Star Tribune: Byron Smith is accused of killing two teenagers who broke into his home on Thanksgiving Day.
Minnesota Today from MPR News
April 25, 2013
December 19, 2012
Man accused in fatal Little Falls shootings posts bail
“The man accused of killing two teenagers who broke into his Little Falls-area house on Thanksgiving Day posted bail Tuesday and was released from the Morrison County Jail. (more…)
December 18, 2012
Little Falls shooter bail lowered
“Byron David Smith taunted the teen as she lay dying, shooting her again and again, according to a prosecutor who said an audio recording shows Smith went beyond self-defense in the Thanksgiving Day shootings of two cousins trying to burglarize his home.
“‘The state will show that this was an ambush, and a murder,’ prosecutor Todd Kosovich said in a court hearing Monday, recounting the chilling details the recorder captured,” via Star Tribune.
December 17, 2012
Shootings divide Little Falls
“The teenaged cousins were buried two weeks ago. The homeowner who shot them after they broke into his house has sat in the county jail ever since he spelled out the chilling details to local police.
“But more than three weeks after Byron David Smith confessed to killing Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18, in the basement of his Little Falls home on Thanksgiving Day, the cold and gruesome nature of the crime continues to haunt and divide,” via Star Tribune.
December 10, 2012
Little Falls-area man accused of shooting teens had surveillance system that recorded break-in
“The man accused of shooting two teenagers who broke into his Little Falls-area home on Thanksgiving Day had a surveillance system at his home that recorded video of the teens as they broke into his home.
“Byron David Smith, 64, also had a digital audio recorder running when he shot the teens, and it recorded audio of the shooting,” via St. Cloud Times.
December 1, 2012
Stand-your-ground laws may put teens in greater danger
“Three shooting deaths in the past week raise questions about whether prank-prone and reckless teens are particularly vulnerable under states’ ‘castle doctrine’ and ‘stand your ground’ laws,” via Christian Science Monitor.
November 29, 2012
More details on the Little Falls shootings; light rail plans get a rough ride
Will Golden Valley go for a light rail line connecting Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park? Are we still in a foreclosure crisis in Minnesota? Will Janee Harteau be the next top cop in Minneapolis? Those questions, some answers and more on today's MPR News Update.
November 28, 2012
Affordable housing without the bedbugs; no stalling light rail
Today on the MPR News Update, a bedbug-infested apartment building in St. Paul debuts as affordable housing after a refurbishment, the state looks for a new way to pay for public education, Central Corridor light rail construction will continue, and we learn more about the two shooting deaths in Little Falls.
Top 5
Lawsuit: Excessive pumping of Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer led to low White Bear Lake
The lake bottom is exposed as water levels recede on White Bear Lake in White Bear Lake, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. AP Photo/The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Ben Garvin
- DNR sued over White Bear Lake water levels (MPR News)
- Recounts begin Wednesday in Minnesota House 8B and in Senate District 20 (Alexandria Echo Press), (Mankato Free Press)
- Ritchie says Minn. ready for broader early voting (KARE11)
- Little Falls: Suspect in teens’ shootings had told police about previous break-ins (Pioneer Press)
- In the wake of Little Falls: Rural crime numbers (Ground Level)
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Photo: Little Falls Holiday
Downtown Little Falls decorated for holidays, butmany here are emotionally torn by Thanksgiving killings. twitter.com/JohnCroman/sta…
— John Croman (@JohnCroman) November 27, 2012
November 27, 2012
Who is Janee Harteau, and how will she run the Minneapolis Police Dept?
Today on the MPR News Update we take a look at the next police chief of Minneapolis, learn about the rebirth of Duluth, hear more details from the shooting that claimed the lives of two teenagers near Little Falls and talk about a new trial for a priest who had an affair with a parishioner.
In the wake of Little Falls: Rural crime numbers
The shooting death of two apparent burglars in Little Falls provides an opportunity to note that rural crime rates aren’t what some think.
November 26, 2012
Little Falls shooting: Man charged with two counts of second-degree murder
“Byron David Smith was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree murder in the Thanksgiving Day shooting deaths of teens Haile Kifer, 18, and Nicholas Brady Schaeffel, 17,” reports the Brainerd Dispatch.
Morrison Co. Sheriff Wetzel: Byron Smith said he didn’t call law officers about two deaths because he didn’t want to bother them on holiday.
— Mike O’Rourke (@MikeORourkenews) November 26, 2012
October 11, 2012
Backstory: How Brian Kobilka fed his scientific curiosity
A couple of local takes fill in the backstory of what came before the Nobel Prize in chemistry for Minnesota’s Brian Kobilka. (more…)
