Minnesota homeowner shot two teenagers dead (1 Viewer)

[cstu]

So he shoots the guy, what, half a dozen times? And the girl still goes in to the basement to look for her friend?

That doesn't make sense. Badly written horror movies don't even send the teenage girl alone in to the basement to "investigate" the gunshots.

 

[iamsmilin]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

 

[Christo]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

 

[Guest]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yup.

 

[uwillbsoon]

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/11/28/crime/little-falls-byron-smith-shooter-protected-us-embassies-terrorists-spies/

This is the part I find fascinating. He's a retired security engineer for the US State Department who helped keep US Embassies secure. Not exactly the "crazy old man" theory folks have been throwing around.

Don't know why his house wasn't secure, but part of me thinks he may have a past that makes him think people are out to get him. That would explain why he's living out in the middle of nowhere in Central Minnesota. And why he'd kill anyone entering his house.

He would have had to pass a very thorough background check (probably annually) to get his job. And by all accounts he was highly intelligent. It's more likely he's a spook with a past, which led him to take extraordinary measures when someone broke into his house.

Plus, it's probably part of his training.

 

[gsmayes]

If anyone ever broke into my house, I'd poison, shoot, stab, hang, stretch, disembowel, drawn and quarter them. Totally within my rights.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/11/28/crime/little-falls-byron-smith-shooter-protected-us-embassies-terrorists-spies/

This is the part I find fascinating. He's a retired security engineer for the US State Department who helped keep US Embassies secure. Not exactly the "crazy old man" theory folks have been throwing around.

Don't know why his house wasn't secure, but part of me thinks he may have a past that makes him think people are out to get him. That would explain why he's living out in the middle of nowhere in Central Minnesota. And why he'd kill anyone entering his house.

He would have had to pass a very thorough background check (probably annually) to get his job. And by all accounts he was highly intelligent. It's more likely he's a spook with a past, which led him to take extraordinary measures when someone broke into his house.

Plus, it's probably part of his training.

He lived just outside of Little Falls, a town of about 8,300. Hardly the "middle of nowhere".This is interesting, from the StarTribune:

New info coming to light...

LITTLE FALLS - Investigators have connected two teenage cousins who were slain during a home-invasion burglary here on Thanksgiving Day to a similar crime hours earlier a few miles away.

They are also looking into other burglaries that might be connected to the teens.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said a search of a car seized after Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were slain on Thanksgiving Day by homeowner Byron Smith turned up items reported stolen in a home burglary the day before, including six bottles of prescription medication.

Richard Johnson, the retired Little Falls High School teacher who authorities believe also fell victim to a burglary by Kifer and Brady, showed a reporter the French door where the thieves entered his elegant Tudor house after smashing the glass while standing on his deck.

He said the thieves rifled most of the drawers in the home but took only coins of little value and his non-narcotic prescription drugs.

"I'm surprised they didn't smash the place up," said Johnson, who was out of the country at the time.

A neighbor, who spoke on the condition that she not be identified, said she and her spouse called 911 the night before Thanksgiving and reported a suspicious red car parked near the end of their driveway.

They waited near the car and spoke to deputies when they arrived. Just then, Brady walked up to the car and told the deputies he and Kifer had run out of gas and that she had gone for more.

The deputies gave Brady a ride to town and released him, the sheriff said.

The car was left at its location on Hilton Road, near Johnson's home.

"It was just a strange place for the car to be, in our driveway like that, and we were concerned about our home," said the woman, who added it was a "total shock" to later learn that the occupants if that car were killed while burglarizing Smith's home.

Steve Schaeffel, Brady's grandfather, said the boy's family isn't ready to comment.

"We're going to let everybody else have their say and then gather our thoughts," Schaeffel said. He added the sheriff's department asked the family not to comment until the investigation was finished.

Smith, 64, a retired U.S. State Department worker, is charged with second-degree murder in the double killing, which Wetzel has said was carried out after the teens were critically wounded by initial gunfire. Smith remains jailed.

Smith's brother, Bruce Smith of California, whom Byron Smith called after the shootings, said his brother the victim of a series of break-ins over the past couple of years. He reported one, on Oct. 27, to the sheriff's office. He told investigators $500 in cash and a $3,000 camera were stolen.

