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

[Marcellus]

I am calling bath salts. Thats why the girl laughed after getting shot.

Still wrong but I would bet good money they were on bath salts.

You know after thinking about it, if I shot someone and then my gun jammed and then they laughed at me, I may find another gun to finish them off.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Barney Stinson

I wish I could blame CP alone for the warping, but alas

Yea, being a pig with a power trip is warping enough.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by NIUhuskies

there has to be more to this story

I bet he offered to let the girl live if she would go out with him, and that's why she laughed, which made him angry. Women - can't live with them, can't put a shot from their chin to their cranium.

[Chief_For_Life58]

2 100 pound teenage girls? u would not shoot 2 female teenagers walking down your stairs unless ur a complete nutcase. he didnt even give them a chance to identify themselves. they musta been on acid or something

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

i don't understand the murder charges. those teens gave up their rights when they broke into a home that wasn't theirs.

edit: i do agree he screwed up by not calling police immediately, and he handled it wrong. the executions may have been over the line.

What. The. ****. Are you serious? He didn't kill them in the act, he waited, waited, and boom. Then gloated about it. Ppl like this have a gun because they hope someday they can run into a situation that they can kill someone and get away with it. This guy seriously has sociopath tendencies.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Chief_For_Life58

2 100 pound teenage girls? u would not shoot 2 female teenagers walking down your stairs unless ur a complete nutcase. he didnt even give them a chance to identify themselves. they musta been on acid or something

I think one was a guy who just looked effeminate.

But I agree, if it's 2 100-pound teenage girls who are already in your basement, you don't shoot, especially if you can lure them into the dungeon area.*


(*Assuming they're 18, of course. It's completely wrong to capture underage teenage burglars and turn them into your basement dungeon slaves. We all know that.)

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by notorious

Now that could work in court.

If he still felt threatened, he is within his right.


What he told the cops is going to sink him.

True. His words (although I must commend the honesty) will hang him. If he had just maintained his position and fired a kill shot after the invader(s) settled at the bottom of the stares he could easily have just claimed he was in fear for his life the entire time (not that I would condone it). Walking up to them and changing guns for an execution style shot is where where he stepped overboard.

Would be curious to know if the two were on something. Would explain the laughter. Would also explain the stupidity of the second invader entering the basement after hearing the shots. My mini 14 is definitely not a quiet gun, especially indoors. Call me a coward, but I'd have bolted.

[Chief_For_Life58]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I think one was a guy who just looked effeminate.

But I agree, if it's 2 100-pound teenage girls who are already in your basement, you don't shoot, especially if you can lure them into the dungeon area.*


(*Assuming they're 18, of course. It's completely wrong to capture underage teenage burglars and turn them into your basement dungeon slaves. We all know that.)

hahahaha jesus

[crazycoffey]

Originally Posted by KC native

Yea, being a pig with a power trip is warping enough.

you punch like a girl

[Fish]

For a second there, scrolling down, I thought she was a Siamese twin... kinda awkward...

[Frazod]

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.

Somebody breaks into your house, and you shoot them. Okay. If they are no longer a threat but aren't dead, you CALL THE COPS IMMEDIATELY AND REPORT THE CRIME. Everything he did afterward is ****ed.

[seclark]

no doubt the old dude's ****ed up. his eyes look pretty jacked up too, like how the hell can he see in the first place?

but if they not only broke in, then went downstairs...the 2nd one after the first one was shot. wtf.

no winners here...
sec

[displacedinMN]

Here is a link from the St Paul Pioneer Press.
There are other stories linked there too.

I think this guy is done for. The OP talks about Minnesotas intruder rule. He will be found clearly in the wrong.

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/...ads?source=pkg

I did get distracted by NIU's avatar.

[notorious]

She was a good looking girl. WTF was wrong with them?

[aturnis]

Lock his ass up.