News Minnesota man who killed teens in break-in charged with murder - Page 40

NIUhuskies · 11-27-2012, 04:56 PM

wow, this sounds pretty messed up... Cant tell if his guy is nuts or if these kids were on drugs

By NBC News staff and wire services

A 64-year-old Minnesota man was charged Monday with murder for killing two teenagers who he said broke into his Little Falls home, shooting them in the head, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

AP file

Byron David Smith was arrested after he told police he shot and killed two teenagers who he said were breaking into his home on Thanksgiving Day.

"If you're trying to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again," Byron David Smith of Little Falls told investigators, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

Smith was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Haile Kifer, 18, and her cousin, Nicholas Brady, 17, both of Little Falls. The teens were shot on Thanksgiving Day, but their deaths weren't reported until Friday.
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Brady has also used the name Schaeffel, which is his mother’s maiden name, at times for family reasons, according to the sheriff's office.

In the criminal complaint, Smith said he was in the basement of his remote home about 10 miles southwest of Little Falls when he heard a window breaking upstairs, followed by footsteps that eventually approached the basement stairwell. Fearful after several break-ins, according to the complaint, Smith said he fired when Brady came into view from the waist down.

After the teen fell down the stairs, Smith said he shot him in the face as he lay on the floor.

"I want him dead," the complaint quoted Smith telling an investigator.

Smith said he dragged Brady's body into his basement workshop, then sat back down on his chair, and after a few minutes Kifer began coming down the stairs. He said he shot her as soon as her hips appeared, and she fell down the steps.

Smith said he tried to shoot her again with his Mini 14 rifle, but that the gun jammed and Kifer laughed at him.

"Smith stated that it was not a very long laugh because she was already hurting," according to the complaint.

Smith said he then shot Kifer in the chest several times with a .22-caliber revolver, dragged her next to Brady, and with her still gasping for air, fired a shot under her chin "up into the cranium."

"Smith described it as 'a good clean finishing shot,'" according to the compliant, but also that he acknowledged he had fired "more shots than (he) needed to."

The following day he asked a neighbor to recommend a good lawyer, according to the complaint. He later asked his neighbor to call the police.

A prosecutor called Smith's reaction "appalling."

"Mr. Smith intentionally killed two teenagers in his home in a matter that goes well beyond self-defense," Morrison County Attorney Brian Middendorf said after Smith appeared at Morrison County District Court on Monday morning. Bail was set at $2 million.

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Minnesota law allows a homeowner to use deadly force on an intruder if a reasonable person would fear they're in danger of harm. Smith told investigators he was afraid the intruders might have a weapon.

Smith's actions "sound like an execution" rather than legitimate self-defense, said David Pecchia, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association. Pecchia said his statements to investigators suggest he had eliminated any threat to his safety by wounding the cousins.

Smith's brother, Bruce Smith, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that the incident was the eighth burglary at Byron Smith's home in recent years.

The only report the Morrison County sheriff's office has for a break-in at the home was for one on Oct. 27. It shows Byron Smith reported losing cash and gold coins worth $9,200, plus two guns worth $200 each, photo equipment worth more than $3,000 and a ring worth $300.

Little Falls is about 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

Brady's sister, Crystal Schaeffel, told the Star Tribune that Kifer had broken into her home before. Little Falls police records show Crystal Schaeffel reported a theft Aug. 28, but the department said the report was not public because that investigation was continuing and because it named juveniles.

Tessa Ruth, an aunt of Brady, attended Smith's hearing. She told the Star Tribune she wished the man had fired a warning shot or alerted the police instead of shooting the teens.

"It wasn't right for them to be there and, yes, he had a right to defend himself. But to execute them like that..."

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...th-murder?lite

ForeverChiefs58 · 05-01-2014, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

This is stupid. He did not premeditate thugs breaking into his home. Nobody thinks that.

"The two jurors, speaking just hours after their verdicts were delivered, said the picture of Smith that emerged from days of often chilling testimony was of a man who methodically planned for a violent confrontation rather than a homeowner surprised by intruders."

Just Passin' By · 05-01-2014, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

No shit. WTF do you think we're talking about? Why the **** are you arguing with me if you understand this?

Because your use of the word execution is a wrong one. Killing them wasn't the problem.

Quote:

: to kill (someone) especially as punishment for a crime

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/executing

It was planning to kill methodically (moved vehicle, clean up items), and delaying the final shots, that were the problem.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

"The two jurors, speaking just hours after their verdicts were delivered, said the picture of Smith that emerged from days of often chilling testimony was of a man who methodically planned for a violent confrontation rather than a homeowner surprised by intruders."