When asked about possible suspects, he said he often worked with kids and used to allow his friend's son and his friends to have band practice in his garage. "He said that got out of hand when kids stared calling a bunch of their friends to show up, so he did not allow them over anymore," the incident report said. "That would have made kids aware of where he lives and how secluded his residence is from the road."

Johnson, 68, is saddened by the whole turn of events. Of the teens' deaths, he said: "I feel bad for them but also for Mr. Smith. His life is over with too."

 

[DiStefano]

What's the matter with those Minnesota people? Is it because they are too close to WI, and the long cold winters get to them?

 

[uwillbsoon]

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/11/28/crime/little-falls-byron-smith-shooter-protected-us-embassies-terrorists-spies/

This is the part I find fascinating. He's a retired security engineer for the US State Department who helped keep US Embassies secure. Not exactly the "crazy old man" theory folks have been throwing around.

Don't know why his house wasn't secure, but part of me thinks he may have a past that makes him think people are out to get him. That would explain why he's living out in the middle of nowhere in Central Minnesota. And why he'd kill anyone entering his house.

He would have had to pass a very thorough background check (probably annually) to get his job. And by all accounts he was highly intelligent. It's more likely he's a spook with a past, which led him to take extraordinary measures when someone broke into his house.

Plus, it's probably part of his training.

He lived just outside of Little Falls, a town of about 8,300. Hardly the "middle of nowhere".This is interesting, from the StarTribune:

New info coming to light...

LITTLE FALLS - Investigators have connected two teenage cousins who were slain during a home-invasion burglary here on Thanksgiving Day to a similar crime hours earlier a few miles away.

They are also looking into other burglaries that might be connected to the teens.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said a search of a car seized after Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were slain on Thanksgiving Day by homeowner Byron Smith turned up items reported stolen in a home burglary the day before, including six bottles of prescription medication.

Richard Johnson, the retired Little Falls High School teacher who authorities believe also fell victim to a burglary by Kifer and Brady, showed a reporter the French door where the thieves entered his elegant Tudor house after smashing the glass while standing on his deck.

He said the thieves rifled most of the drawers in the home but took only coins of little value and his non-narcotic prescription drugs.

"I'm surprised they didn't smash the place up," said Johnson, who was out of the country at the time.

A neighbor, who spoke on the condition that she not be identified, said she and her spouse called 911 the night before Thanksgiving and reported a suspicious red car parked near the end of their driveway.

They waited near the car and spoke to deputies when they arrived. Just then, Brady walked up to the car and told the deputies he and Kifer had run out of gas and that she had gone for more.

The deputies gave Brady a ride to town and released him, the sheriff said.

The car was left at its location on Hilton Road, near Johnson's home.

"It was just a strange place for the car to be, in our driveway like that, and we were concerned about our home," said the woman, who added it was a "total shock" to later learn that the occupants if that car were killed while burglarizing Smith's home.

Steve Schaeffel, Brady's grandfather, said the boy's family isn't ready to comment.

"We're going to let everybody else have their say and then gather our thoughts," Schaeffel said. He added the sheriff's department asked the family not to comment until the investigation was finished.

Smith, 64, a retired U.S. State Department worker, is charged with second-degree murder in the double killing, which Wetzel has said was carried out after the teens were critically wounded by initial gunfire. Smith remains jailed.

Smith's brother, Bruce Smith of California, whom Byron Smith called after the shootings, said his brother the victim of a series of break-ins over the past couple of years. He reported one, on Oct. 27, to the sheriff's office. He told investigators $500 in cash and a $3,000 camera were stolen.

When asked about possible suspects, he said he often worked with kids and used to allow his friend's son and his friends to have band practice in his garage. "He said that got out of hand when kids stared calling a bunch of their friends to show up, so he did not allow them over anymore," the incident report said. "That would have made kids aware of where he lives and how secluded his residence is from the road."

Johnson, 68, is saddened by the whole turn of events. Of the teens' deaths, he said: "I feel bad for them but also for Mr. Smith. His life is over with too."

Morrison County isn't exactly the most densely populated place. And according to your article, his place is secluded. I'm just saying, if you wanted to live a low-profile life, you'd move to a secluded house in Little Falls. Middle of nowhere does explain Little Falls to me.

