A 65-year-old Little Falls man was convicted in 2014 for the premeditated murder of two teenagers in a case that raised the question of when self-defense crosses the line.
Byron Smith was accused in the Thanksgiving Day 2012 shooting deaths of Haile Kifer, 18, and her cousin Nicholas Brady, 16, in his rural Little Falls home. Smith, a retired security engineer with the U.S. State Department and Little Falls native, said he was defending himself.
Defense attorney Steven Meshbesher said Smith acted out of fear after multiple home break-ins. Under Minnesota law, a person may use deadly force to prevent a felony from taking place in one's home or dwelling.
The state's prosecutor, Washington County attorney Peter Orput, said Smith crossed the line between self defense and murder. Prosecutors said after wounding the teenagers, who were unarmed, Smith should have called police. Authorities said Smith planned the killings, moved his vehicle away from the home, sat in his basement as surveillance equipment nearby showed the teenagers breaking in, shot them repeatedly and in the head after they were wounded and on the basement floor.
Smith's own audio recordings of the event showed 11 minutes passed between the time he killed Brady and when he shot Kifer. During that time Smith wrapped Brady's body in a tarp and moved him to another room and reloaded his gun. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner reported Brady was shot three times and Kifer six times.
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Smith left the bodies in his basement overnight. A neighbor, at Smith's request, called law enforcement the following day. Smith told investigators he didn't call law enforcement because he didn't want to trouble them on the Thanksgiving holiday.
Smith did not testify during the trial. Meshbesher said he advised against Smith taking the stand. The trial began April 21. Closing arguments began eight days later.
A pool of 140 jurors were assembled in the court's process to obtain its jury panel. The jury reached its verdict after about three hours and 20 minutes of deliberation. Smith was sentenced to life in prison.
In November, Smith was ordered to pay restitution of about $21,000 to the families of his victims. The families had submitted restitution requests of more than $42,000 for expenses from funeral costs to mileage to attend court hearings and for loss of wages for the parents.
RENEE RICHARDSON, senior reporter, may be reached at 855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Dispatchbizbuzz .
