Charges: Rifle jammed, she laughed, so he killed her with a pistol

A 64-year-old man was charged Monday with murdering two teenagers who broke into his home on the outskirts of Little Falls, Minn., shooting each of them at close range in the head after he had already wounded them.

Byron David Smith was charged in Morrison County District Court with two counts of second-degree murder without premeditation in the killings of Nicholas Brady, 17, and his cousin Haile Kifer, 18. Smith is scheduled to appear in court later Monday.

The criminal complaint says that Smith shot the two as they came down his basement stairs several minutes apart on Thanksgiving Day. The complaint adds that he shot them numerous times.

He then waited a day before asking a neighbor to alert authorities, the document added. Smith showed investigators the bodies, was arrested and has remained jailed since.

According to the complaint, Smith told investigators:

He heard glass breaking around noon Thursday while he was in the basement. It was the latest of several break-ins that he's experienced. Brady started coming down the stairs, and Smith shot him with a rifle by the time he saw the intruder's hips.

Brady fell down the stairs and was looking up at Smith when the homeowner shot him in the face.

"I want him dead," Smith explained to the investigator for the additional shot.

Smith put Brady's body on a tarp and dragged him to an office workshop.

A few minutes later, Smith heard footsteps above him. As in Brady's case, Kifer too started down the stairs and was shot by Smith by the time he saw her hips, sending her tumbling down the stairs.

Smith attempted to shoot her again, but his rifle jammed, prompting Kifer to laugh.

Upset, Smith, pulled out a revolver he had on him and shot her "more times than I needed to" in the chest, he said.

Smith dragged Kifer next to Brady as she gasped for her life. He pressed the revolver's barrel under her chin and pulled the trigger in what he described as a "good, clean finishing shot" that was meant to end her suffering.

Smith acknowledged leaving the bodies in his home overnight before calling a neighbor to askabout a lawyer and to request that authorities be notified.

I saw this on the news last night. A 64 year old man may be charged with second degree murder after shooting two burglars in his home. This was the eigth burglary.

Sounds to me like the only thing he'll be defending for the rest of his life will be his cell.

If the account above is accurate, he deserves it.

AP article. http://enews.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20121126/1bdb6bbe-7c98-46a3-a5ce-83e414cfe213
The guy was an idiot. Did they deserve shooting? Sure, they broke in. You break into my house, you get shot, period. But his actions during the shoot and especially afterwards will sink him.

A criminal complaint says Smith told investigators he shot Schaeffel when the teen had partially descended the stairs, then fired again into the teen's face as he lay on the floor looking at him.

"I want him dead," the complaint quoted Smith telling an investigator.

He then described sitting down again in his chair, and in a few minutes, the second teen -- Kifer -- began walking down the steps. Smith said he shot her and she also fell down the stairs. He said he tried to shoot her again, and when his Mini 14 rifle jammed, she laughed at him.

Smith told investigators that made him mad: "If you're trying to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again," he said, according to the complaint.

Smith said he then pulled out a .22-caliber revolver he was wearing and shot Kifer several times in the chest. He fired a final shot under her chin because she was still gasping for air a few minutes later, he said.

I saw this on the news last night. A 64 year old man may be charged with second degree murder after shooting two burglars in his home. This was the eigth burglary.

You should also know he did not report it until the police came by the next day. The two were in his basement.

Must be New York City or Chicago, or some place like that, right?

When they ceased to be a threat, his right to shoot them also ceased.

Ernie

Break into a crazy man's house, win stupid prizes.

He's a nut case and needs to be put away.

Charges: Point-blank shots finished off wounded teen intruders

Article by: CURT BROWN AND PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune staff writers

Updated: November 26, 2012 - 3:03 PM

LITTLE FALLS, MINN. -- A 64-year-old man was charged Monday with murdering two teenagers who broke into his home on the outskirts of Little Falls, shooting each of them at close range in the head after having already wounded them.

Byron David Smith was charged in Morrison County District Court with two counts of second-degree murder without premeditation in the killings of Nicholas Brady, 17, and his cousin Haile Kifer, 18.

The criminal complaint says that Smith shot the two as they came down his basement stairs several minutes apart on Thanksgiving Day. The complaint adds that he shot them numerous times.

He then waited a day before asking a neighbor to alert authorities about what he had done, the document added. Smith showed investigators the bodies, was arrested and has remained jailed since.

Smith appeared for a 10-minute court hearing late Monday morning wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands and feet in shackles. Bail was set at $2 million, with the prosecution noting the defendant's extensive travels to Beijing, Bangkok, Moscow and elsewhere overseas while he was working for the U.S. State Department.

