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

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by Barney Stinson

he dragged the first guy after the kill shot I thought.

I don't disagree it's possible, and I don't disagree this guy is a nut. but what are you securing him with? got some rope handy? handcuffs? You know before hand that the second person isn't coming down right away? It ended up that the second person didn't come down right away, but you can't afford to take that chance to tie someone up.

And even if you search him and find nothing on him, he could find your other gun downstairs if you turn your back on him. a pipe, a table leg, old lamp, etc. He could be yelling to his friend upstairs, giving information about the layout, your weapons, that you don't have a phone to call the police, etc.

Too many possible bad scenarios for me personally. If I know someone else is in the house, I'm eliminating one threat, trying to call for back up in some way if I can, and watching the fatal funnel that is the entrance to the basement and shooting anything I don't recognize coming down the steps. I don't care about taking prisoners in that case.

Anyway, just saying the kill shot on the first guy doesn't turn my stomach upside down as much as everyone else. given what we think we know about what happened, or what was reported to have happened.

Sounds like a great movie script.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Damn. I don't want to shoot anyone, much less in my own home, unless it's absolutely necessary. But the execution stuff is over the line. My stuff isn't that important to me. My family is however. But if I'm alone, and I pop this guy, I call the cops period.

I get that he didn't know what weapons they may have had. But I get even more that the guy was a nut case and these kids basically broke into the wrong ****ing house.

Moral of the story...kids, don't be breaking into houses.

[NIUhuskies]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Sounds like a great movie script.

what would the title of the movie be??

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by NIUhuskies

what would the title of the movie be??

"What to do in Kansas City when you're out of antifreeze."

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by unlurking

"What to do in Kansas City when you're out of antifreeze."

[MIAdragon]

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

I think a mental evaluation is the first order of business

or a bullet to the head.

[displacedinMN]

Little Falls shootings: Drugs, other items reported stolen found in car teens used
By Christopher Magan
cmagan@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 11/28/2012 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated: 11/28/2012 05:12:28 PM CST

Cousins Nicholas Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were shot to death Thanksgiving Day 2012 after allegedly breaking in to a man's Little Falls, Minn., home.


Authorities tied the teenage cousins killed by a homeowner after they broke into his Little Falls, Minn., house Thanksgiving Day to a similar break-in the night before.

Prescription drugs from the earlier burglary were found in the red Mitsubishi Eclipse that Nicholas Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, drove when they broke into Byron David Smith's home north of Little Falls, Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said Wednesday, Nov. 28.

Deputies are now reviewing police reports to see if other burglaries are connected to the teens.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Kifer and Brady took the medication the night before they were killed from a home just south of Little Falls near where Kifer's family lives.

The homeowner, Richard L. Johnson, was out of town when his house was ransacked and pills and coins were taken, he said.

Smith was in his basement and has told authorities he heard the break-in at his house Nov. 22. He armed himself with a rifle and a revolver and waited in a chair.

Smith shot and wounded the teens as they came downstairs and then dispatched them with close range shots to the chest and head. He put their bodies in a workshop and police were not notified until a day later when a neighbor called police.

Smith was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree murder. He remains in the Morrison County Jail on $2 million bond.

Johnson, 68, a retired English teacher, was vacationing in Spain and returned home Nov. 25,
three days after the killings, to find his home in disarray. A crowbar he keeps outback was used to break a patio door to gain entry and cupboards and drawers were pulled open, he said.

All he found missing was some foreign coins, a box of pennies and some routine prescription drugs.

"These weren't painkillers or anything," he said.

Johnson taught at Little Falls high school, but did not know either of the victims. He knew Kifer's older brother who he called "nice kid."

Deputies
Byron Smith of rural Little Falls, Minn., is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Nicholas Brady Schaeffel and 18-year-old Haile Kifer.
confronted Brady on Nov. 21, the night before he was killed, after a Hilton Road resident and neighbor of Johnson, reported a car "parked suspiciously" at the end of his driveway. Brady told the deputies he and Kifer had been driving around when their car ran out of gas and Kifer went to get more.

Officers questioned Brady in the back of a squad car and let him go, Johnson said his neighbors later told him. Deputies left the car and drove Brady into Little Falls and dropped him off.

The next day deputies discovered the red Eclipse after the bodies of Brady and Kifer were found in Smith's basement. The car was parked a few blocks from Smith's home and inside it they found prescriptions and coins believed to be from Johnson's house.

Smith's home had been repeatedly burglarized by teens looking for money for drugs, his friend John Lange said. Cash, guns and expensive camera gear had been taken over the last few months.

In October, Smith reported a burglary to police and said weapons and other items had been taken. He also mentioned two previous break-ins that he did not report because he didn't feel they were significant enough, Wetzel said.

Smith is retired from the U.S. State Department where he worked as a security engineer, a position responsible for security of embassies and diplomats around the world.

A joint funeral service will be held Saturday for the teens. Visitation is 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service, 900 First St. SE. Funeral is 10 a.m. Saturday at Living Hope Assembly of God Church, 17389 Haven Road. Burial will follow at Bear Head Cemetery.

Christopher Magan can be reached at 651-228-5557. Follow him at twitter.com/cmaganPiPress.