Yeah, I need a tinfoil hat. But I think this guy probably knows stuff that would make him an attractive kidnap target or hit. Hence, his paranoia.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Morrison County isn't exactly the most densely populated place. And according to your article, his place is secluded. I'm just saying, if you wanted to live a low-profile life, you'd move to a secluded house in Little Falls. Middle of nowhere does explain Little Falls to me. Yeah, I need a tinfoil hat. But I think this guy probably knows stuff that would make him an attractive kidnap target or hit. Hence, his paranoia.

Well, okay I guess. Secluded to me means more like Unibomber in the middle of Montana. I'm just thinking you're projecting stuff on this guy that likely isn't true.

 

[SWC]

kids were wrong to break in and i guess that sometimes you run in to a nutjob when you are doing a crime and you get the whacko treatment which is horrible the kids did not desreve it and he is wrong for doing it but i guess it is hard to feel bad for anyone here long story short bad situation and a bad outcome for everyone involved and on thanskgiving of all things

Take it to the bank, brohan?

naw man nothing here to take to the bank just a bad scene brohan

 

[mr roboto]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

Maybe. But it's basically the definition of whitebread middle class homogeneity.

 

[Charlie Frown]

"if you can't do the time, don't do the crime!"

 

[Zow]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yep. Or from Minnesota

 

[Zow]

Tough one, but this guy crossed the line. No problem with the initial shots, but you don't get to go for "a good clean finishing shot" on someone after you've already incapacitated them.

It depends.

A little Bernie Goetz defense here?

 

[Sam Quentin]

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/11/28/crime/little-falls-byron-smith-shooter-protected-us-embassies-terrorists-spies/

This is the part I find fascinating. He's a retired security engineer for the US State Department who helped keep US Embassies secure. Not exactly the "crazy old man" theory folks have been throwing around.

Don't know why his house wasn't secure, but part of me thinks he may have a past that makes him think people are out to get him. That would explain why he's living out in the middle of nowhere in Central Minnesota. And why he'd kill anyone entering his house.

He would have had to pass a very thorough background check (probably annually) to get his job. And by all accounts he was highly intelligent. It's more likely he's a spook with a past, which led him to take extraordinary measures when someone broke into his house.

Plus, it's probably part of his training.

He lived just outside of Little Falls, a town of about 8,300. Hardly the "middle of nowhere".This is interesting, from the StarTribune:

New info coming to light...

LITTLE FALLS - Investigators have connected two teenage cousins who were slain during a home-invasion burglary here on Thanksgiving Day to a similar crime hours earlier a few miles away.

They are also looking into other burglaries that might be connected to the teens.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said a search of a car seized after Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, were slain on Thanksgiving Day by homeowner Byron Smith turned up items reported stolen in a home burglary the day before, including six bottles of prescription medication.

Richard Johnson, the retired Little Falls High School teacher who authorities believe also fell victim to a burglary by Kifer and Brady, showed a reporter the French door where the thieves entered his elegant Tudor house after smashing the glass while standing on his deck.

He said the thieves rifled most of the drawers in the home but took only coins of little value and his non-narcotic prescription drugs.

"I'm surprised they didn't smash the place up," said Johnson, who was out of the country at the time.

A neighbor, who spoke on the condition that she not be identified, said she and her spouse called 911 the night before Thanksgiving and reported a suspicious red car parked near the end of their driveway.

They waited near the car and spoke to deputies when they arrived. Just then, Brady walked up to the car and told the deputies he and Kifer had run out of gas and that she had gone for more.

The deputies gave Brady a ride to town and released him, the sheriff said.

The car was left at its location on Hilton Road, near Johnson's home.

"It was just a strange place for the car to be, in our driveway like that, and we were concerned about our home," said the woman, who added it was a "total shock" to later learn that the occupants if that car were killed while burglarizing Smith's home.

Steve Schaeffel, Brady's grandfather, said the boy's family isn't ready to comment.

"We're going to let everybody else have their say and then gather our thoughts," Schaeffel said. He added the sheriff's department asked the family not to comment until the investigation was finished.

Smith, 64, a retired U.S. State Department worker, is charged with second-degree murder in the double killing, which Wetzel has said was carried out after the teens were critically wounded by initial gunfire. Smith remains jailed.

Smith's brother, Bruce Smith of California, whom Byron Smith called after the shootings, said his brother the victim of a series of break-ins over the past couple of years. He reported one, on Oct. 27, to the sheriff's office. He told investigators $500 in cash and a $3,000 camera were stolen.

