In a shocking incident, a Minnesota homeowner was sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing two teenagers who attempted to break into his home on Thanksgiving in 2012.
Byron Smith, a retired individual with experience in setting up security in American embassies, had previously experienced a burglary in his Little Falls, Minnesota home. Concerned about future break-ins, Smith took matters into his own hands.
Before the tragic encounter, Smith parked his car away from his home to give the impression that he wasn’t present. He positioned himself in the basement with a book, energy bars, a bottle of water, and two guns. Additionally, he set up a recorder to capture audio evidence of the incident.
During the trial, it was revealed that Smith shot the first teenager, Nick Brady, multiple times as he descended into the basement. Shockingly, the audio recording captured Smith’s words, “you’re dead.” The prosecution further argued that Smith cold-heartedly dragged Brady’s body into another room, reloaded his gun, and resumed his position.
Minutes later, the second teenager, Haile Kifer, also made her way down the stairs, only to be met with more gunshots. The chilling audio recording caught Smith uttering the words, “you’re dying,” followed by another shot. Smith described this final act as a “good, clean finishing shot” and even referred to the intruders as vermin.
Shockingly, it wasn’t until a full day later that Smith reached out to a neighbor to alert the police about the incident. While Smith claimed self-defense, prosecutors argued that he went beyond what was allowed under Minnesota’s castle doctrine law in his use of deadly force. The jury ultimately rejected his self-defense claim and found him guilty on counts of first and second-degree murder, leading to a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
This case sparked a heated debate in Minnesota about the limits of defending oneself during a burglary. Smith attempted to appeal his conviction in 2021 but was denied. Currently, he remains incarcerated at the Oak Park Heights correctional facility, serving out his sentence.
