[Crimson Dynamo]

18+ please


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f1f_1398904305





TTLE FALLS, Minn. The Little Falls, Minn. man who shot and killed two teenagers after they broke into his home has been found guilty of all four counts of premeditated murder.

After roughly three hours of deliberation, the jury found 65-year-old Byron Smith guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder for the shooting deaths of 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady.

Mothers of the teens cried as the verdicts were read, while Smith showed no emotion. He was immediately sentenced to life without parole.

Defense attorney Steve Meshbesher said he would appeal. He said the jury didn’t see all of the evidence, including Facebook photos of Brady with guns. He said he wants to take the case to the Supreme Court.

The prosecution said despite getting a guilty verdict, they feel deep sadness for the families of Brady and Kifer.

“There are no winners, only losers in this case,” said Morrison County Attorney Brian Middendorf.

Brady’s grandmother, Bonnie Schaeffel, was among family members who addressed the court after the verdicts were given.

“He seems a sour, angry old recluse who felt he was above the law,” Schaeffel said. “He chose to be cop, judge, jury and executioner.”

Kifer’s aunt, Laurie Skipper, read a statement from her niece’s parents: “Byron Smith made a conscious choice to shoot and kill our beautiful daughter Haile. … The feelings of helplessness are overwhelming.”

Smith’s brother, Bruce, walked past reporters afterward without comment.

The two cousins were shot multiple times after they broke into Smith’s home on Thanksgiving Day in 2012.

Smith claimed he was defending himself and feared for his life after several break-ins at his home. However, the prosecution argued he planned to take their lives and waited for them to come downstairs, armed with guns, as if he was hunting them. A total of nine shots were fired at the two teens.

In court on Monday, Smith waived his right to testify in his own defense. The final witnesses in the trial included Smith’s family and the neighbors he has lived with for the past year and a half. They testified that Smith is an honest man.

Smith’s attorney, Steve Meshbesher, argued the teens would be alive if they hadn’t chosen to commit a burglary.

The killings stunned Little Falls, a central Minnesota community of 8,000, and stirred debate about how far people can go to defend their homes. Under Minnesota law, a person may use deadly force to prevent a felony from taking place in one’s home or dwelling.

But the trial begged the question, “How far is too far?”

Smith set up a hand-held recorder on a bookshelf, which captured audio of the shootings — key evidence in the prosecution’s case. Smith had also installed a surveillance system that recorded images of Brady trying to enter the house.

The audio recording of the shootings was played during the trial and again, during the closing arguments. In the recording, Smith can be heard firing multiple shots at Brady and telling him, “you’re dead.” Prosecutors said Smith put Brady’s body on a tarp and dragged him into another room, then sat down, reloaded his weapon and waited.

About 10 minutes later, Kifer came downstairs. More shots are heard on the recording, then Kifer’s screams, with Smith saying, “You’re dying.” It’s followed soon after by another shot, which investigators said Smith described as “a good, clean finishing shot.”

The teens were unarmed, but Smith’s attorneys had said he feared they had a weapon.

The tape continued to run, and Smith was heard referring to the teens as “vermin.” Smith waited a full day before asking a neighbor to call police.

Before retiring from the U.S. State Department, Smith worked on technical security issues for American embassies, such as building layout and alarms.

Kifer was a senior who was active in athletics at Little Falls High School. Brady was a student and a wrestler at that school before transferring to nearby Pillager High School, where he was a junior.

Court documents that were not allowed as evidence showed Brady had broken into Smith’s house and garage before. Brady and Kifer were also linked to another burglary the day before they were killed; stolen prescription drugs were found in the car they were driving.
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=df2_1...EuXPJB7FRuW.99