When asked about possible suspects, he said he often worked with kids and used to allow his friend's son and his friends to have band practice in his garage. "He said that got out of hand when kids stared calling a bunch of their friends to show up, so he did not allow them over anymore," the incident report said. "That would have made kids aware of where he lives and how secluded his residence is from the road."

Johnson, 68, is saddened by the whole turn of events. Of the teens' deaths, he said: "I feel bad for them but also for Mr. Smith. His life is over with too."

Morrison County isn't exactly the most densely populated place. And according to your article, his place is secluded. I'm just saying, if you wanted to live a low-profile life, you'd move to a secluded house in Little Falls. Middle of nowhere does explain Little Falls to me.

Yeah, I need a tinfoil hat. But I think this guy probably knows stuff that would make him an attractive kidnap target or hit. Hence, his paranoia.

You'd think a spook with a past might know some cleaners who could have disappeared the bodies....

 

[eoMMan]

Meh. He obviously went too far and should be charged with some sort of lesser murder/manslaughter charge but it's not like he killed two innocent strangers. Doesn't sound like these teens were that great to society.

 

[Zow]

Meh. He obviously went too far and should be charged with some sort of lesser murder/manslaughter charge but it's not like he killed two innocent strangers. Doesn't sound like these teens were that great to society.

Good call, Otis

 

[Snotbubbles]

I'm fine with him shooting the two intruders who broke into his home, but I'm not ok with the execution-style killing. We have a gun. If I shot an intruder or two, and they were unable to pursue me or escape as a result, I'd be having my wife call the police/ambulance to handle it from there while I kept a watchful eye over them to make sure they weren't in a position to harm us.

So you're not even going to pat them down to make sure they don't have weapons? Shooting someone in the leg doesn't incapacitate them. They can still reach in their pockets for a gun. Also, after shooting the first intruder, he heard a second still upstairs? So either the second intruder didn't hear the gunshots or came down to assist. When is the threat gone? IMO, the place he runs into trouble is getting a second gun and shooting the girl in the head. It's hard to argue a threat when you take the time to get more weapons. But I'm ok with everything he did to the first person he shot.

 

[SayWhat?]

So he shoots the guy, what, half a dozen times? And the girl still goes in to the basement to look for her friend? That doesn't make sense. Badly written horror movies don't even send the teenage girl alone in to the basement to "investigate" the gunshots.

It truly doesn't make sense that the girl would go downstairs after hearing multiple gunshots. My only hypothesis here is that the girl wasn't in the house when the boy was shot and killed. Maybe she was outside waiting and when her friend didn't come out of the house as soon as anticipated, she went in to find him and walked into the exact same situation that he did. With the homeowner having time to shoot the boy, put his body on a tarp, drag it into another room, and sit back down in his chair, it would seem reasonable that she had been waiting outside and didn't realize the imminent danger inside the house. Regardless, there's no way around it other than that this guy is screwed. Without any doubt, he executed both intruders and knowingly or unknowingly admitted it. For the boy he said "I wanted him dead" and for the girl, whom apparently laughed after his gun jammed when attempting to shoot her a second time, he stated "if you're trying to shoot someone and they laugh at you, you go again." Yowzers. On top of that he gave her "a good clean finishing shot" up under the chin as she gasped for air. Toss all those admissions onto him waiting 24 hours before contacting his neighbor (not the police), and this is a slam dunk case IMO.There's clearly no innocent parties in this story, but he most clearly executed both and will probably spend the rest of his life in jail for doing so.

 

[iamsmilin]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

I had no idea Minnesota lacked minority groups.

 

[parrot]

I'm fine with him shooting the two intruders who broke into his home, but I'm not ok with the execution-style killing. We have a gun. If I shot an intruder or two, and they were unable to pursue me or escape as a result, I'd be having my wife call the police/ambulance to handle it from there while I kept a watchful eye over them to make sure they weren't in a position to harm us.

So you're not even going to pat them down to make sure they don't have weapons? Shooting someone in the leg doesn't incapacitate them. They can still reach in their pockets for a gun. Also, after shooting the first intruder, he heard a second still upstairs? So either the second intruder didn't hear the gunshots or came down to assist. When is the threat gone? IMO, the place he runs into trouble is getting a second gun and shooting the girl in the head. It's hard to argue a threat when you take the time to get more weapons. But I'm ok with everything he did to the first person he shot.