In asking for the high bail figure, County Attorney Brian Middendorf said the incident was a case of cold-blooded murder. "The circumstances are appalling and far beyond any self-defense claim," he said.

Sheriff Michel Wetzel told reporters Monday afternoon that Smith explained to authorities that he didn't call immediately after killing the two because "it was Thanksgiving. He didn't want to trouble us on a holiday."

As for whether Smith could be justified in shooting intruders, Wetzel said that a citizen does have to right to protect person or property, but it has to be reasonable.

What Smith did "went further than the law. It doesn't permit you to execute once the threat is gone."

Defense attorney Gregory Larson declined to comment after the hearing, saying he wanted more time to study the case.

About a dozen family members of the teens attended the hearing.

At court in support of the defendant was friend John Lange, who said Smith had been targeted at least six times for break-ins and doesn't deserve to be in jail for protecting his home. "They tortured him and targeted him, and it's not good," Lange said. "One time alone would be too much. It's terrible."

The Sheriff's Office said it has received only one previous report of a break-in at the home, in October, and there have been no arrests in that incident.

According to the complaint, Smith told investigators:

He heard glass breaking around noon Thursday while he was in the basement. It was the latest of several break-ins that he's experienced. Brady started coming down the stairs, and Smith shot him with a rifle by the time he saw the intruder's hips.

Brady fell down the stairs and was looking up at Smith when the homeowner shot him in the face.

"I want him dead," Smith explained to the investigator for the additional shot.

Smith put Brady's body on a tarp and dragged him to an office workshop.

A few minutes later, Smith heard footsteps above him. As in Brady's case, Kifer too started down the stairs and was shot by Smith by the time he saw her hips, sending her tumbling down the stairs.

Smith attempted to shoot her again, but his rifle jammed, prompting Kifer to laugh.

Upset, Smith, pulled out a revolver he had on him and shot her "more times than I needed to" in the chest, he said.

Smith dragged Kifer next to Brady as she gasped for her life. He pressed the revolver's barrel under her chin and pulled the trigger in what he described as a "good, clean finishing shot" that was meant to end her suffering.

Smith acknowledged leaving the bodies in his home overnight before calling a neighbor to ask about a lawyer and to request that authorities be notified.

Tessa Ruth, an aunt of Brady, was at the hearing and said she wished Smith had fired a warning shot or called police instead of shooting. "It wasn't right for them to be there and, yes, he had a right to defend himself. But to execute them like that . . ."

Man Charged in Murder of Little Falls Teens: 'Fired More Shots than Needed'



Updated: 11/26/2012 2:16 PM KSTP.com By: Leslie Dyste

A 64-year-old man has been charged in the deadly shooting of two Little Falls teens.

According to authorities, Byron Smith of Belle Prairie Township is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Nicholas Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer.

The Sheriff's office says Smith shot and killed Brady and Kifer after the two broke into his home.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel says they believe this was a burglary.

According to the criminal complaint, Smith said he was in his basement on Thanksgiving when he heard two people breaking into his home upstairs. He said he heard a window break.

He saw the first pair of legs walk down the stairs and shot the man, later identified as Brady in the legs. He then shot him in the face.

He dragged Brady's body on a tarp to an office room in the basement, and returned to his chair and sat back down.

A few minutes later another person came down the stairs. He said he shot the woman, later identified as Kifer.

Smith said he tried to shoot her again, and the gun jammed. He said she laughed at him, but 'It was not a very long laugh because she was already hurting.' He pulled out another gun and shot her in the chest and then under the chin.

According to authorities he told investigators, "If you're trying to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again." He said he feared the two teenagers had weapons. Authorities say the teenagers did not have weapons.

Smith acknowledged he had "Fired more shots than (he) needed to."

Smith said he then dragged that body into the room where the other body was. He said he noticed the man was still gasping, and he fired another shot.

Smith never called 911. He called a neighbor Friday morning asking if the neighbor knew any lawyers.

A neighbor contacted police Friday afternoon.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel says, "The reason Smith said he didn't call in right away was because it was Thanksgiving and he didn't want to trouble us on a holiday."

Authorities say when deputies arrived at Smith's home, he answered the door he told deputies he had shot the teens.

Right now Minnesota law allows the use of deadly force from inside your home if it's necessary. According to Wetzel, "This case went further than that. The law does not permit you to execute someone after the threat is gone."

The county attorney Brian Middendorf said, this is a controversial case. "I would not ask that people rush to judgment. Smith is entitled to a fair process."

