Washington County Attorney Reflects On Byron Smith Case
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Washington County Attorney Pete Orput is sharing his thoughts on the case against Byron Smith, the Little Falls man found guilty of murdering two teenagers who had broken into his home.
"This was a preplanned, well thought out, way to murder a couple of kids whom he was angry at because he had a few things stolen out of his house and garage," Orput said.
Orput said when talking about "Defense of Domain" the action has to be reasonable and necessary.
Orput said in this case, Nick Brady and his cousin, Haile Kifer, were not armed, and Smith knew that as he watched from inside his home.
Orput detailed an account of what happened to Brady once he got into the home for the alleged burglary.
"Smith walks up to him and shoots him, almost point blank, in the chest. Nick goes tumbling down the stairs. As he's tumbling, Smith shoots him again. A bullet goes in one side of his back and out the other. Nick falls to the floor in a heap, and Smith came up and put the barrel to his head and blew his brains out," he said.
Orput said Kifer was waiting in the car and tried calling Brady several times, but Smith had installed a device to interfere with the phone line.
He said Smith had parked his truck a mile from his home, and then walked through woods back and hid in the basement, waiting for the burglars to strike.
It took the jury about three hours to reject his claim of self-defense.
Orput was a guest on WCCO Radio's "Open Court" with attorney Bruce Rivers.