Homeowner shoots two intruders

[Drizzay 643]

It's a messed up story so far. i am sure there will be more details revealed, but he has been charged with 2nd degree murder. It sounds like he went off his rocker once in the moment.

 

Linky

 

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

Article by: CURT BROWN and PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune staff writers Updated: November 26, 2012 - 4:17 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.

 

One of Brady's aunts, Sarah Schaeffel, said after learning of the details from the scene that "Nicholas was smart, and he knew right from wrong. Kids are kids, and they all do stupid things."

 

Smith "could have just held them there and called police," said Schaeffel, of Apple Valley, who is a sister to Brady's mother and was not at the hearing. "The only people who know the truth are these two kids and the guy who shot them."

 

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 . . ."

[Drizzay 643]

Link with pictures of the victims and homeowner

[Recliner Pilot 61]

They shouldn't have been going into people's homes to steal their stuff.

 

Problem solved.

[Vikings4ever 496]

They shouldn't have been going into people's homes to steal their stuff.

 

Problem solved.

I 100% support the right of a home owner to shoot if he feels he's in danger.

 

That being said, his story stinks. Having a neighbor call the cops a day later? The woman coming down in the basement after the guy got shot? And then laughing after she was shot?

 

Even assuming his story is 100% true, he definitely crossed the line between self defense and murder.

[phillybear 364]

The guy is a hero. 100% innocent. Sue the intruder's scum relatives for court costs for defending his life and homestead. HERO. ROLE MODEL.

[Recliner Pilot 61]

I 100% support the right of a home owner to shoot if he feels he's in danger.

 

That being said, his story stinks. Having a neighbor call the cops a day later? The woman coming down in the basement after the guy got shot? And then laughing after she was shot?

 

Even assuming his story is 100% true, he definitely crossed the line between self defense and murder.

None of which changes the facts of my post.

[Drizzay 643]

Yea, the part about her coming down the stairs after he fired 2 shots into the boy seems out of place. Your flight instincts usually kick in if you hear gun shots.

 

There is also an article that stated he was friends with a bunch of kids in the neighborhood and he let them use his garage for band practice. It may turn out that these two never broke in, but were invited in. Who knows.

[phillybear 364]

Further, if somebody invade my home, they are going to die. Further, I will make sure they can not have an open casket funeral as I empty clip after clip into the lifeless face of that kunt. Then I'll rape them until the cops come by.

[Vikings4ever 496]

None of which changes the facts of my post.

Assuming the part about them breaking in is true.

 

I wouldn't be shocked if it was a drug deal gone bad, and he spent the day getting rid of evidence.

[BiPolarBear 476]

In Texas, we just put 'em out on trash day. :cowboyhat:

[Recliner Pilot 61]

Assuming the part about them breaking in is true.

 

I wouldn't be shocked if it was a drug deal gone bad, and he spent the day getting rid of evidence.

I'm taking the story at face value. I'll leave the what ifs and assuming to others.

[phillybear 364]

I'd keep firing as the ambulance carts the carcasses away.

[Savage Beast 1]

These 2 kids who were killed looked more like Mormons trying to sell their Mormon literature then criminals trying to steal stuff?

[wiffleball 4,629]

These 2 kids who were killed looked more like Mormons trying to sell their Mormon literature then criminals trying to steal stuff?

 

 

Ah, well finally it makes sense. Like my Dad always said:

 

"Wound a criminal, Kill a Mormon."

 

I don't know why.

[GettnHuge 1]

He should have asked their parents permission first. Out of respect of course.

[wiffleball 4,629]

Uh, so just outta curiousity, if he shot both of the kids when he saw no more than their hips, how exactly did he 'fear for his safety/life'?

 

The exact same puss-axx excuse every dirty pig uses...

 

He was really terrified of a stoned teenage girl?

 

"Uh, I was broken into 8-10 times - well sure, I only reported ONE..."

 

 

Just goes to show ya - Guns don't kill people, Puzzies with Guns because they're too much of a puss to beat someone with their own hands like a man kill people.

 

(See gangbanging who speed away like little biotches, , tattoo-necked cholos who don't belong here, , thin-skinned puzzy nerds and now, apparently, grumpy old white guys who've lost their damn minds...)

[Vikings4ever 496]

Uh, so just outta curiousity, if he shot both of the kids when he saw no more than their hips, how exactly did he 'fear for his safety/life'?

Someone breaks into your house, you don't know if they're armed or not. It's completely reasonable to fear for your safety. You wait long enough to find out they are armed, and you could be the one that's dead.

[ZeroTolerance 582]

Aside from some really fishy parts to his story, my point would be...

 

You blasted the first kid as soon as you saw his hips with your shotgun and he collapsed down the stairs. Not sure how the second shotgun blast to the chest of an incapacitated intruder is 'self-defense'. Obviously what he did with the girl was even more fucked up. I am all for the right to shoot an intruder, and assuming they did break in I don't feel bad that they paid a price, but unloading your weapons into the intruder after they are half dead (or in the girl's case, bleeding to death and fully incapacitated), AND not alerting anyone for a day after...this guy was a nut job.

 

 

Uh, so just outta curiousity, if he shot both of the kids when he saw no more than their hips, how exactly did he 'fear for his safety/life'?

 

I don't have a problem with THAT part of it. If someone breaks in, can't assume that you have a chance to wait for them to fully come into view to decide if they are armed.

[MDC 5,875]

They shouldn't have been going into people's homes to steal their stuff.

 

Problem solved.

 

Thank you captain obvious.

[wiffleball 4,629]

Someone breaks into your house, you don't know if they're armed or not. It's completely reasonable to fear for your safety. You wait long enough to find out they are armed, and you could be the one that's dead.

