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

If I were on the Jury, it would be Not Guilty -Self Defense. Hope this and other incidents where home invaders were killed by the home owners gives criminal pause.
 
If I were on the Jury, it would be Not Guilty -Self Defense. Hope this and other incidents where home invaders were killed by the home owners gives criminal pause.

I agree. If someone breaks into a home, whatever happens to them is their own tough luck. Intuders better get the message that more and more homeowners are arming themelves and no matter why they broke into a home, whether it be to steal a tv or assault someone, they might get themselves killed. Tough tough tough.
 
yeah I wouldn't be able to convict .. not on murder 1 .. no way .. this guy was in his own house, minding his own business .. he'd had a rash of break ins .. guns stolen .. the same guy he shot had broken into his place before .. he was in essence being terrorized .. breaching your house/property is one of the most serious crimes you can commit .. don't do it
 
One is supposed to not react emotionally as a juror and read the law as it is written and make a judgment based on the law and not your own emotions. He most definitely is guilty of first-degree murder for the girl. He himself said he shot them too many times. There is no guessing here. He recorded the whole thing including his own monologues. He never called 911 himself. He did call a neighbor the next day for advice on a lawyer and the neighbor called 911. Sure the teens did wrong but so did Byron Smith. He should have called 911 as soon as he heard the glass break.
 
One is supposed to not react emotionally as a juror and read the law as it is written and make a judgment based on the law and not your own emotions. He most definitely is guilty of first-degree murder for the girl. He himself said he shot them too many times. There is no guessing here. He recorded the whole thing including his own monologues. He never called 911 himself. He did call a neighbor the next day for advice on a lawyer and the neighbor called 911. Sure the teens did wrong but so did Byron Smith. He should have called 911 as soon as he heard the glass break.

You know what they say----"When seconds count, the police are only minutes away".

I agree Smith did A LOT of things wrong but at the end of the day, none of this would have happened if these intruders had not broken into his home. It's all on them for invading the one place people are suppose to be safe---their own homes. There's just something about that, that is so wrong IMO, and I have no sympathy for the fate of the intruders once they invade a home. I think it's safe to say that it's usually the homeowner that pays the price when intruders break into their homes. Homeowners have to consider themselves lucky if an intruder is only there to rob them---not beat them, tie them up, or rape them or their children. It's pathetic any homeowner has to consider themselves lucky that someone is there to steal property that they have worked to buy.
 
from above link:

"The horrifying audiotape came after jurors listened to an interview from the day after the shootings in which Smith matter-of-factly described what happened in chilling detail, telling authorities he finished Kifer off with a shot under her chin because a .22-caliber 'doesn't go through bone very well.'

Does anyone have a link to the actual audio? I am trying to find it with no success, maybe it is in one of those articles and I missed it?
 
The audio and transcripts of the audio have never been released to the public. The jurors are the first to hear it.
 
I agree. If someone breaks into a home, whatever happens to them is their own tough luck. Intuders better get the message that more and more homeowners are arming themelves and no matter why they broke into a home, whether it be to steal a tv or assault someone, they might get themselves killed. Tough tough tough.

Agree. However, when I was about 20-years younger, my thinking would have been the homeowner should have called police first then fired only if he was sure his life was in danger. Today, I am a 69-year old women who lives alone and would fire first and continue to fire. Just MO
 
Agree. However, when I was about 20-years younger, my thinking would have been the homeowner should have called police first then fired only if he was sure his life was in danger. Today, I am a 69-year old women who lives alone and would fire first and continue to fire. Just MO

Yes, perhaps the parents of today should encourage their young people to research the victims on the internet before breaking in! That way the precious young ones could avoid similar situations.

Seriously the people saying "but they were just children" can imagine their OWN children doing the same which is why they are so defensive.

Disgusting. Truly. Make excuses and worry about the safety of home invaders and robbers, that is what our society has become and that is what worries the mothers of the scum that breaks into other people's homes.
 
MOO, a man fed up with break ins sets a trap. They are vermin and he is the pest control. He did everyone a favor.

