the tree line thins and
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Blake can see the main road. The two in the
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back are frantic, but Kaylin is silent. Blake looks over
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at his girlfriend in the passenger seat. She's slumped over.
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Her long blonde hair is covering her face. She's been shot.
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At 1263 Patterson Hill Road, Kevin Monaghan was at home
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with his wife, Jinx. Kevin is 65 years old and
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the couple had lived on this rural plot of land
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in Hebron for years. The modern A-frame cabin is set
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back from the main road, hidden by trees and a
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long unpaved driveway. Visitors would have to turn down the
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gravel path and keep driving following the narrow, winding driveway
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as it curved up through the property toward the house.
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But on this night and most other nights, Kevin and
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Jinx weren't expecting any visitors. A car couldn't just appear.
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It had to come up slowly, headlights first, moving through
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the pitch black. This distance allowed Kevin and his wife
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plenty of time to see someone coming. It was a
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little after 10 p.m. when Kevin heard a noise outside.
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A motorcycle. Then he saw headlights. It wasn't just one,
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but multiple vehicles. Three that he could count. All of
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them were moving towards the house where he and his
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wife had just gone to bed. From the front of
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his house through giant windows overlooking the valley, Kevin could
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see all the way down the hill. The driveway wraps
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up towards a house from below, and he could see
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the whole thing. He watched the vehicles as they made
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their way up, knowing it would take some time to
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drive the distance. Kevin woke his wife, whispering about what
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he'd seen outside. He snatched the shotgun from the side
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of the bed and told her to stay away from
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the windows. Then he marched downstairs. As he opened the
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front door, the house lights clicked on. By the time
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Kevin got outside, the vehicles were close enough for him
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to see movement, headlights, and shapes in the driveway. But
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Kevin didn't call out. He didn't ask who they were.
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He didn't tell them they had the wrong house or
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give them a chance to explain. Instead, he stood silently
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on the deck with a shotgun in his hands. Down below,
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the cars were starting to drive in the opposite direction
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away from the house and back towards the main road.
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That's when Kevin fired. The first shot cracked across the property,
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missing his target. From the deck, he was above them,
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looking down at cars from the corner closest to the driveway.
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The first shot was close enough that everyone inside the
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Ford Explorer ducked and flinched. They felt something hit the vehicle.
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Five seconds passed. Then Kevin fired again. This time the
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slug slipped right through the Ford Explorer's metal frame. It
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punched through the metal column near the rear passenger seat,
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through pieces of plastic and interior through the car, passed
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through the cabin and struck 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in the neck.
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The caravan had been driving away from the house when
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Kevin fired that final shot. Then the group was gone,
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ripping down the driveway and back into darkness. And Kevin
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went back inside. Kevin and his wife went upstairs and
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sat at the end of the bed, then moved to
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the kitchen table on the main floor. For the next
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25 minutes, they stayed there. Then another vehicle came up
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the driveway. This time it wasn't kids looking for a party,
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it was law enforcement. The spotlight hit the house. Officers
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had been told a shooting happened, and they believed 1263
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Patterson Hill Road was where it started. They knew someone
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at the house may have fired a gun. They knew
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that person may still be armed. So, they didn't just
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walk up to the front door. That would be really stupid.
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From Kevin and Jakes' perspective, it Must have looked like
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the night was starting all over again. But Kevin didn't
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go back outside with the shotgun, not this time. This
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time he picked up the phone and did the right thing.
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He called 911. When the dispatcher picked up, Kevin didn't
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just explain that there had been a shooting at his house. No,
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he said, There's a car in my yard with lights
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shining at my house. Do you have a call here?
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The dispatcher said that she'd spoken with the officers and
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they were in the area for a noise complaint. Kevin said, well,
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they're right in the driveway shining the lights in my house.
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My driveway is about a half a mile long. Kevin
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gave her an explanation. He'd been sound asleep, but there
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had been some guys hunting with dogs at night. Maybe
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that's what had caused the noise. The dispatcher clarified that no,
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The complaint was about a party, something about loud music
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coming from the house nearby. Again, he said he'd been
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sound asleep. He was an older man, he said. He
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went to bed around 8.30 and hadn't heard anything. Outside,
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officers were trying to get Kevin to come down and
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talk to them. With the phone still in his hand,
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Kevin glanced at the flashing lights outside and asked the
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dispatcher how much longer they'd be in his yard. He
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wanted to go back to bed, after all. He said
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he wished they'd just finish up whatever they were doing
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and leave him alone. But that's not how it works, Kevin.