Smith's bail was set at a $2 million unconditional bond or a $1 million bond with the condition he cannot leave the state, and would have to surrender his passport and guns.

There is at least one prior report of a break in at his home in October.

The next court date has not yet been set.

Authorities say this is still an active and ongoing investigation.

+1, And they probably knew he was not playing with a full deck.

If he's a Nutcase or not, someone breaks into someone's home should be shot.

If more people were shot for chit like this, than the people doing the crime might give a second thought to not doing it.

Looks like we all win. Three scums removed from society.

Sounds like murder to me, once he had them stopped he should have as well. JUST PLAIN DUMB!

and yet easily avoided by not breaking into a house that had already been burglarized multiple times. Somebody just might want to take his frustrations out on you Bernie Goetz style.

Burglarized multiple times and still the dumb phuc doesn't know how to burglar-proof his house?? --- and he was waiting for them down in the basement?? --- can you say "set-up!"
No warning - "hey, I've got a gun and just called 911" - then (his own words) he "executes" them!
Something stinks!
Something stinks!
Something stinks!
___________________
I hate criminals as much as the next guy - but most of you boys sure jumped on the scumbag wagon kinda early - in my opinion.

He gives the rest of us gun owners a bad name and adds fuel to the fires of the anti gunners.

Illinois logic I guess. Down here, I'm not obligated to burglar proof my home, nor am I required to warn you and give you a chance to shoot me, if you are armed, before I fire.

The "setup" claim is just plain stupid. He heard the glass break upstairs and waited until they came down, what the hell do you think he should do, run up the stairs saying "hello!"?

That said, he going to do jail time and deservedly so, but right up to the point of the kill shots and admitting them, he did nothing wrong.

Illinois logic I guess. Down here, I'm not obligated to burglar proof my home, nor am I required to warn you and give you a chance to shoot me, if you are armed, before I fire.

The "setup" claim is just plain stupid. He heard the glass break upstairs and waited until they came down, what the hell do you think he should do, run up the stairs saying "hello!"?


That said, he going to do jail time and deservedly so, but right up to the point of the kill shots and admitting them, he did nothing wrong.

"just a good clean finishing shot". Geezus! Talk about breaking into the wrong house.

Hard to believe a teenage girl would go down stairs after hearing gunfire coming from the basement. Even stranger for her to laugh after taking a bullet in the hip. I think these people were on drugs maybe all of them.
He does have one advantage, they can't tell their side of the story.
whelennut

Little Falls teen shooting deaths called 'cold-blooded�

LITTLE FALLS, MINN. - Insisting the case crosses the line from self-defense to a cold-blooded double execution, Morrison County authorities filed second-degree murder charges Monday against a 64-year-old man who killed two teenage cousins after they'd broken into his home on Thanksgiving.

This woodsy central Minnesota town of 8,000 was jolted as the gruesome details spilled out in a criminal complaint, alleging Byron David Smith put a handgun under the chin of wounded and gasping 18-year-old Haile Kifer for what he told police was a "good clean finishing shot."

Smith, who according to a friend and a relative had endured previous break-ins, sat shackled in an orange jail jumpsuit as County Attorney Brian Middendorf accused him of "cold-blooded murder of two teenagers under circumstances that are appalling and far beyond any self-defense claim."

Sheriff Michel Wetzel said Monday that he believes the teenagers were committing a burglary but said Smith's reaction went beyond legal protections of Minnesota law that allows crime victims to use reasonable force to protect themselves and their property during a felony.

"We understand and respect that right exists, but what happened in this case went further," Wetzel said. "The law doesn't permit you to execute somebody when there's no possible way the crime can continue."

And the law requires people to notify police, said Wetzel, who learned about the shooting from a neighbor the next day. The sheriff said the reason Smith gave for never calling police was "it was Thanksgiving and he didn't want to bother us on a holiday."

Hamline University School of Law professor Joseph Olson, who has studied self-defense laws, noted that the number of Smith's shots will make it difficult for him to claim self-defense in court.

"I think the first shot is justified," Olson said. "After the person is no longer a threat because they're seriously wounded, the application of self-defense is over."

High bail set

Judge Douglas P. Anderson set bail at $2 million or $1 million with conditions that Smith, a retired U.S. State Department employee, surrender his passport and firearms and not leave the state. Prosecutors cited Smith's years of international travel to Moscow, Bangkok and Beijing among the reasons for the high bail.

Smith's attorney, Gregory Larson, did not immediately contest the bail and a jail worker said Smith informed the staff he doesn't plan to post bail.

