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

[MNlady]

http://brainerddispatch.com/news/20...g-2-teens-sparks-homeowner-rights-controversy

Minnesota law gives homeowners the right to protect themselves and their property, but Wetzel said they don't have the right to execute an intruder once the threat is neutralized.

According to the complaint, Smith told authorities he was fearful after several break-ins at his home in the town of about 8,000 people. The complaint said he told authorities that he was in his basement on Thanksgiving Day when he heard a window break upstairs. When he saw Brady on the basement stairwell, he fired — then shot him again in the face after he fell down.

The complaint said Smith told an investigator: "I want him dead."Smith said he dragged Brady's body into his workshop. When Kifer came down the stairs, he shot her multiple times as well, and dragged her into the room with Brady. She was still gasping for air, so he fired what he called a "good clean finishing shot" under her chin "up into the cranium," the complaint said.

And then police weren't called until the next day.

ETA: Yes, he had a right to protect himself and his property, but what he did after disabling them was plain old MURDER. IMO and many others.

 

[Confusion]

609.065 JUSTIFIABLE TAKING OF LIFE.

The intentional taking of the life of another is not authorized by section 609.06, except when necessary in resisting or preventing an offense which the actor reasonably believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily harm or death, or preventing the commission of a felony in the actor's place of abode.

Just being in his house isn't a felony, it's a misdemeanor.

 

[iluvmua]

Ok, Why were these two teenagers not with their families during Thanksgiving?

In this article, the car nick was driving was parked a block away and around the corner from BS

http://www.startribune.com/local/181119611.html?refer=y

Preliminary findings suggest that Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were involved in another break-in Wednesday night, 6 miles south of the home where Byron Smith claims he shot them in self-defense, said Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel.

In the latest development, investigators are piecing together evidence recovered from a red Mitsubishi Eclipse that Brady had been driving, and which was discovered Friday parked a block away and around the corner from Smith's property, 3 miles north of Little Falls.

That same car was seen in a driveway last Wednesday evening 3 miles south of Little Falls, in the vicinity of a house belonging to Richard L. Johnson, a retired Little Falls High School teacher who had been in Spain until Sunday evening.

 

[Sonya610]

Preliminary findings suggest that Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were involved in another break-in Wednesday night, 6 miles south of the home where Byron Smith claims he shot them in self-defense, said Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel.

Yup, sounds like their car was full of stolen loot from lots of breakins.

Shooting them dead seems like a community service IMO. Sad that Mr. Smith is likely to end up in prison over this, wish he had handled it better and fired multiple rapid shots instead of pausing.

"I don't have the reports in front of me to indicate precisely what was found. I do know they found quite a bit of evidence in their vehicle that was parked near the Smith place," the sheriff said late Tuesday. "We're trying to investigate whether it might have come from the Johnson burglary."

 

[iluvmua]

Yup, sounds like their car was full of stolen loot from lots of breakins.

Shooting them dead seems like a community service IMO. Sad that Mr. Smith is likely to end up in prison over this because, wish he had handled it better and fired multiple rapid shots instead of pausing.

yep, I think if he would have shot them each in the head, killing them instantly, he would more than likely not be facing 2nd degree murder charges

 

[nursebeeme]

Ok, Why were these two teenagers not with their families during Thanksgiving?

In this article, the car nick was driving was parked a block away and around the corner from BS

http://www.startribune.com/local/181119611.html?refer=y

Preliminary findings suggest that Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were involved in another break-in Wednesday night, 6 miles south of the home where Byron Smith claims he shot them in self-defense, said Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel.

In the latest development, investigators are piecing together evidence recovered from a red Mitsubishi Eclipse that Brady had been driving, and which was discovered Friday parked a block away and around the corner from Smith's property, 3 miles north of Little Falls.

That same car was seen in a driveway last Wednesday evening 3 miles south of Little Falls, in the vicinity of a house belonging to Richard L. Johnson, a retired Little Falls High School teacher who had been in Spain until Sunday evening.

wow...

 

[iluvmua]

This gives more info:

http://www.kare11.com/news/article/...revious-burglary?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel confirmed in a written release that a search of the red Mitsubishi Eclipse seized after the shooting of Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady contained items reported stolen in a separate burglary that took place south of Little Falls in Little Falls Township

Sheriff Wetzel says deputies had contact with Nicholas Brady just before 9:30 p.m. on November 21, one day before he was fatally shot. A homeowner in Little Falls Township reported a car parked suspiciously near the end of his driveway on Hilton Road.

Brady allegedly told deputies that he and Kifer, his cousin, had been in the vehicle driving around when it ran out of gas. Brady said Kifer had left to go get more gas. Deputies then gave Brady a ride into the City of Little Falls. The car was left at its location on Hilton Road, which is close to a home on Arden Boulevard.

That homeowner reported numerous items were missing from the home including several bottles of prescription medication.

During the search of Brady's red Mitsubishi Eclipse deputies discovered six bottles of prescription medication bearing the name of the burglarized homeowner.

 

[iluvmua]

Also, why didn't the parents/relatives call the police when they didn't show up for Thanksgiving dinner?

they had been missing at least 24 hours and nobody bothers to call the police????

 

[Sonya610]

yep, I think if he would have shot them each in the head, killing them instantly, he would more than likely not be facing 2nd degree murder charges

Well it is fine to unload multiple shots you just have to do it at ONE TIME and not stop, walk up to them, etc before the kill shot.