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You can't just shoot someone and go back to bed.
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The cops wouldn't leave, obviously. And after a few minutes
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of shouts from law enforcement, Kevin called 911 again. This time,
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he was more agitated. Like a carrot. He demanded to
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know what was going on. The officers wanted him to
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come to them, obviously. And Kevin complained about the distance,
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saying they expected him to walk an eighth of a mile.
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As if the distance of his driveway was their problem.
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The dispatcher tried to keep him on the phone, but
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Kevin said he had to make another call. Apparently something
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else was more important. So he hung up. Outside officers
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were still waiting, confused and growing impatient. After an infuriating hour, Kevin,
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the old out-of-it that he was, finally came outside and
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was promptly arrested. The standoff ended without gunfire, but not
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without a headache. The house at 1263 Patterson Hill Road
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was quiet yet again. But now the driveway, the deck...
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the hill and the gravel path, all mattered. It had
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become one giant crime scene. Investigators would come looking for shells, wadding, residue,
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anything that could show where Kevin had stood, where the
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gun had been pointed, and what happened after the cars
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left the property. By then, the evidence of what he
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had done was no longer on his property, but inside
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Blake Walsh's Ford Explorer. Kalen Gillis never makes it to
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the hospital. After Kalen's boyfriend Blake maneuvers out of Kevin
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Monaghan's driveway, he tries to get the group's attention. He
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tells them Kalen's been shot. The group heads back towards
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the village of Hebron. At the intersection of Patterson Hole
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Road and Route 30, they stop again, shouting between vehicles,
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trying to figure out where to go next. Finally, after
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numerous failed attempts, they connect with 911. But by then,
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the dispatcher tells them to stop trying to get to
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the hospital. They need to give their location and wait
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for first responders to come to them. By sheer coincidence,
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a local fire chief happens to be nearby, coming back
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from another call when he hears the radio traffic and
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realizes he's just past the group of cars as they're
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pulling over. He swings back around to help. Soon, law enforcement, EMTs,
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and paramedics arrive as well. They crowd around Kaylin, but
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they're too late. By the time she's assessed, there are
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no life-saving measures left to perform. The 20-gauge slug has
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severed her spinal cord. On a dark rural road surrounded
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by her hysterical friends, Kaylin Gillis is gone. After all
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the noise and all the chaos, there's suddenly nothing left
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for them to do. The emergency is over, but only
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because the worst possible outcome has happened, and it's absolutely irreversible.
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Now the night will be taken over by deputies walking
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along Kevin's driveway, investigators photographing the house, prosecutors listening to
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the 911 call, and eventually the jurors who will have
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to decide what really happened that night. By the time
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Kevin Monaghan enters the court system, the story has already
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dramatically changed. Which isn't a surprise to anyone who knows him,
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it turns out. In the first version, Kevin didn't know
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anything about a party or a noise complaint. He just
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wanted police to stop shining their lights on his house
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and let him go back to bed. But in court,
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Kevin's defense is a little different. After all, he's facing
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second-degree murder charges. Now he tells the jury that he
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and his wife were terrified. That they thought the house was, quote,
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under siege. Like it's some kind of movie. And they're
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the protagonist. There had been break-ins in the area over
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the years. And when the cars came up his driveway
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that night, he thought they were being attacked. Maybe he
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just watched a really action-packed movie and let his mind wander.
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Who knows? He said he grabbed a shotgun to protect
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his wife, and that the first shot was a warning.
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He says he fired into the air to scare them off,
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which is illegal, by the way. The second shot, the
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one that killed Kalen, he says was an accident. Maybe
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if you're that accident-prone with a shotgun, you should never
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pick one up. Just my cup of tea there. According
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to Kevin, he tripped over nails sticking out of his
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shitty wooden deck. This caused the shotgun to hit the
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floor and fire on its own, apparently. Or so he says.