About a dozen friends and relatives of the victims attended Smith's 10-minute hearing, including 16-year-old Serina Poppen, who wore a brown Little Falls Auto and Transmission sweatshirt. Nicholas Brady, 17, the first shooting victim, lent her the sweatshirt a month ago when she was cold and the two had dated in recent months.

"No amount of bail is fair and no amount will bring them back," Poppen said. "He took it way too far. He could have just showed them his gun and told them to sit still until he called police."

Tessa Ruth, Brady's aunt, also was at the hearing and acknowledged outside the court room that "it wasn't right to be in the house and, yes, he has a right to defend himself, but not to execute them like that."

John Lange, who describes himself as Smith's best friend, was in the courtroom and visited Smith in jail.

"Byron is holding up just fine, but he shouldn't be in there, " Lange said. "You have the right to defend your home, and he's been through hell."

Lange said Smith's house has been broken into six times, although authorities says they have only one report of a break-in, in October.

"They tortured him and targeted him, and it's not good," Lange said. "If you've been broken into one time, that would be enough. But it's terrible."

Smith's brother, Bruce Smith, said about $10,000 worth of guns, electronic gear and cash were stolen in October.

Wetzel, the sheriff, declined to discuss what was taken in the October theft and said they have no suspects. He also declined to say whether the teens knew Smith, insisting the investigation is ongoing.

'I want him dead'

According to the complaint, Smith told police that he heard someone breaking into his house at noon on Thanksgiving. He showed police the window he says Brady and his cousin, Kifer, used to enter his house, which he said had been broken into several times before. Lange, his friend, said he kept his valuables downstairs.

Smith told police he armed himself with a rifle and a handgun and waited downstairs until he saw the first person's feet, then legs, then hips.

He said he fired and the first victim, Brady, tumbled down the stairs. While Brady looked up at him, he shot him in the face, according to the complaint.

"I want him dead," he told investigators.

He put Brady's body on a tarp and dragged him into his basement workshop and sat back down in his chair.

Several minutes later, he heard more footsteps and saw Kifer coming down the stairs. He waited until he saw her hips, then fired. She also fell down the stairs, but then his rifle jammed and Kifer laughed.

That angered Smith. "If you're trying to shoot someone and they laugh at you, you go again," he told police.

He then pulled out the .22-caliber, nine-shot revolver that he was wearing, and fired "more shots than I needed to." He dragged Kifer into the workshop, placed her next to Brady and noticed she was still gasping for air.

"Smith stated at this point he placed the handgun under the woman's chin and shot her ... up into the cranium ... a good clean finishing shot."

He told police neither of the teens were armed but he feared they might have had a weapon.

He asked a neighbor the next morning if he knew any lawyers, and that neighbor apparently called police.

Larson, Smith's lawyer, declined to discuss the case as he left the hearing, saying he needed more time to respond to the county attorney's accusations.

Middendorf, the county attorney, asked community members "not to rush to judgment. This is a terrible tragedy for the whole community," he said. "And Mr. Smith is entitled to a fair process."

'Keep out'

At Smith's house, where a "keep out" sign blocked the driveway, kids drove by who knew the victims.

They remembered two teenage cousins who were inseparable and texted each other thousands of times.

"Nick was always energetic," said Alex Janey, 18. "They had so much more to give and to just shoot them like that, it just isn't right."

Other kids rumored that drugs might have been involved, a subject authorities declined to get into, saying the case is ongoing.

Poppen said her close friend, who lent her the sweatshirt she was wearing, "was always hilarious and lived for the moment."

Throughout the town of Little Falls, stunned residents weighed in.

"This ...doesn't happen in our community," said Liberty Nunn, 20, a friend of Brady's sister. "If it was 3 o'clock in the morning, I'm a shoot first and ask questions later kind of person.

"But this was the middle of Thanksgiving Day and to not bother to call the cops? It's just not right to take a life. ... He got to shut the basement door and go on with his Thanksgiving," Nunn said, "while two families were grieving."

Staff writers Pam Louwagie and Joy Powell contributed to this report. Curt Brown 612-673-4767

Complaint Reveals Details in Double Shooting of Little Falls Teens

A 64-year-old man has been charged in the deadly shooting of two Little Falls teens.

According to authorities, Byron Smith of Belle Prairie Township is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Nicholas Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer.

The Sheriff's office says Smith shot and killed Brady and Kifer after the two broke into his home.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel says they believe this was a burglary.

According to the criminal complaint, Smith said he was in his basement on Thanksgiving when he heard two people breaking into his home upstairs. He said he heard a window break.

He saw the first pair of legs walk down the stairs and shot the man, later identified as Brady in the legs. He then shot him in the face.