 

While I agree with the bold in general - especially if it was dark (which it wasn't); Problem with that is this: Stand up, look where your hands are. - @ Your hips. So, either they were holding sammiches with both hands whilst descending the stairwell or going down the steps with their arms folded across their chest.

 

...Or the guy could clearly see the kid's hands.

 

...And I'm pretty sure I can distinguish a teen girls' hips, jeans and shoes from a hardened criminal with relative ease.

[GobbleDog 815]

You blasted the first kid as soon as you saw his hips with your shotgun and he collapsed down the stairs. Not sure how the second shotgun blast to the chest of an incapacitated intruder is 'self-defense'.

Half-alive intruders can still be dangerous. I don't have too much of a problem with that. But it's hard to believe that he perceived the girl as a threat considering the way he finally killed her. That was just a fit of rage mixed with adrenaline.

 

As for calling a day later to "get attorney and not bother people on Thanksgiving"... BS. He was removing something from the home and/or tampering with evidence.

[Vikings4ever 496]

While I agree with the bold in general - especially if it was dark (which it wasn't); Problem with that is this: Stand up, look where your hands are. - @ Your hips. So, either they were holding sammiches with both hands whilst descending the stairwell or going down the steps with their arms folded across their chest.

 

...Or the guy could clearly see the kid's hands.

 

...And I'm pretty sure I can distinguish a teen girls' hips, jeans and shoes from a hardened criminal with relative ease.

Hypothetically, one hand on a hand rail, the other raised for balance.

 

That is, of course, assuming he's telling the truth.

 

Like I said earlier, my best guess is that it was a drug deal that went wrong, and he spent the day removing the evidence from the house.

[wiffleball 4,629]

Like I said earlier, my best guess is that it was a drug deal that went wrong, and he spent the day removing the evidence from the house.

 

Yeah, something definitely doesn't pass the sniff test on this one.

[BLS 313]

First off; story sucks. I don't buy a whole lot of it.

 

2nd, if he did shoot EITHER of them after he stopped the threat (that they appeared to be); it's murder or manslaughter. Period.

 

MN does NOT have Castle Doctrine, which means you cannot shoot a person in your home unless you believe it was necessary to resist or prevent a VIOLENT FELONY.

 

 

 

I wasn't there, and won't make accusations until the FACTS come out; but right now it looks like these two kids picked the WRONG house to break into; and the man who lived there was off his rocker.

[GobbleDog 815]

2nd, if he did shoot EITHER of them after he stopped the threat (that they appeared to be); it's murder or manslaughter. Period.

Self-defense is always based on "perceived threat." A wounded intruder in your house could easily be perceived as a threat in my book. He might not be found guilty of killing the boy with the extra shot, but the manner in which he killed the girl will decide the case.

 

Hell, he might have been cleared of both if the idiot had called the cops immediately.

[Voltaire 4,550]

Not a juror, haven't seen all the evidence.

 

Based on the article.... innocent.

 

No sympathy for punks who break into the houses of folks minding their own business. Guy has a right to be p*ssed and go off.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,902]

If more bad guys knew they would get shot and fawking kilt when they break into homes, more bad guys would be alive. Same with smal businesses. Fawk them and the bawls they rode in on.

[wiffleball 4,629]

If more bad guys knew they would get shot and fawking kilt when they break into homes, more bad guys would be alive. Same with smal businesses.

 

 

Agreed.

 

 

I hate when small businesses break into homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BunnysBastatrds 1,902]

Agreed.

 

 

I hate when small businesses break into homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I drink as I speak in tones meant for conversation.

[The Moz 69]

gut shoot both and call 911 and he never sees a cell.

 

To shoot 2 un armed teens over and over - he should go to jail but on Manslaughter not Murder 1or 2.

[The Moz 69]

Then I'll rape them until the cops come by.

 

I guess once dead sexual preference goes out the window

[wiffleball 4,629]

I guess once dead sexual preference goes out the window

 

'Dead' IS Philly's sexual preference.

[IGotWorms 3,297]

His story clearly does not add up. Murder two, maybe murder one if by chance he lured them there.

[montana 89]

12 gauge pump for home defense. If they continue to root through the house AFTER hearing the pump, you can safely assume they are armed too or at least jacked up on meth, etc...

Pump = Universal language for "The Schit is about to get Real"

[peenie 1,690]

dear racists,

two kids BREAK INTO a man's home and you question why they were shot. yet, when trayvon martin, armed with nothing but a bag of skittles, walking down the street back to his home, minding his own business was shot, you argue that he was a menace.

think about it.

[RLLD 3,455]

This man is my hero, kudos to him for making a stand.

[Chronic Husker 85]

dear racists,

two kids BREAK INTO a man's home and you question why they were shot. yet, when trayvon martin, armed with nothing but a bag of skittles, walking down the street back to his home, minding his own business was shot, you argue that he was a menace.

think about it.

I thought you said we're all a part of the same race?

 

[kutulu 1,541]

Hips don't lie.

[RLLD 3,455]

dear racists,

two kids BREAK INTO a man's home and you question why they were shot. yet, when trayvon martin, armed with nothing but a bag of skittles, walking down the street back to his home, minding his own business was shot, you argue that he was a menace.

think about it.

 

Trayvon martin should not have been shot, his killer should be in jail.

 

But let this be a warning to anyone else who mouths off to some stranger following you at night, your ass might get shot for being a stupid focking loudmouth. In our world today, there are people who WILL shoot you regardless of how badass you think you are because you listen to some rap lyrics.

 

YWIA

[redtodd 7]

I have performed in Little Falls.

 

I wonder if he bought a "Here Kitty Kitty" shirt from me.