LITTLE FALLS, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota jurors are listening to an audio recording of the moments when two teenagers were fatally shot by a homeowner who says he feared for his life after several break-ins.
Byron Smith, of Little Falls, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the slayings of 17-year-old Nick Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer on Thanksgiving Day 2012. The shooting stunned the small city and stirred debate about how far people can go in defending their homes.
Smith says he armed himself and set up recording devices following repeated break-ins. Morrison County jurors, listening to the recording Tuesday, heard glass break, then two gunshots as Brady groaned. Smith told Brady, “you’re dead.”
Several minutes later gunshots are heard again, and Kifer screams.
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