Minnesota man who killed teens in break-in charged with murder

[NIUhuskies]

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

[displacedinMN]

why did this pop up again?

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

why did this pop up again?

That's what she said.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by arrwheader

That's 100 percent murder. I don't see any debate. I own guns. Keep one loaded ready to go in case of a break in. I wouldn't shoot anyone in the face after I had already neutralized the threat. Especially if it's a kid. Jesus. Then to go on and brutally murder the other girl. Damn, that's cold blooded shit.

The argument well don't break in and it won't happen. Yes that would have avoided the murders. It would have also have been avoided had the guy not been a Pyscopath.

Agree with everything you said.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

His only chance was the Patriot defense

[Indian Chief]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Agree with everything you said.

There is obviously a mental health issue here. The actual details of the shooting aside, he a) didn't report it right away, and b) told the cops that he wanted them dead. The guy clearly needs to spend the rest of his life locked up.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Pasta Giant Meatball

His only chance was the Patriot defense

The burglars were inflated properly? That's a tough defense when they're full of holes.

[displacedinMN]

sorry for the bump.

This may be the end of it and him

The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Little Falls man serving life in prison for killing two teenage intruders at his home on Thanksgiving Day 2012.

In a 56-page ruling Wednesday, the high court ruled that Byron Smith, a 67-year-old retired State Department employee, received a fair trial in Morrison County in 2014.

Smith’s defense attorney said Wednesday that Smith is poised to appeal to the federal court system.

“We’re not done. We are far from it,” attorney Steve Meshbesher said. “Whether it’s us or another lawyer, I don’t know. But I’m going to strongly suggest he keep on fighting the fight because he got a very unfair deal.”

Prosecutor Peter Orput said he hopes the ruling “brings solace to the families. I also hope it brings solace to the community … I know there’s a group of people who don’t want to accept that reality and they choose to ignore quite a bit of the evidence. The Supreme Court didn’t ignore anything they were assiduous in reviewing the evidence. I applaud them for their review of the case.”

At trial, the jury deliberated for about three hours before convicting Smith of four counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Haile Kifer, 18, and Nick Brady, 17. Smith shot the two unarmed cousins as they descended his basement stairs about 10 minutes apart, then wrapped their bodies in tarps and dragged them into a backroom, keeping them there and calling a neighbor the next day to ask for help in finding attorney.

Smith’s case drew national attention amid debate over so-called castle doctrine laws, raising questions about how far a homeowner can go to defend himself and his property.

In Minnesota, a person can take a life to avert death or great bodily harm or to prevent a felony in his or her home. Juries are instructed to consider the circumstances and whether it was a decision a reasonable person would make in light of the perceived danger.

During the trial, prosecutors portrayed Smith as a vigilante who sat waiting for burglars in his home, then coldly executed the teens, continuing to shoot them after they no longer posed a threat. A surveillance-style audio recording that Smith had set up chilled the courtroom with sounds of gunshots booming, of the two teenagers groaning and screaming and then of Smith muttering how he saw them as “vermin.”

Smith had claimed he was terrified to his core after prior break-ins in which guns were stolen, and was defending himself and his property. His attorneys claimed on appeal that the trial contained a host of errors, including the judge prohibiting them from giving a complete defense, improperly closing the courtroom and failing to properly instruct the jury on a disputed claim made in closing arguments. They had asked the high court to vacate Smith’s conviction and either dismiss his first-degree murder indictment or send his case back to district court for a new trial.

The Supreme Court found in its ruling, however, that either errors weren’t made or they were so insignificant that they did not deprive Smith of a fair judicial proceeding.

The court did find, however, that after the trial Smith’s challenge on restitution requests from the victims’ families was not timely and ordered the district court to award the families nearly $19,500 to pay for cemetery headstones.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

The court did find, however, that after the trial Smith’s challenge on restitution requests from the victims’ families was not timely and ordered the district court to award the families nearly $19,500 to pay for cemetery headstones.

Even after death, the teenage criminals stole money from him one last time. I guess that's kind of their legacy.

[KChiefs1]

WTF is wrong with this country's judicial system?

[Dayze]

how in the **** are head stones $19K?

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

WTF is wrong with this country's judicial system?

Correction, wtf is wrong with you if you think this isn't murder.

This isn't "they broke in and I shot them and they died". It's far, far more than that.

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."

[threebag]

They broke in, he shot 'em.

[Predarat]

He was kind of dumb for admitting the shit he did, he probably could have painted an entire different picture. Dead Home Invaders cannot testify.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Predarat

He was kind of dumb for admitting the shit he did, he probably could have painted an entire different picture. Dead Home Invaders cannot testify.

Did you read the description of what happened? Shot one person in the lower body, then -- after they were down -- pumped a few more shots into their chest, then the capper into their skull?

I think forensics **probably** could have worked out that this guy executed her after she was already down. Maybe if they were armed he could have described something that justified it, but that would be about his only hope.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by rabblerouser

Ummm...what the **** is a Pyscopath??

You mean 'psychopath'??

Pronounced "piss-co-path"
Noun - A crazy old bastard with mental issues and who pees himself...alot.