News Minnesota man who killed teens in break-in charged with murder - Page 32

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.

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

Al Bundy · 04-25-2014, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brainiac

I would much rather live next door to the teenagers than to a crazy old **** who gets off on killing defenseless teenagers just because he thinks he can justify it.

You do realize those 2 druggy teenagers would constantly be breaking into your car/house to get money for their drugs, right?

**Easy 6** · 04-25-2014, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Predarat

Good grief those asshat prosecutors are going too far. "Ambushing" home invadors? That is bullshit. They chose to invade his home. Hope the prosecutors eat shit.

Its a strange territory to be in, but I can definitely see how some would say he baited them in.

Turn off the lights, bring food and water with you, take up a defensible position, and wait...

When you throw in the "nice clean kill" actions, it all adds up to STINK.

Gravedigger · 04-25-2014, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

You do realize those 2 druggy teenagers would constantly be breaking into your car/house to get money for their drugs, right?

I would hardly call chugging cough syrup as druggie behavior.

Al Bundy · 04-25-2014, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gravedigger

I would hardly call chugging cough syrup as druggie behavior.

Look at her face in that pic, she was definitely into heavy and hard drugs. She looked 30, not 18.

**Rain Man** · 04-25-2014, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brainiac

I would much rather live next door to the teenagers than to a crazy old **** who gets off on killing defenseless teenagers just because he thinks he can justify it.

You'd rather live next to people who are going to break into your house than a guy who sits in his basement with the lights off?

Your call, but you might want to get a couple of big dogs.

Cannibal · 04-25-2014, 05:07 PM

The kids were worthless garbage, no denying that.

But crazy old bastard deserves the wrath of the full extent of the law for murder.

**Rain Man** · 04-25-2014, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth

And I'll have photos blown up to giant poster size of the victims from when they were alive and looking young and happy and give my whole speech which at some point I'll contrast this with how both looked postmortem just left on the floor all night because you couldn't be bothered to alert authorities until the morning after you were resting easy.

Objection, your honor. Objection! This is hearsay!

(That the only courtroom objection stuff I know.)

Just Passin' By · 04-25-2014, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Objection, your honor. Objection! This is hearsay!

(That the only courtroom objection stuff I know.)

It's an easy defense.

"Since when does a person have to leave obvious signs that they are home?"

This guy would have skated away from this if he'd kept his mouth shut and erased the tape. Once again, the simple rule:

Never talk to the police.

In this case, that includes handing them evidence in the form of recordings.

**Rain Man** · 04-25-2014, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

It's an easy defense.

"Since when does a person have to leave obvious signs that they are home?"

This guy would have skated away from this if he'd kept his mouth shut and erased the tape. Once again, the simple rule:

Never talk to the police.

In this case, that includes handing them evidence in the form of recordings.

Yeah, exactly. If this guy hangs, it's because he hanged himself. I'm curious if he somehow thought that stuff would help his defense, but it really hurts him. It makes you think that he's kind of proud of what he did, and that's extremely damaging.

Lex Luthor · 04-25-2014, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You'd rather live next to people who are going to break into your house than a guy who sits in his basement with the lights off?

Your call, but you might want to get a couple of big dogs.

I'd have no problem living next door to a guy who sits in his basement with the lights off. It's the cold-blooded murdering part that I find a little distasteful. I'm funny that way.

Just Passin' By · 04-25-2014, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brainiac

I'd have no problem living next door to a guy who sits in his basement with the lights off. It's the cold-blooded murdering part that I find a little distasteful. I'm funny that way.

If you don't break into his house numerous times, you'll be fine. Would avoiding such behavior be too difficult for you?

**LoneWolf** · 04-25-2014, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brainiac

I'd have no problem living next door to a guy who sits in his basement with the lights off. It's the cold-blooded murdering part that I find a little distasteful. I'm funny that way.

Do you normally break in to your neighbor's houses? If not, I think you would be pretty safe.

**LoneWolf** · 04-25-2014, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

If you don't break into his house numerous times, you'll be fine. Would avoiding such behavior be too difficult for you?

Well, shit!

R8RFAN · 04-25-2014, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I don't blame the man for defending himself from intruders. Breaking into someone's home SHOULD be dangerous for you and they lose their right to safety when they break in.

That said....Holy shit did this guy do it badly. He deserves some punishment, shooting them in defense is fine....the up close, dragging bodies around and waiting a day and then using the tone he did is sociopathic.

This!!!

If you break in my house you will be shot if I am there, if you die from that shot, I am sorry... If you live from that shot and don't have a weapon to kill me I am going to call 911 for your sorry ass but I am not going to finish you off...

Lex Luthor · 04-25-2014, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Do you normally break in to your neighbor's houses? If not, I think you would be pretty safe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

If you don't break into his house numerous times, you'll be fine. Would avoiding such behavior be too difficult for you?

You guys are assuming that this guy is a model citizen when he's not killing people who break into his house. I assume he is a sociopath who would have no problem killing anyone who pissed him off. I think I could probably resist the temptation to break into his house, but I'm not quite so confident in my ability to avoid ever pissing him off. What if my sons are playing catch and the baseball goes into his yard? What if my dog gets out and takes a shit on his lawn? What if my son is playing his car stereo too loud? Do my family members deserve the death penalty for things like that?

If you would be just fine living next door to a sociopathic killer, then by all means please feel free to do so.

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
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04-25-2014, 05:07 PM	#471
Cannibal Better to burn out... Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Bible Thumping Country Casino cash: $10010618	The kids were worthless garbage, no denying that. But crazy old bastard deserves the wrath of the full extent of the law for murder.
Posts: 9,306