MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Little Falls, Minn. man accused of shooting and killing two teenagers who broke into his home will not testify in the case.
In week two of the Bryon Smith double murder trial, the defense has now rested, after calling a number of character witnesses. Both Smith’s brother and his neighbor took the stand to testify on Monday.
Smith, 65, shot and killed 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady on Thanksgiving Day in 2012, after the two broke into his home. He is on trial for first-degree premeditated murder.
Smith said he killed them in self-defense.
Friends and neighbors say Smith was living in fear after his house was broken into several times.
Prosecutors, though, say Smith planned the killings. They say he sat in a chair in his basement and waited for the teens to enter his home, instead of calling police. Smith waited a full day after he shot them before asking a neighbor to call the authorities.
Smith had set up a surveillance system at the property and had a full audio recording from the day the shooting took place.
Smith can be heard firing several rounds at Brady and then he seems to taunt Kifer by saying “sorry” to her as he continues to shoot her.
Smith can also be heard breathing heavily and whispering. At one point, he said, “I don’t see them as human. I see them as vermin.”
The jury was told to expect closing arguments Tuesday morning.