How about the part where he put the first body on a tarp and moved it into another room before shooting the girl? It's hard to argue you're feeling very threatened when you're taking time to move bodies around.

 

[Frostillicus]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

I had no idea Minnesota lacked minority groups.

We have a couple.

 

[Jobber]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

I had no idea Minnesota lacked minority groups.

We have a couple.

In some areas, a minority sighting warrants a call to 911.

 

[Guest]

In some areas, a minority sighting warrants a call to 911.

True, but so does a car that you don't know the owner of.

 

[mr roboto]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

I had no idea Minnesota lacked minority groups.

We have a couple.

In some areas, a minority sighting warrants a call to 911.

They do have a large Hmong population. Lots of Somalians in Richester too.

 

[Ursa M]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

I had no idea Minnesota lacked minority groups.

We have a couple.

In some areas, a minority sighting warrants a call to 911.

They do have a large Hmong population. Lots of Somalians in Richester too.

Largest or second largest communities of both groups in the country

 

[Jobber]

All kidding aside, this guy is a scumbag and deserves to live out his days in prison. How you can execute two people like that is mind boggling.

 

[Guest]

All kidding aside, this guy is a scumbag and deserves to live out his days in prison. How you can execute two people like that is mind boggling.

All of this.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

In some areas, a minority sighting warrants a call to 911.

Only to check if someone is missing. Even folks that aren't around minorities much aren't racist about it when they are. Not that I've seen anyway.

 

[ditka...mike ditka]

I think I am with the few that think its great what happened. Two less low lifes running around. The world is a better place

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I had no idea Minnesota lacked minority groups.

Only Prince and some of the Minnesota Vikings.

 

[NCCommish]

I think I am with the few that think its great what happened. Two less low lifes running around. The world is a better place

So your take is B&E should get the death sentence?

 

[SayWhat?]

I think I am with the few that think its great what happened. Two less low lifes running around. The world is a better place

I'll disagree with you in that I don't think teenagers breaking into a house at noon on a weekday should be executed, though by your account it'll be three less once the crazy guy gets put away for life.

 

[ditka...mike ditka]

I think I am with the few that think its great what happened. Two less low lifes running around. The world is a better place

I'll disagree with you in that I don't think teenagers breaking into a house at noon on a weekday should be executed, though by your account it'll be three less once the crazy guy gets put away for life.

I'm not saying that they "should" be executed, but if it happens I'm not upset about it. People should know if you break into someone's house you run the risk of getting in trouble, shot, killed, etc.

 

[Guest]

I think I am with the few that think its great what happened. Two less low lifes running around. The world is a better place

Added to my Ignore List.Making my own personal world a better place.

 

[Thunderlips]

This one is tough..

He has been burglarized 5 or 6 times as reported by friends and neighbors..

he lives alone, hears someone breaking in while he is in the basement. he has no idea if they are kids or not.

As he sits downstairs he sees one of the people coming down the stairs and shoots him..

Then, hearing the gun shots, the girl decides to come downstairs.. WTF

So if you are the guy and you just shot one person and yet the other person starts to come down, you have no idea if they have a weapon drawn or not so you shoot first, ask questions later.

But then he does go WAY overboard by executing the girl and admits it..

He had every right to take the first shots at them .. he had no idea they were "just kids" ( hard to say that since the were 18 & 17) and for all he knew his life was in danger.

Guessing this will get plead down to Manslaughter for the boy..

The girl is the one that is the most disturbing based on his own descriptions of how he "took the kill shot" and for that one I could see the 2nd degree murder sticking.

Pretty much summarizes my thoughts. I'll only add that the kids are attractive, white, and look middle class, so he may get more time.

You just described about everyone in Minnesota.

Seriously?

Yeah, he went a little too far with "attractive".

I had no idea Minnesota lacked minority groups.

I think they call them Vikings and Timberwolves up there.

 

[mr roboto]

Outside of the Twin Cities, most of MN was settled by Scandinavians, Germans etc. We don't even have a lot of the olive-skinned French, Italians, Greeks etc.

Very pale people. Nice, but pale.

 

[iamsmilin]

Outside of the Twin Cities, most of MN was settled by Scandinavians, Germans etc. We don't even have a lot of the olive-skinned French, Italians, Greeks etc. Very pale people. Nice, but pale.

Twilight pale?