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His defense attorney also argues that the gun was defective. Oh,
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so blame the gun. That's original. They claim that this
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had happened before. Which, you know, begs the question, why
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pick up the gun then? If it's defective. But... The
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prosecutors offer a much simpler version of events, which is usually,
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you know, a little thing they call the truth. Kevin
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saw vehicles in his driveway, came outside with a shotgun,
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and fired twice at people who were already trying to leave,
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just because he was annoyed that they'd woken him up.
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When Kevin's neighbors offer their testimony, it becomes clear which
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version is closest to the truth. According to them, it
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was an unusually warm April night. Lots of people were outside.
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Households had their windows open, and people living near Kevin's
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property could see the caravan driving up Patterson Hill Road
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that night, then come back down only a few minutes later.
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They say they didn't hear any screaming from the driveway.
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No one revved their engine or beeped their horn. And
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no one heard Kevin shout any warnings. What they say
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they heard was two gunshots. And after Kalen's death, some
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of these people who know Kevin started describing a guy
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who had quite a reputation. He wasn't known to be
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a frail, reclusive, scared old man, like he'd prefer a
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jury to believe. No. He was notoriously confrontational, hot-tempered, and
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especially sensitive about his property, specifically his driveway. Typical ornery
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old man, get off my lawn kind of shit. You
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know the type. You're listening to one of them. One
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neighbor recalls Kevin's short fuse, saying that people frequently mistook
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his driveway for a road, and that Kevin complained about
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it all the time. You know, there's a simple solution
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to that. You put up a fucking sign, you lazy fuck.
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In fact, this one neighbor even goes as far as
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to call Kevin a narcissist. Can you imagine? Kevin, a narcissist.
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He says that Kevin could do no wrong in his
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own eyes, which, you know, fits the pattern of somebody
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that would pull out a gun and start shooting when
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they got annoyed. This theory is further evidenced by a
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recent DMV incident where prosecutors described Kevin as hot-tempered and impulsive. Apparently,
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he'd caused quite the scene when he was required to
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make an appointment and be there in person This time
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it's way too valuable for that. He yelled and he
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stomped and even took photos of the workers before storming
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off like a four-year-old. We all have to do things
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we don't like, Kevin. Grow the fuck up. At this point,
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the whole situation is starting to look like a culmination
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of a long-running grievance. This guy's just pissed off and
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he wants the world to pay for it. If Kevin
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wants the jury to believe that he was scared and
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all this was just an accident, prosecutors have yet another
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problem for him. There was missing evidence at the scene.
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You see, when you fire a shotgun, it leaves pieces behind.
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The shells, the wadding, maybe even a dent from where
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Kevin says the gun smacked into the deck. But you
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know what investigators found? Do you want to guess? I'll
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give you a guess. Oh yeah, nothing. They found absolutely
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nothing to substantiate his claim. Inside his house, the shotgun
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was propped neatly beside the bed. It had the safety
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nearly fully engaged and was unloaded. Kevin had tried to
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make it look like nothing had ever happened, but that
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wasn't true. He may not have known it yet, but
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He had killed a young woman for absolutely no reason.
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The jury didn't take long to deliberate. On January 23, 2024,
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after just under two hours, they find Kevin Monaghan guilty
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on all counts. Second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, and tampering with
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physical evidence. For Kalen Gillis' family, the verdict puts a
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small band-aid on a gaping wound. At sentencing, they finally
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get a chance to speak directly to Kevin to tell
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him what he took from them. Kevin, the pussy that
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he is, declined to speak. In March of 2024, he
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was sentenced to 25 years to life. After a All
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the testimony, the legal arguments, the questions about warning shots
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and missing shells. The story comes back to just one
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simple thing. A group of friends found themselves in the
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dark trying to correct a mistake. They turned down the
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wrong driveway. And Kevin Monaghan decided that was enough. If
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you enjoyed the show... please consider joining PLUS at swordandscale.com
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00:24:11.450 --> 00:24:15.430
slash PLUS. But if you can't, consider leaving us a
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00:24:15.509 --> 00:24:22.079
positive review on your preferred listening platform. Sweet dreams and
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00:24:22.099 --> 00:24:22.480
good night.