He dragged Brady's body on a tarp to an office room in the basement, and returned to his chair and sat back down.

A few minutes later another person came down the stairs. He said he shot the woman, later identified as Kifer.

Smith said he tried to shoot her again, and the gun jammed. He said she laughed at him, but "It was not a very long laugh because she was already hurting." He pulled out another gun and shot her in the chest and then under the chin.

According to authorities he told investigators, "If you're trying to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again." He said he feared the two teenagers had weapons. Authorities say the teenagers did not have weapons.

Smith acknowledged he had "Fired more shots than (he) needed to."

Smith said he then dragged that body into the room where the other body was. He said he noticed the woman was still gasping, and he fired another shot.

Smith never called 911. He called a neighbor Friday morning asking if the neighbor knew any lawyers.

A neighbor contacted police Friday afternoon.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel says, "The reason Smith said he didn't call in right away was because it was Thanksgiving and he didn't want to trouble us on a holiday."

Authorities say when deputies arrived at Smith's home, he answered the door he told deputies he had shot the teens.

Right now Minnesota law allows the use of deadly force from inside your home if it's necessary. According to Wetzel, "This case went further than that. The law does not permit you to execute someone after the threat is gone."

The county attorney Brian Middendorf said, this is a controversial case. "I would not ask that people rush to judgment. Smith is entitled to a fair process."

Smith's bail was set at a $2 million unconditional bond or a $1 million bond with the condition he cannot leave the state, and would have to surrender his passport and guns.

Smith told investigators he was fearful after several break-ins at his remote home in Little Falls, a central Minnesota town of 8,000 people. The sheriff's office had only one report of a break-in, on Oct. 27. Smith reported losing thousands of dollars in cash, gold coins, two guns, photo equipment and jewelry.

Schools in Little Falls, about 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis, made counselors available, though classes weren't in session Monday. In nearby Pillager, where classes were in session, a few students sought help from school counselors and local clergy members available at the school Monday morning, said Superintendent Chuck Arns.

Smith is expected back in court on Dec. 17.

Authorities say this is still an active and ongoing investigation.

I'm wondering if the girl waited out side and then went in when her boyfriend never came back out.
Regardless, crazy story.

And didnt the story say after he shot her, she was laughing at him? Phuggin society these days.

Smith said he tried to shoot her again, and the gun jammed. He said she laughed at him, but "It was not a very long laugh because she was already hurting." He pulled out another gun and shot her in the chest and then under the chin.

The girl looks pretty hot.

"The whole thing is very sad that they lost their lives," he said. "In the same instance, if they hadn't been breaking into houses, they'd be alive."

This is one of the reasons I don't miss Minnesota at all...

Sorry guys - but I see a lot of *hit-talking bravado here!
After this sick *hit shot the boy in the legs he has to see that he was "unarmed" duuh!
Then this sick phuc "executed" them!
I'd hate to be him if he has a conscience

She doesn't really fit the mold of a burglar

I saw this on the news last night. A 64 year old man may be charged with second degree murder after shooting two burglars in his home. This was the eigth burglary.

The kids being burglars, if they were, is no excuse for murder. If it were, we couldn't prosecute ganstas for shooting one another.

If you break into a house to steal stuff, you fit the mold of a burglar perfectly.

I am not denying that she was breaking into homes, i just find it surprising based on her bio. She was either thrill seeking, or on drugs.

The Minnesota teens killed on Thanksgiving Day while breaking into a home have been linked to an earlier robbery, authorities said today.

Six bottles of prescription drugs and other items reported stolen Sunday from a home in Little Falls, Minn. were found in a red Mitsubishi Eclipse that was being driven by Haile Kifer, 18, and Nicholas Brady, 17, according to the Morrison County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Michel Wetzel said the night before the teens were shot to death, authorities responded to a report of a red car parked suspiciously at the end of a driveway in Little Falls Township.

Officers encountered Brady, who told them Kifer had gone to get gas after the teens ran out while driving around town. The car was left at the location and deputies gave Brady a ride to Little Falls, Wetzel said.

what if it had been two 18 yo males that broke in an got shot?

From the Star Tribune



Two other news accounts:

GA Daily News

kstp.com

Smith acknowledged leaving the bodies in his home overnight before calling a neighbor to ask about a lawyer and to request that authorities be notified.

Byron Smith said he often worked with kids and used to allow his friend's son and his friends to have band practice in his garage. He stopped it when they kept inviting too many friends and it got out of hand. "That would have made kids aware of where he lives and how secluded his residence is from the road," the incident report said.