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Teen cousins Nick Brady and Haile Kifer from Little Falls, Minnesota, were shot to death on Thanksgiving Day, 2012, after breaking into the home of a retired US State Department's security officer, Byron Smith. The duo were shot multiple times in the latter's basement, who then kept both their bodies in a closet and only reported the incident to authorities the following day.
Byron Smith was convicted of the killings in April 2014 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case reportedly stirred debate over the state's "castle doctrine" that allows homeowners to defend their houses with deadly force. Prosecutors alleged that Smith sat in his basement, armed, lying in wait for the teens to arrive before using excessive force to commit the premeditated crime.
Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered revisits the shooting deaths of Nick Brady and Haile Kifer in an episode titled 12 Minutes on Elm Street this Thursday, May 11, at 8:00 pm ET. Its synopsis reads as:
"Cousins Nick Brady and Haile Kifer were best friends; to their family, they seemed like typical teenagers; turns out, the cousins had a secret that led to tragedy."
Nick Brady and Haile Kifer were seen in the vicinity of Bryon Smith's home shotly before the shooting incident
The shooting deaths of teen cousins Nick Brady and Haile Kifer stunned the small town after a well-celebrated holiday ended in tragedy for the community. The duo were shot to death by homeowner Byron Smith when the two attempted to break into his home on Thanksgiving Day in 2012. Smith then kept their bodies in a closet before reporting the incident to authorities the following day.
As per Smith's accounts, on November 22, 2012, while visiting his neighbors prior to the break-in, the 64-year-old retired security engineer officer from the US State Department claimed to have seen Kifer driving past his home. At the time, he suspected that the 18-year-old was behind the burglaries at his home and others in the area. He immediately returned home and turned on a recording device.
Moreover, before the break-in, the teens were caught on surveillance footage scanning the property. According to Smith's own version of the events, he was in the basement when he fatally shot Nick Brady twice at the top of the basement stairs and once in the face after he fell to the ground. Minutes later, he shot Haile Kifer at the top of the stairs as she tried to enter the storm cellar.
The wounded victim them fell down the stairs. Aftet this, Smith's rifle jammed, and he then used a .22-caliber revolver to shoot her multiple times in the chest before dragging her body across the room and placing it next to her cousin's dead body. He then fired on last last, shooting her in the head execution style.
Nick Brady and Haile Kifer were linked to a multiple burglaries that occurred before they were gunned down
A day later after the shootings, Byron Smith informed authorities about the deaths of Nick Brady and Haile Kifer, claiming that he didn't immediately report the incident bceuase he did not want to bother them on Thanksgiving Day.
Authorities alleged that Brady and Kifer were at Smith's house to rob it. An investigation further revealed that prior to their killings, the teens were involved in a string of burglaries and at least one of them was allegedly on drugs at the time they were gunned down by Smith.
Reports state that Brady's sister claimed the 17-year-old stole drugs from her home on August 28. Other evidence found in his car was connected to a burglary of a retired teacher's home the night before their deaths.
The teen cousins were also linked to an identical break-in the day before the tragedy. Police were reportedly called to a home owned by Richard L. Johnson where a red Mitsubishi Shroud was spotted.
Brady, who was 17 years old, was seen driving the vehicle. That same red Mitsubishi Eclipse was found parked just around the corner from Smith's property the day their bodies were found.
In April 2014, Byron Smith was found guilty of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in Nick Brady and Haile Kifer's shooting deaths. He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will revisit the murders of Nick Brady and Haile Kifer this Thursday, at 8:00 pm ET.