Folks go into a "panic" and just keep firing all the time when they are in fear for their lives, usually no one will question it.

 

[Hatfield]

IMO
It is a real touchy part of the law and each case is different. Ultimately juries sometimes have to decide if it was justifiable or not.

I tend to side with the homeowners if I was on a jury because to me, the perps are threatening me by just being in the house trying to rob, etc. They are there for bad reasons usually and they could kill the homeowner with their bare hands.

The guy in this case may have gone too far, and he should not have talked without speaking to a laywer first.

It is always difficult to decide when the threat is neutralized because a perp could get up and grab something and hit the homeowner over the head with it, so it is always a grey area of the law, and all cases are different. But, I do tend to side with the innocent homeowners in most cases. For all we know, the guy was still scared for his life even if they moved 1 inch. To him, he may have feared for his life if they moved at all. So, IMO, it is a very grey area.

I also think that most juries do not fully appreciate what it is like to be in that situation and they begin to feel sorry for the perps. If the jury members would ever be in that situation where life and property are threatened, I think a lot of juries would give the homeowner much more leeway in these types of cases.

 

[iluvmua]

At the very least he needs to be charged with manslaughter and not 2nd degree murder

JMO

 

[Trino]

These kids aren't the saint the media originally portrayed them to be - not defending the shooter. That needs to be decided by a jury. HOWEVER...

http://www.twincities.com/localnews...uthorities-find-precription-drugs-other-items

"... a search of a red Mitsubishi Eclipse seized after Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady were shot and killed by Byron David Smith, authorities found prescription drugs and other items reported stolen from another Little Falls home."

 

[LolaMoon08]

So, these kids were out robbing houses and they are the victims? Nope! Not in my book. Sorry. It was only a matter of time before they turned violent on a homeowner since they were obviously looking for prescription drugs and property to most likely sell for even more drugs.

Not saying what the homeowner did was right... once the kids had been shot and were no longer a threat to his safety and the safety of his property.

Also, I don't get the not calling police until the next day? I could 100% understand calling an attorney though. After 911, I would be on the phone with an attorney too. But, he did it opposite. So, I don't understand that.

I do believe the homeowner when he says they entered his home unlawfully though. I agree that charges are warranted however, and it is up for a jury to decide what happens in this case.

The parents of the kids didn't even report them missing or wonder where they were (on a Holiday especially!!) so it appears to me that they were used to the teens coming and going as they pleased.

MOO

 

[LolaMoon08]

A family member posted that they were on their way home for Thanksgiving, not on drugs, Car runs out of gas, Nick walks up to the house to use a phone and that the window was already broken from a previous crime and that the perp heard a noise and that's how it started.

I think I will wait for forensics on the homeowners house before I believe what the teens family says about what happened. They were not there and obviously didn't know their little darlings were out robbing homes for prescription drugs and other property. And how in the world would they know that the window had been broken from a previous crime?

I'll also wait for toxicology tests on the teens.

 

[LolaMoon08]

If they were looking for drugs, what were they doing in the basement? Why didn't they go UP the stairs to check in bathroom medicine cabinets and on bedside tables or even in the kitchen?

And if the boy was shot first, why did the girl casually follow him into the line of fire, rather than turning and running for the door? And then she laughed after the old man had shot her once and killed her cousin?

Add the 48-hour wait and the call to a lawyer before 911, and none of the story here makes sense.

BBM Drugs? They make people do some crazy things. She could have thought that her cousin had found a gun and it went off too? Who knows. I think my first reaction is the correct one. Drugs.

 

[jjenny]

These kids aren't the saint the media originally portrayed them to be - not defending the shooter. That needs to be decided by a jury. HOWEVER...

http://www.twincities.com/localnews...uthorities-find-precription-drugs-other-items

"... a search of a red Mitsubishi Eclipse seized after Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady were shot and killed by Byron David Smith, authorities found prescription drugs and other items reported stolen from another Little Falls home."

It does sound like he didn't lie about them allegedly breaking in.
And if he were in TX, I bet he'd get off scott free.
But he ain't in TX, and I think the story he told, admitting he finished them off after shooting them, will do him in.

 

[jjenny]

At the very least he needs to be charged with manslaughter and not 2nd degree murder

JMO

His own story-he finished them off after shooting them.
Which is why, I presume, he was charged with murder.

 

[jjenny]

Well it is fine to unload multiple shots you just have to do it at ONE TIME and not stop, walk up to them, etc before the kill shot.

Folks go into a "panic" and just keep firing all the time when they are in fear for their lives, usually no one will question it.

Yep. Authorities got the pharmacists (Ersland) for a very similar thing. If you shoot at an intruder or a robbery quickly, that's justified (in most states). If you finish them off, you might get into big trouble.

 

[Yoda]

"Little Falls shooter protected U.S. embassies from terrorists and spies". "Few people, it could be argued, have more training in how to protect a building from threats than security engineers like Smith, who worked for the State Department as recently as 2006 and served in Bangkok, Cairo, Beijing and other foreign cities."


http://minnesota.publicradio.org/di...oter-protected-us-embassies-terrorists-spies/

 

[Sonya610]

Mr. Smith really really should have called a lawyer before talking.

He knew he needed a lawyer, why in the heck didn't he call one before the police interview?