Yeah?

Just Passin' By · 05-01-2014, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

"The two jurors, speaking just hours after their verdicts were delivered, said the picture of Smith that emerged from days of often chilling testimony was of a man who methodically planned for a violent confrontation rather than a homeowner surprised by intruders."

Laying in wait would have been a better way to phrase it, probably. Planning what to do in case of a violent confrontation was a smart move. Every homeowner should be doing that. This guy set up an ambush, which is where he seems to have lost the jury.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Because your use of the word execution is a wrong one. Killing them wasn't the problem.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/executing

It was planning to kill, and delaying the final shots, that were the problem.

Without the killing, there would be no murder charge. If he had killed them in self defense, there would be no problem. He didn't. He killed them after they were helpless.

blaise · 05-01-2014, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Setsuna

Amazing. You just had to sneak that one in there for good measure. You aren't obsessed at all.

#AtheistDave

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Laying in wait would have been a better way to phrase it, probably. Planning what to do in case of a violent confrontation was a smart move. Every homeowner should be doing that. This guy set up an ambush, which is where he seems to have lost the jury.

Absolutely.

**Anyong Bluth** · 05-01-2014, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Predarat

I still have a hard time believing you can 'premeditate' thugs invading your home. Hell soon it may be 'baiting' criminals to simply own valuables they want to steal, then it will be 'baiting' to simply own a house or property. The delays and 2nd efforts, I get punishing him for that but not the 'premeditating'. He did not force them into his house.

I'll take entrapment for 200, Alex.

**Anyong Bluth** · 05-01-2014, 02:56 PM

The guy was in charge of security for US embassies - he knew what he was doing, even though this information was not given to the jury.

He laid tarps out in anticipation for the bodies.

Self Defense is a reactionary measure.

Bad news people- you also can't rig your doors and windows with a shotgun or trip wire explosive in the name of home protection.

Again- did everyone actually listen to the audio they released?

Pitt Gorilla · 05-01-2014, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xanathol

Go figure the jury ****ed this one up. You decide to commit a crime, you forfeit your rights. The man screwed up by taping it and talking. Now a man serves time for taking out the trash - that's ****ed up.

The fact that you would support this guy tying the kids up and raping/torturing them for perpetuity is disgusting.

Just Passin' By · 05-01-2014, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Predarat

I still have a hard time believing you can 'premeditate' thugs invading your home. Hell soon it may be 'baiting' criminals to simply own valuables they want to steal, then it will be 'baiting' to simply own a house or property. The delays and 2nd efforts, I get punishing him for that but not the 'premeditating'. He did not force them into his house.

You can plan for criminals. You can have a chicken in every pot and a gun in every drawer. You can create zones of fire, if you want. You just can't do it in near time, with the specific intent of setting up a specific ambush.

Bottom line:

Plan for self defense. Don't entrap for a killing. Don't record yourself doing stupid or criminal things.

And never talk to the cops, beyond specifically invoking your 5th amendment rights and referring them to your attorney.

DTLB58 · 05-01-2014, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

Without the killing, there would be no murder charge. If he had killed them in self defense, there would be no problem. He didn't. He killed them after they were helpless.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

**lewdog** · 05-01-2014, 07:43 PM

If Omaha ever breaks into my house I'm shooting him in both his knee caps so he can't run. Then making him eat twinkies and candy bars while threatening to blow his brains out if he doesn't. I'd try to get him up to 300lbs in a few months then make him **** a fat chick.

**Predarat** · 05-01-2014, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewdog

If Omaha ever breaks into my house I'm shooting him in both his knee caps so he can't run. Then making him eat twinkies and candy bars while threatening to blow his brains out if he doesn't. I'd try to get him up to 300lbs in a few months then make him **** a fat chick.

Now thats some ****ing cruel and unusual punishment. Make him watch fat chick pron just to rub it in.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewdog

If Omaha ever breaks into my house I'm shooting him in both his knee caps so he can't run. Then making him eat twinkies and candy bars while threatening to blow his brains out if he doesn't. I'd try to get him up to 300lbs in a few months then make him **** a fat chick.

Wow. What a dick move. I hate twinkies.