IMO, when that is your mindset, you have crossed a line from self defense to murder (extermination)
 
MOO, a man fed up with break ins sets a trap. They are vermin and he is the pest control. He did everyone a favor.

IMO, when that is your mindset, you have crossed a line from self defense to murder (extermination)

He didn't have to tell the neighbors and contact the authorities. He could have just gotten rid of the "trash" and no one would have noticed.

He should have done just that (unless he i trying to prove a point). He should have gotten rid of the evidence.

Like I said, mothers that worry about those "poor kids" are likely raising similar offspring and worried about the safety of THEIR precious child if/when they break into to other people's homes.
 
He didn't have to tell the neighbors and contact the authorities. He could have just gotten rid of the "trash" and no one would have noticed.

He should have done just that (unless he i trying to prove a point). He should have gotten rid of the evidence.

Like I said, mothers that worry about those "poor kids" are likely raising similar offspring and worried about the safety of THEIR precious child if/when they break into to other people's homes.

There was a case a couple of years ago in which a young man broke into a home in the middle of the night with the intention of stealing a televsion. The homeowner woke up, grabbed his gun, and when he saw the intruder in his home, shot and killed him. The deceased man's mother then promptly went to the media (it may have been Nancy Grace) and was outraged that her 'baby' was killed over a television. How would the homeowner know why the man was in his home??? It's not like he could have said "Why are you here, how long to you plan to stay, what are your intentions while your here and what do you hope to accomplish? Huh uh---those are job interview questions. There are people who break into houses to steal things and even if they get the goods, if the homeowner comes across them, they beat or kill the homeowner for good measure so they can't be identified. I remember a few years ago the case of the doctor and his wife and 2 daughters (somewhere on the east coast---I think Conn.) 2 thugs broke in, beat the man, tied him up and put him in the basement. One then took the mom to the bank and made her withdraw money while the other stayed and watched the daughters. After they had the money, they then tied up and raped the mother and one young daughter and set the house on fire---killing all three women---while the police were outside assessing the situation as they had been alerted by the bank. No one knows what these teens would have or could have done to Smith if they had come across him after robbing him. Smith doesn't appear to be all there upstairs by the account of what he did but those kids would be alive and well and would have been able to happily continue their life of break ins if not for the fact that their gamble didn't pay off this time. That's the chance one takes when they break into someone else's home.
 
MOO, a man fed up with break ins sets a trap. They are vermin and he is the pest control. He did everyone a favor.

IMO, when that is your mindset, you have crossed a line from self defense to murder (extermination)

He was at his home minding his own business. He wasn't waving prescription drugs out of his window, enticing the teens to come on in.
 
The audio and transcripts of the audio have never been released to the public. The jurors are the first to hear it.

I'm sure it's chilling and won't bode well for Smith. The verdict will be interesting to say the least.
 
No one knows what these teens would have or could have done to Smith if they had come across him after robbing him.

In my mind what they might have done is a moot point, breaking into someone's home is reason enough and once they cross that line I would assume the home invader is an imminent deadly threat.

Those kids were having a great time victimizing innocent people and they just happened to have targeted a nut case; they deserve whatever they got. If they did in fact break into this poor man's home before as well their actions could have pushed him over the edge. They probably thought victimizing old people was hilariously funny, stealing their medicine and belongings, making people afraid in their own homes. Now I guess the joke is on them.
 
Chelly, agree with you. As I age I feel more vulnerable. While I morn the loss of young lives, I wonder if these kids had ever truly been held accountable for previous criminal activity. Where were the parents..what were these kids doing out in the middle of the night ..not just the night of the shooting but all the other nights?


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Chelly, agree with you. As I age I feel more vulnerable. While I morn the loss of young lives, I wonder if these kids had ever truly been held accountable for previous criminal activity. Where were the parents..what were these kids doing out in the middle of the night ..not just the night of the shooting but all the other nights?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Where were they when the turkey was being served? :moo:
 

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