Jurors seated on Day 3 of driveway shooting trial

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A jury of 12 people and four alternates are now seated for the murder trial of Kevin Monahan.

The Washington County man is accused of murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence in the shooting death of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis. Gillis was a passenger in a car that mistakenly drove up Monahan's driveway in April 2023.

A group of 500 was narrowed down to just over 100 people by Wednesday morning, filling up the court room. Prospective jurors answered questionnaires on Friday and were then questioned by Judge Adam Michelini, the prosecution and the defense on their answers to those questionnaires throughout the first two days of the trial. More people were pooled due to the high profile nature of this case. Gillis' death made national headlines in April 2023, coinciding with other similar shootings in Missouri and Texas.

Voir dire began just before 11:00 a.m. Voir dire is the legal process in which the judge and attorneys question prospective jurors and search for potential biases that could prevent them from being impartial while observing the trial.

First Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris asked how prospective jurors felt about the legal concept of proving someone's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt," posing a hypothetical question to the group on how they would consider a puzzle with missing pieces. Other questions assessed how people would perceive the credibility of witnesses and facts in this case, including facts related to Monahan's mental state at the time of the shooting.

"Can you, as jurors, determine what’s going on in someone’s mind only by the surrounding facts and circumstances," Morris asked.

The questions from Defense Attorney Arthur Frost gave some insight into what their arguments could look like throughout the trial. He asked prospective jurors how they felt about the nature of this case and their opinions on gun rights.

One juror said he "does not believe accidents happen with guns." Another said to Frost: “When you have a gun, you point it somewhere, you have the intent. It’s just a tool at the end of the day.”

Frost also asked prospective jurors a question relating to the use of force.

"Can you envision a scenario where you would be willing to use force against someone," Frost said.

Most people in the second group said they would use force to defend themselves or their families, but specified the amount of force would be dependent on the situation.

Opening statements will begin tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.