Posted on 04/24/2014 11:07:12 AM PDT by Uncle Chip
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. — A Minnesota man who killed two teenagers who broke into his home can be heard on an audio recording talking to himself for hours after the shooting and at one point, apparently describing the slain teens as "vermin."
Byron Smith, of Little Falls, faces first-degree premeditated murder charges in the deaths of 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady on Thanksgiving Day in 2012. Smith, 65, claimed he was defending himself and feared for his life after several break-ins at his home.
Prosecutors, though, say Smith planned the killings. They say he sat in a chair in his basement and waited for the teens to enter his home, instead of calling police.
Smith waited a full day after he shot them before asking a neighbor to call the authorities....
The killings stunned this central Minnesota community and stirred debate about how far people can go to defend their homes. Under Minnesota law, a person may use deadly force to prevent a felony from taking place in one's home or dwelling, but authorities have said Smith crossed a line when he continued to shoot the teens after they were no longer a threat.
Authorities who searched Smith's home after the killings testified Wednesday that they found an audio recorder that was turned on and an operating video surveillance system. The recorder was sitting on top of books on a bookshelf, near a chair where prosecutors say Smith waited for the teens....
Prosecutors also showed images from surveillance cameras that Smith had set up outside his home. The four different camera angles showed Smith leaving his home in his truck at 11:25 a.m. on the day of the killings, then returning on foot at 11:45.
At 12:33 p.m., Brady shows up in a hooded, camouflage jacket ...
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
Which is what I would do as well if my house was broken into 4 times before.
Turn to a life of crime and stuff happens. End of story.
after they were no longer a threat. —
I’ve seen enough ‘80s movies where the bad guy comes back to life...more than once, even.
Hollywood is right, got to make sure.
But without a running tape recorder...
Not only they come back but they are the ones laying in wait and scopping properties. Where were the cops? This guy solved a crime but the prosecution does not care.
Note to self: never say anything incriminating on tape.
My Father did this after 3 break-ins at our pharmacy. He sat in a chair in the dark and waited night after night, thankfully, I finally convinced him to get a taser instead of taking his gun. In the end, after a night there was an attempted break-in when he was not there, the police set up a trap the following night and got the would be burglar. Guess what? No conviction... Probation, no jail time, and no repayment of damages to our business. And this is going on with the police station in the same building literally 3 doors down, less than 25 yards away, from our business. Drugs were the reason, and addiction. But can you imagine the idiocy?
As he now realizes, it was a big no-no.
Moral of the story: don’t break into other people’s houses and just maybe you won’t be shot. It’s not exactly rocket science.
I think he did it to prove he didn’t shoot them on the street, I think he also had a video tape, but yeah he should have kept him mouth shut. What he should have said was he set up the video and tape recorder to try and catch them and they broke in one night and chased him down to the basement and he was in fear of his life.
Yes, he should have called the police before the break in occurred so they could tell him there was nothing they could do about it.
He also should have asked the suspects if they wanted him to stop shooting at them. They could have discussed this with him at the kitchen table over coffee.
He may have set a trap for them but THEY entered HIS house for the sole purpose of robbing it..game..set..match..you do the crime, you pay the price
If an unarmed teenage girl broke into my house to rip me off, I would be pretty angry.
But, being a normal human being I wouldn't shoot her.
Nor would I shoot her and then put her on a tarp rather than call 911.
Nor would I shoot her, put her on a tarp, not call 911, and then shoot her two more times.
Nor would I shoot her, put her on a tarp, not call 911, shoot her two more times, and then leave the room to find another weapon so I could shoot her point blank under the chin.
Nor would I shoot her, put her on a tarp, not call 911, shoot her two more times, leave the room to find another weapon so I could shoot her point blank under the chin, and then wrap up the tarp,eat dinner and watch TV.
Byron Smith is the subhuman one in this story.
How is it a trap to sit in your own house? When I watch tv my item is within grasp, in the kitchen one is close by, when I sleep it is under a pillow.
Sounds like he had a bit of a breakdown after the first shooting.
He was in his house. The perps broke in. He didn’t pursue them in the house, but waited in his basement. They went to where he was, one of them dumb enough to go down there after the first one had been shot. Now they are dead. Justice has been served. Leave it at that.
He knew scumbags were going to try to break in..he had everything ready to go to prove he was being robbed..maybe a “trap” is the wrong word to use here, but he was preparing for this..the two idiots who intended to rob his house got what was coming to them
He should have shouted, “IT’S COMING RIGHT FOR US!”
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