LITTLE FALLS, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota homeowner who shot and killed two teenagers during a break-in was quickly convicted of premeditated murder Tuesday, with a jury taking only about three hours to soundly reject his claim of self-defense.
Byron Smith, a 65-year-old retiree who once set up security in American embassies for the U.S. State Department, shot Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, a total of nine times after they broke into his home on Thanksgiving Day 2012. Smith's attorney said he was fearful after previous burglaries.
But prosecutors argued that Smith waited in his basement and intended to kill the teens, with a setup so elaborate that lead prosecutor Pete Orput compared it to a deer stand - with the teens as the deer. Their key evidence was an audiotape recording that captured the killings in chilling detail, including his taunts as they died.
The mothers of the teens cried as the verdicts from the six-man, six-woman jury were read: Guilty on two counts each of first-degree and second-degree murder. Smith showed no emotion. He was immediately sentenced to life without parole. Defense attorney Steve Meshbesher said he would appeal.
Prosecutors said Smith's plan was set in motion on the morning of the killings, after Smith saw a neighbor whom he believed responsible for prior burglaries drive by. Prosecutors say Smith moved his truck to make it look like no one was home, and then settled into a chair in his basement with a book, energy bars, a bottle of water and two guns.
Smith also set up a hand-held recorder on a bookshelf, which captured audio of the shootings, and had installed a surveillance system that recorded images of Brady trying to enter the house.
The audio, which was played several times in court, captured the sound of glass shattering, Brady descending the basement stairs and Smith shooting Brady three times. Smith can be heard saying, "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 gunshot, which investigators said Smith described as "a good, clean finishing shot."