[Cannibal]

I have a very difficult time feeling sorry for anyone that would break into another person's home. In fact, I really don't feel sorry for those two asshole kids... **** em.

The dude that shot them did go over the line though and should spend the rest of his horrid existence in prison.

[seclark]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Little Falls shootings: Drugs, other items reported stolen found in car teens used
By Christopher Magan
cmagan@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 11/28/2012 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated: 11/28/2012 05:12:28 PM CST

Cousins Nicholas Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were shot to death Thanksgiving Day 2012 after allegedly breaking in to a man's Little Falls, Minn., home.


Authorities tied the teenage cousins killed by a homeowner after they broke into his Little Falls, Minn., house Thanksgiving Day to a similar break-in the night before.

Prescription drugs from the earlier burglary were found in the red Mitsubishi Eclipse that Nicholas Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, drove when they broke into Byron David Smith's home north of Little Falls, Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said Wednesday, Nov. 28.

Deputies are now reviewing police reports to see if other burglaries are connected to the teens.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Kifer and Brady took the medication the night before they were killed from a home just south of Little Falls near where Kifer's family lives.

The homeowner, Richard L. Johnson, was out of town when his house was ransacked and pills and coins were taken, he said.

Smith was in his basement and has told authorities he heard the break-in at his house Nov. 22. He armed himself with a rifle and a revolver and waited in a chair.

Smith shot and wounded the teens as they came downstairs and then dispatched them with close range shots to the chest and head. He put their bodies in a workshop and police were not notified until a day later when a neighbor called police.

Smith was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree murder. He remains in the Morrison County Jail on $2 million bond.

Johnson, 68, a retired English teacher, was vacationing in Spain and returned home Nov. 25,
three days after the killings, to find his home in disarray. A crowbar he keeps outback was used to break a patio door to gain entry and cupboards and drawers were pulled open, he said.

All he found missing was some foreign coins, a box of pennies and some routine prescription drugs.

"These weren't painkillers or anything," he said.

Johnson taught at Little Falls high school, but did not know either of the victims. He knew Kifer's older brother who he called "nice kid."

Deputies
Byron Smith of rural Little Falls, Minn., is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Nicholas Brady Schaeffel and 18-year-old Haile Kifer.
confronted Brady on Nov. 21, the night before he was killed, after a Hilton Road resident and neighbor of Johnson, reported a car "parked suspiciously" at the end of his driveway. Brady told the deputies he and Kifer had been driving around when their car ran out of gas and Kifer went to get more.

Officers questioned Brady in the back of a squad car and let him go, Johnson said his neighbors later told him. Deputies left the car and drove Brady into Little Falls and dropped him off.

The next day deputies discovered the red Eclipse after the bodies of Brady and Kifer were found in Smith's basement. The car was parked a few blocks from Smith's home and inside it they found prescriptions and coins believed to be from Johnson's house.

Smith's home had been repeatedly burglarized by teens looking for money for drugs, his friend John Lange said. Cash, guns and expensive camera gear had been taken over the last few months.

In October, Smith reported a burglary to police and said weapons and other items had been taken. He also mentioned two previous break-ins that he did not report because he didn't feel they were significant enough, Wetzel said.

Smith is retired from the U.S. State Department where he worked as a security engineer, a position responsible for security of embassies and diplomats around the world.

A joint funeral service will be held Saturday for the teens. Visitation is 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service, 900 First St. SE. Funeral is 10 a.m. Saturday at Living Hope Assembly of God Church, 17389 Haven Road. Burial will follow at Bear Head Cemetery.

Christopher Magan can be reached at 651-228-5557. Follow him at twitter.com/cmaganPiPress.

kids just broke in to the wrong crazy old ****ers house. bad deal.
sec

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

...
Smith is retired from the U.S. State Department where he worked as a security engineer, a position responsible for security of embassies and diplomats around the world...

Damn, you know that Benghazi shit would never have gone down with this dude in charge!

[blaise]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

hold on there buddy. go back and reread my post. the guy isn't totally innocent. he probably needs mental help, but i don't think he's a criminal for shooting the intruders.

Yeah, he's a criminal for the second shot on the girl if nothing else. You can't go get a second gun, shoot her again to say you're "finishing" her and try and claim your life was in danger.

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by blaise

Yeah, he's a criminal for the second shot on the girl if nothing else. You can't go get a second gun, shoot her again to say you're "finishing" her and try and claim your life was in danger.

Don't forget the "third" shot. After switching to a 22 and shooting her multiple times in the chest, he moved the body next to the first. Then he realized she was still alive and went for the kill shot under the chin.

I'm all for blowing away the baddies, but this was just an execution.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by unlurking

Damn, you know that Benghazi shit would never have gone down with this dude in charge!

I bet a memo went out to his former embassies that they should look inside all of their basement closets.

[ghak99]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Smith is retired from the U.S. State Department where he worked as a security engineer, a position responsible for security of embassies and diplomats around the world.

This seems interesting considering he's been a repeat victim of break-ins and the unusual terminology he used in hanging himself with his statement to the cops.

[Dayze]

this is why you never sspeak to the police.
based on what I've read, he's definitely not looking very good. But his comments pretty much ****ed him regardless of what he'll claim now or going forward.