diff --git a/src/core/killall.c b/src/core/killall.c
index 5e914e478d..fe5320e813 100644
--- a/src/core/killall.c
+++ b/src/core/killall.c
@@ -129,9 +129,9 @@ static void wait_for_children(Set *pids, sigset_t *mask) {
                  * might not be our child. */
                 SET_FOREACH(p, pids, i) {
 
-                        /* We misuse getpgid as a check whether a
-                         * process still exists. */
-                        if (getpgid(PTR_TO_PID(p)) >= 0)
+                        /* kill(pid, 0) sends no signal, but it tells
+                         * us whether the process still exists. */
+                        if (kill(PTR_TO_PID(p), 0) == 0)
                                 continue;
 
                         if (errno != ESRCH)