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Man Who Shot Teens Who Broke Into Home Guilty of Murder

A Minnesota man who shot and killed two teenagers who broke into his home has been convicted of pre-meditated murder.

Little Falls, Minn. – A man who shot and killed two teenagers who broke into his home has been convicted of premeditated murder.

The Pioneer Press reported that it took jurors less than three hours to convict Byron Smith, 65, of murdering Nick Brady, 17, and Haile Kifer, 18. Smith had claimed self-defense in the Thanksgiving 2012 slayings.

The newspaper reported that a key piece of evidence was an audio recording of the shootings in which Smith taunted the dying teenagers. The audio can be heard here.

CBS News reported that prosecutors said Smith planned the killings by moving his truck to make it seem like he was not home, sat in his basement with energy bars, water, a book and two guns. Prosecutors likened the setup to a deer stand with the teenagers being the deer.

Prosecutors also said that Smith kept shooting even after the teenagers were down and no longer a threat. On the audio Smith tells Kifer after she is shot: "You're dying."

Defense attorneys argued that Smith was fearful after several recent break-ins, including one in which weapons were taken.

Previously on Patch: Man Shoots Two Teenage Intruders: Was It Murder or Self-Defense?

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