11-27-2012, 04:56 PM
NIUhuskies Veteran Join Date: May 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Casino cash: $8395050	Minnesota man who killed teens in break-in charged with murder wow, this sounds pretty messed up... Cant tell if his guy is nuts or if these kids were on drugs By NBC News staff and wire services A 64-year-old Minnesota man was charged Monday with murder for killing two teenagers who he said broke into his Little Falls home, shooting them in the head, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. AP file Byron David Smith was arrested after he told police he shot and killed two teenagers who he said were breaking into his home on Thanksgiving Day. "If you're trying to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again," Byron David Smith of Little Falls told investigators, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday. Smith was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Haile Kifer, 18, and her cousin, Nicholas Brady, 17, both of Little Falls. The teens were shot on Thanksgiving Day, but their deaths weren't reported until Friday. Advertise \| AdChoices Brady has also used the name Schaeffel, which is his mother’s maiden name, at times for family reasons, according to the sheriff's office. In the criminal complaint, Smith said he was in the basement of his remote home about 10 miles southwest of Little Falls when he heard a window breaking upstairs, followed by footsteps that eventually approached the basement stairwell. Fearful after several break-ins, according to the complaint, Smith said he fired when Brady came into view from the waist down. After the teen fell down the stairs, Smith said he shot him in the face as he lay on the floor. "I want him dead," the complaint quoted Smith telling an investigator. Smith said he dragged Brady's body into his basement workshop, then sat back down on his chair, and after a few minutes Kifer began coming down the stairs. He said he shot her as soon as her hips appeared, and she fell down the steps. Smith said he tried to shoot her again with his Mini 14 rifle, but that the gun jammed and Kifer laughed at him. "Smith stated that it was not a very long laugh because she was already hurting," according to the complaint. Smith said he then shot Kifer in the chest several times with a .22-caliber revolver, dragged her next to Brady, and with her still gasping for air, fired a shot under her chin "up into the cranium." "Smith described it as 'a good clean finishing shot,'" according to the compliant, but also that he acknowledged he had fired "more shots than (he) needed to." The following day he asked a neighbor to recommend a good lawyer, according to the complaint. He later asked his neighbor to call the police. A prosecutor called Smith's reaction "appalling." "Mr. Smith intentionally killed two teenagers in his home in a matter that goes well beyond self-defense," Morrison County Attorney Brian Middendorf said after Smith appeared at Morrison County District Court on Monday morning. Bail was set at $2 million. Follow @NBCNewsUS Minnesota law allows a homeowner to use deadly force on an intruder if a reasonable person would fear they're in danger of harm. Smith told investigators he was afraid the intruders might have a weapon. Smith's actions "sound like an execution" rather than legitimate self-defense, said David Pecchia, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association. Pecchia said his statements to investigators suggest he had eliminated any threat to his safety by wounding the cousins. Smith's brother, Bruce Smith, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that the incident was the eighth burglary at Byron Smith's home in recent years. The only report the Morrison County sheriff's office has for a break-in at the home was for one on Oct. 27. It shows Byron Smith reported losing cash and gold coins worth $9,200, plus two guns worth $200 each, photo equipment worth more than $3,000 and a ring worth $300. Little Falls is about 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Brady's sister, Crystal Schaeffel, told the Star Tribune that Kifer had broken into her home before. Little Falls police records show Crystal Schaeffel reported a theft Aug. 28, but the department said the report was not public because that investigation was continuing and because it named juveniles. Tessa Ruth, an aunt of Brady, attended Smith's hearing. She told the Star Tribune she wished the man had fired a warning shot or alerted the police instead of shooting the teens. "It wasn't right for them to be there and, yes, he had a right to defend himself. But to execute them like that..." http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...th-murder?lite
Posts: 1,036

05-01-2014, 02:56 PM	#594
Anyong Bluth Deus ambulans inter homines Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago Casino cash: $9649340	The guy was in charge of security for US embassies - he knew what he was doing, even though this information was not given to the jury. He laid tarps out in anticipation for the bodies. Self Defense is a reactionary measure. Bad news people- you also can't rig your doors and windows with a shotgun or trip wire explosive in the name of home protection. Again- did everyone actually listen to the audio they released? __________________ Suck it, *beautiful*
Posts: 14,918

05-01-2014, 07:43 PM	#598
lewdog Mod Team Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Valley of the hot as **** Casino cash: $1621900	If Omaha ever breaks into my house I'm shooting him in both his knee caps so he can't run. Then making him eat twinkies and candy bars while threatening to blow his brains out if he doesn't. I'd try to get him up to 300lbs in a few months then make him **** a fat chick.
Posts: 45,659