The murders of Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady occurred on Thanksgiving Day of 2012, when Haile Kifer, 18, and her cousin, Nicholas Brady, 17, broke into the home of 64-year-old Byron David Smith in Little Falls, Minnesota, in the United States. Smith shot the teens separately and 10 minutes apart as they entered the basement where he was, later stating to police he was worried about them being armed. After already shooting them once, he repeatedly taunted them while they were injured as he shot them both in an execution style until they were dead. He did not report that he had killed Kifer and Brady until the day after the murders, keeping their corpses in his closet. On April 29, 2014, he was found guilty of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The case sparked debate over the "castle doctrine", which allows homeowners to defend their homes with lethal force. The prosecution alleged that Smith's actions and a recording he made himself while the incidents were unfolding showed premeditation (lying in wait) and that he used excessive force after having neutralized the threat. He was convicted by a jury after three hours of deliberation and sentenced to life in prison.
Lead up
Smith (born June 11, 1948) was retired from the U.S. State Department. He was never married and lived alone. His brother described him as a retired security engineering officer.
Smith claimed at trial that prior to the murders he had been burgled at least half a dozen times over the preceding few months. He had only reported one previous burglary to police, and investigators only found evidence of two previous burglaries (one of which occurred in his detached garage and of which he appeared to have no knowledge when it was brought up by police). Among the items stolen were four thousand dollars in cash, his father's POW watch, coins from a collection, and a chainsaw. Smith began routinely wearing a holster with a loaded gun inside his home, as well as stashing bottles of water and granola bars in his basement. Smith installed a security system to protect himself.
Murders
On November 22, 2012, Smith drove his vehicle down the road, parking it in front of a neighbor's home. About an hour later, Kifer and Brady broke into Smith's home. Video surveillance captured the teens casing the property prior to the break-in.
By his own account to police, Smith had been visiting neighbors when he saw Kifer, whom he suspected was responsible for the burglaries, driving past his home. He commented that he needed to get ready for her and went back to his home. Upon entering his home, Smith turned on a recording device he owned. He removed the light bulbs from the ceiling lights and positioned himself in a chair that was obscured from view. He heard the window upstairs break and Brady climb in (captured on audio). Smith then waited in silence for 12 minutes, until Brady began to descend into the basement. Smith shot Brady twice on the stairs, and once in the head after he fell to the bottom of the stairs. Smith then made taunting remarks to Brady's body, wrapped it in a tarp and dragged him into another room. He went upstairs, and 10 to 15 minutes later, he ran back down into the basement, reloaded his weapon and took up his previous position in the obscured chair. Minutes later, Kifer entered the home and could be heard calling her cousin's name. As she made her way down the stairs, Smith shot her. Wounded, she fell down the stairs, and Smith can be heard on the recording sarcastically saying "Oh, sorry about that," followed by Kifer saying "Oh, my God" very quickly; Smith shoots her again, multiple times in the torso, in the midst of which she screams "Oh, my God!", and once next to her left eye. He repeatedly called her derogatory names and then dragged her into the other room, tossing her body on top of her cousin's, and shot her one final time under the chin, murdering her. Audio and video of the events were recorded by Smith's security system.
Investigation
The deaths were not immediately reported to police, as he waited until the next day to notify police of the shootings. Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel has acknowledged that Brady and Kifer were there to burgle Smith's residence. Brady's sister claimed Brady stole drugs from her home on August 28, a case that was still under investigation at the time of Brady's killing. Evidence recovered from the car driven by Brady was linked to a burglary of the residence of a retired teacher the night before he and Kifer were killed by Smith.