News Minnesota man who killed teens in break-in charged with murder - Page 39

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

**Rain Man** · 05-01-2014, 10:20 AM

Crazy or not, let's give this man a round of applause. It appears that he singlehandedly lowered the crime rate in his neighborhood dramatically. He sacrificed himself to save others and make his community a better place.

Setsuna · 05-01-2014, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

I think half these idiots didn't read the story just the parts they like, like christians with the bible.

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

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

None of this makes a bit of difference. None of this gives him the right to take matters into his own hands and execute them... even if he made the world a better place.

Actually it does. He could have shot them to ribbons and not had a problem. The so-called executions aren't the problem. The preparations for them, and the delays, were the problem for the defendant, particularly because the invaders were unarmed.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Actually it does. He could have shot them to ribbons and not had a problem. The so-called executions aren't the problem. The preparations for them, and the delays, were the problem for the defendant, particularly because the invaders were unarmed.

If he hadn't killed them, it's unlikely that prosecutors would have gotten him for murder.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Actually it does. He could have shot them to ribbons and not had a problem. The so-called executions aren't the problem. The preparations for them, and the delays, were the problem for the defendant, particularly because the invaders were unarmed.

It absolutely does not give him the right to execute them.

Just Passin' By · 05-01-2014, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

It absolutely does not give him the right to execute them.

Of course he had the right. You have the right to shoot to kill intruders. The issues are the premeditation and the delays, not the killings themselves.

**Predarat** · 05-01-2014, 01:34 PM

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.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Of course he had the right. You have the right to shoot to kill intruders. The issues are the premeditation and the delays, not the killings themselves.

He had the right to protect himself and his property. Once he had done that, he didn't have the right to finish them off. If he had killed them with the first shot, there's no chance any of this happens.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 01:37 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.

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

Xanathol · 05-01-2014, 01:44 PM

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.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 01:45 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.

That's not the law. If it were the law, the crazy old man would not be going to prison.

**Predarat** · 05-01-2014, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

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

That is what the DA, prosecutors, judge and jury think, and that is how they painted it too.

Just Passin' By · 05-01-2014, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

He had the right to protect himself and his property.

Exactly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

Once he had done that, he didn't have the right to finish them off.

He could have unloaded his gun into them right away. He didn't. His problem was that he returned to helpless, unarmed people and methodically finished them off. That's where the preparations and delays come in, which is what I noted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omaha

If he had killed them with the first shot, there's no chance any of this happens.

True, because you have the right to kill someone in order to protect yourself.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

He could have unloaded his gun into them right away. He didn't. His problem was that he returned to helpless, unarmed people and methodically finished them off. That's where the preparations and delays come in, which is what I noted.

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

...you have the right to kill someone in order to protect yourself.

Absolutely. That's not what happened. As you even noted above, he was no longer in any danger when he finished them off.

Omaha · 05-01-2014, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Predarat

That is what the DA, prosecutors, judge and jury think, and that is how they painted it too.

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, 10:20 AM	#571
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3078491 VARSITY	Crazy or not, let's give this man a round of applause. It appears that he singlehandedly lowered the crime rate in his neighborhood dramatically. He sacrificed himself to save others and make his community a better place. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,624

05-01-2014, 01:34 PM	#577
Predarat Run Chiefs fans, run!! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Casino cash: $9973863	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.
Posts: 10,776

05-01-2014, 01:44 PM	#580
Xanathol Starter Join Date: Mar 2011 Casino cash: $9528791	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.
Posts: 689