 

[mr roboto]

Outside of the Twin Cities, most of MN was settled by Scandinavians, Germans etc. We don't even have a lot of the olive-skinned French, Italians, Greeks etc. Very pale people. Nice, but pale.

Twilight pale?

Almost.

 

[Sheriff66]

I you don't want shot, don't break into someone's home

 

[StrikeS2k]

I think I am with the few that think its great what happened. Two less low lifes running around. The world is a better place

So your take is B&E should get the death sentence?

Not necessarily "should." We've been down this thought path before. It's a possible consequence when you create situations such as this in someone else's home.

 

[gsmayes]

I think I am with the few that think its great what happened. Two less low lifes running around. The world is a better place

*stinky bait*

 

[Thunderlips]

Outside of the Twin Cities, most of MN was settled by Scandinavians, Germans etc. We don't even have a lot of the olive-skinned French, Italians, Greeks etc. Very pale people. Nice, but pale.

Lucky.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Complaint: Little Falls teen had twice before robbed homeowner who fatally shot him

A Little Falls teenager who was shot to death after breaking into the home of Byron David Smith on Thanksgiving Day has been linked to two felony burglaries of Smith's property in the months before the shooting, court records show. Nick Brady, 17, allegedly broke into Smith's house and later, his garage, and stole several items, including an envelope filled with cash, a video camcorder and a chain saw, according to two criminal complaints filed in Morrison County District Court this week. Smith, 64, faces two counts of second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Brady and his cousin, Haile Kifer, 18, as they broke into Smith's home along the backwaters of the Mississippi River. The gruesome details of the killings, which involved multiple shots fired at the teenagers as they walked down the stairs to Smith's basement and as they lay dying, immediately sparked an intense debate in Little Falls and beyond over how far a homeowner can go in defending his property. Neither teen was armed. And in the minutes after the shootings, Smith dragged the bodies into a workshop, where they remained until a neighbor called police the next day. Smith's brother and a neighbor have consistently defended him, saying the retired security engineer for U.S. embassies and Little Falls native had been repeatedly victimized in the months leading up to the shootings, although authorities have only one report of a break-in, in October. "You have the right to defend your home, and he's been through hell," neighbor John Lange said days after the shootings. "They tortured him and targeted him, and it's not good." Tale of two burglaries The details of the burglaries involving Brady were spelled out in two criminal complaints filed this week against Cody M. Kasper, 17, a friend of Brady's who faces charges of aiding and abetting in connection with the crimes, which occurred last summer and fall. Like Brady, Kasper once worked odd jobs for Smith cleaning up the homeowner's property. According to the complaints: Shortly after the shootings, investigators executed a search warrant at Kasper's home in Little Falls believing that some of the items stolen from Smith's house and garage might be found there. At that time, Kasper told authorities of the two break-ins. He said that in both instances, he never entered Smith's house or garage, but simply acted as a lookout for Brady, who, in addition to stealing the cash, camcorder and chain saw, also took rolls of copper wire and a gas siphoning kid. The teenagers agreed that if Smith or someone showed up or came down the driveway to the home, "Kasper would notify N.B. via cellphone," the complaints said. "Kasper stated that there was an active phone call (open line) between Kasper and N.B. during the entire burglary so that Kasper could quickly warn N.B. is someone was coming." One complaint said that after the summer burglary, Brady bought Kasper an ATV as well as clothes and shoes for his help. Twin Cities defense attorney Steve Meshbesher, who represents Smith, said Tuesday that the charges against Kasper and Brady's involvement help build the case that Smith had been repeatedly victimized. He said Smith reported "a half dozen" burglaries to authorities over several months. It got so bad, he said, that Smith installed a security system "because he couldn't protect his home." Meshbesher said that Smith began noticing that some of his belongings, including a shotgun, were missing after he hired Brady, Kasper and other teens to stack wood and perform chores. Authorities have also tied Brady and Kifer to a burglary the day before the shootings, when six bottles of prescription medicine were stolen from another homeowner's property. Smith's next court appearance is scheduled for May 6.

 

[NCCommish]

Yeah he still doesn't get to execute anyone.

 

[kface]

Yeah he still doesn't get to execute anyone.

 

[StrikeS2k]

Yeah he still doesn't get to execute anyone.

I'm ok with it.

 

[NCCommish]

Yeah he still doesn't get to execute anyone.

I'm ok with it.

Not at all surprised.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Hope he gets off.