GUILTY MN - Byron Smith charged with murder after shooting 2 teens

[Sherp]

:goodpost:

Apparently they mistook kindness for weakness and it backfired. They made his life a living h*** and laughed while doing it.

They got what they deserved. If anything both the thieves and their families got off easy. The "kids" died via gunshot which is not the most painful way to go. The families aren't left wondering what happened to their "missing little angels" (though I am not sure they would have worried that much, they weren't worried when the kids disappeared on Thanksgiving).

I agree totally. I think Smith probably reviews the event in his mind's eye, through out the day and still falls asleep with a chuckle, a smile and a Tee Hee .

 

[SwampMama]

While I sympathize with his plight, I don't think the full extent of his actions were warranted or justifiable. I understand shooting someone who breaks into your home. I even understand shooting multiple times to make sure the threat is gone. But what reason would you have for not calling the police once the two (unarmed) assailants have been shot and lay dying on your floor? Why play executioner after that point? Would you really do what this man did?

I'm seeing a lot of this carte blanche reasoning to do whatever one wants to do to an intruder in their home. So where does the line get drawn?

BBM. It is hard to say exactly what any of us would do in the heat of the moment. We can say what we THINK we would do but in that sleep deprived, adrenaline and anxiety filled moment, who knows how we would react?

But frankly, if hubby and I were under siege like this then I can see something like this happening. Most people don't shoot to just wound around here. If you do not want to get shot, then simply stay out of situations where you are very likely to get shot, (like robbing my home repeatedly).

Of course we would call police immediately but then again, hubby knows the sheriff here well, we know all the cops from working at accident scenes with them, DD is a police officer and her bf is a state trooper. So I imagine that we would not have gotten to the point that this man did because cops would have done something the first time we called for help.

i cannot say why he did not call police immediately. i would think he was in shock. obviously his actions and reactions were not completely rationale.

But lets say (just for the sake of argument) that i were in this situation, a person living alone, no spouse or family, no friendly cops to call. i would absolutely shoot to kill. yes, I would be prepared to catch them a put a stop to this madness. Only death was gonna stop these kids. They were already targeting him because he stopped being generous with them after they took advantage of him. Cops had not helped and it was just escalating.

He felt he had to take matters in his own hands and eliminate the threat. I would feel the same. i would be ready for their next break in. i would park my vehicle elsewhere and act as if i were not home. i would be armed and ready.

Had he just wounded them, the teens would have likely lied and claimed that he tried to sexually assault the girl and that the cousin was just defending her or some other trumped up BS. These were not honest or remorseful children. They would likely have retaliated even more against him.

With all that being said, i respect everybody's views and am not here to debate any one or tell them they are wrong for feeling the way that they do. everyone here is different which is one of the great things about WS and we can all gather here and express our differences and share our different views with respect and consideration, and hopefully learn from each other and be able to see things from a different point of view.

(pardon the uncapitalized typos, i am on hubby's laptop and you practically have to apply the force of an elephant to get capital letters.)

 

[iluvmua]

I think they pissed him off so bad that he decided to take matters into his own hands.

IMO, I believe to an extent he did plan this.

I also believe that he knew they would eventually come back again and rob him once more.

But I also blame the young adults who broke into his house in the first place.

If they had not broken in, they would not have not been killed.

jmo

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

On Dateline now....good coverage.

 

[Rayemonde]

This was a deliberate, premeditated murder of two teenages. The audio of them screaming in fear before he shoots them in the head to "finish them off" is spine-tingling. BEFORE the murders you can hear the murderer rehearsing the story he will tell to LE out loud! He says he does not see them as human beings, but as vermin. They were human beings, they were a much loved son and daughter with many friends and family members who will miss them forever
They were not intentionally targeting or tormenting this man, they broke into othe neighbourhood houses too and took prescription drugs and other items. They should not have been doing that, but they did NOT deserve to die in fear and pain for it! I can't believe the callousness of some of the replies here! Shame on you!

What next, are you going to say that a teenager walking home alone drunk or high despite being below the legal drinking age deserves to be raped and murdered?? Because they were breaking the law by drinking or doing drugs, right, and they knew the dangers of walking home alone so they deserve what they got for being so stupid? WRONG! This man was NOT in fear for his safety, he WANTED to kill these kids because he was angry at them for breaking in. He knew it was wrong and illegal, that's why he rehearsed his story BEFORE the murders! After he had shot the boy, he put him on a tarp that he had ready so the blood wouldn't stain the carpet (his own words) and dragged then body away from the stairs so that when Haile came down she wouldn't see the body and wouldn't have a chance to run! He shot Haile several times in the chest, told her she was dying, called her a "*****", moved her and put her on the tarp then noticed she was still breathing, so he shot her in the head because he "didn't want her to suffer"! And then by all accounts he continues his stakeout, waiting for their parents to come looking for them so he could murder them too.

If this man was mentally ill at the time then that should have been taken into account - personally I do think he was mentally ill and I do feel sorry for him. If he had been in his right mind hopefully he never would have done such a cruel, evil thing - there were many ways he could have dealt with the situation rather than this cold-blooded murder.

 

[emma_arrowltd]

Does anyone know of any particular murder cases that were solved purely from audio evidence? Things like audio diaries, 911 calls, secret recordings, wire taps etc.


The main one that springs to mind is that of Byron Smith who shot two teens dead in his house during a break in. Audio here: [video=youtube;r6RGXGgTr6g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6RGXGgTr6g[/video]


But are there any others ones? Maybe slightly more under the radar?

 

[Snoopster]

If any of you get a chance, listen to Byron Smith's police interview. It is very disturbing, as was this man himself.

I heard the interview on a podcast, but am looking for a link online. Please post a link here if you find it. This guy was totally messed up. He wasn't scared for his iife, he was happy to get rid of 'vermin', even when they were already incapacitated.

 

[Trvl4Lyfe]

He wasn't scared for his iife, he was happy to get rid of 'vermin', even when they were already incapacitated.

Or ****s as some may have called them.

 

[liltexans]

This case was recently featured on ID's new show, 'Hear No Evil'.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Little Falls man guilty of killing 2 teens during burglary appeals his murder conviction

 

[ilovewings]

They were breaking in, they had robbed a retired teacher, breaking into his home a couple of days before. (with a crow bar).

AND the teenage boy Nick, had broken into Mr. Smith's garage prior to this.

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2922184.shtml

I think he snapped and finally had enough of the break in's.

If the two teenagers had learned to respect people and their property, they would not be dead.

I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone who thinks they are invincible and continues to break into people's houses.

I just saw this case again on ID- Could not agree more with your post!!! I think this man was living in a terrified state as Nick had broken into his home at least once before. By this day, he also enraged - if we do not feel safe in our homes, where can we feel safe? This case is not black and white: Clearly how he killed them was appalling, especially Hallie--- but at the end of the day if you intrude into someone else's home you should expect you could be shot.