Article regarding testimony from the medical examiner...
http://mcrecord.com/2014/04/24/prose...-murder-trial/
Holy shit!
He shot them both at close range, but the girl was shot dead on. 6 shots to the girl. 3 to the boy. The girl was a cutter. She had 66 cuts on her arms. A neighbor testified that the old man called another woman "there goes the bitch"
Yeah, I don't think the old man likes women at all.
*sigh* Why does her cutting or suicide matter? I know it's the defense's job, but I hate that about some Defense lawyers.
They just have to be thorough and know everything about her. The case is over and it wasn't like they threw that out there in their defense somehow.
Yes. All I'm saying is that, while I understand the necessity for it in a defense, I don't like when the "dirty laundry" of victims is (to at time unnecessary levels) dragged out before the court. Clarifying old wounds as self inflicted is one thing. Even touching on her mental health history to show state of mind, yeah - understandable. Raising suicide to show what lengths she may have been willing to go to - I get it. But it doesn't make me less uneasy about it. It's the whole speaking ill of the dead thing. Especially when they're the victim and it's the killer who is trashing them to try and get away with the homicide.
But they never mentioned it in court, right? That was just to clarify what injuries he was responsible for and to maybe put something very remote in the back pocket for defense? Pretty standard, the only reason you know that info now is because you read the article on the medical report, not because someone was dragging her business into the open.
But also a good lawyer can't restrict themselves to not investigating 'sordid' or 'unfortunate' parts of someone's life just because it's not nice.
Yes, it was mentioned in court. The article was about the ME's testimony in court.
You seem to be missing the part where I'm saying "I understand the necessity." That doesn't mean I have to like it.
Ani - I should have said "akin to" - it's not the same, but it feels dirty to me. Which is amusing (to me) because I loathe when people whitewash what a person was like in life when asked about them post mortum "Oh she was such a wonderful mother, she was the best thing in the world!" While 2 weeks ago she was a heinous bitch they never wanted to see ever again and wouldn't piss on to put out if on fire.
I just don't remember that ever being a big deal so I don't think it was really exploitive. I don't think it was necessarily a smear campaign, I think it was the defense ruling out the defendant's responsibility for those wounds. It's not like 'oh she wanted to die so this was assisted suicide!' would be a valid defense.
I think we're having some communication issues here.
I'm not over here :swearing: at the defense or thinking it was some Perry Mason moment in the courtroom.
I've sat in on enough trials and been in enough courtrooms to know how it goes down in the courtroom. I'm not I was just observing with a quiet sigh that I didn't like it. Necessary or not, I don't like it. It still happens, and I understand it does and why, but it's not my favorite. It's like taking medicine when you're sick: You have to to get better, it generally tastes nasty, but the reason is understood and it happens.
I'm all for defending your property and have guns but this is just crazy. If there were recent break ins I would have lights on, motion detectors, maybe get a dog but to make it appear you're not home and basically inviting this to happen is bizarre. This guy is crazy and I hope he dies in jail. I can remember being young and doing such dumb shit but fortunately my dumb shit didn't come with a life sentence.
Just listened to the audio... There was more than enough time after he shot the boy to call 911 but he sat and waited for her. Sick fuck. Hearing the girl crying was just awful.
Just watched about this on Dateline. He's appealing.
That audio, though
http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/lo...ions/25902333/
ST. PAUL – The man who killed two teenagers who broke into his Little Falls-area house on Thanksgiving 2012 has appealed his murder convictions to the state Supreme Court.
Byron Smith, 66, was convicted of two counts each of first- and second-degree murder after a trial in April 2014. He shot and killed cousins Haile Kifer, 18, and Nick Brady, 17, after they broke into his house on the Mississippi River north of Little Falls.
The case gained national and worldwide attention because Smith argued that he shot the teenagers in self-defense after his house had been burglarized multiple times before the day of the shootings.
Jurors needed just three hours to decide otherwise, that Smith had crossed over a line from protecting himself to murdering Kifer and Brady.
Jurors heard two portrayals of Smith — one a man fearing for his life because of previous burglaries who rightfully defended himself in his house, another of a man who is accused of baiting the teenagers in what a prosecutor likened to deer hunting.
The appeal Smith filed this week argues that he was prevented by the trial judge from presenting a complete defense. Morrison County District Court Judge Douglas Anderson denied Smith's request to let jurors hear from Brady's friends who would have connected Brady to previous burglaries at Smith's house.
Anderson didn't allow that testimony because he said there was no evidence that Smith knew that Brady was involved in the burglaries before the shootings.
The defense also was prevented from calling an expert witness who was going to testify about how high-stress situations can affect how a person sees, hears and reacts to events during a crisis.
That witness would have offered insight into whether someone in Smith's situation can accurately comprehend what's going on around him and how that affects their reaction.
The appeal also claims that the grand jury indictment of Smith was flawed and that prosecutors committed misconduct in closing arguments. It also argues that Anderson improperly closed the courtroom when hearing arguments about whether to allow evidence of Brady's participation in previous burglaries.
The appeal asks the state's highest court to vacate Smith's conviction and either dismiss the first-degree murder indictment or grant him a new trial.
His recording will keep him in prison.
Dumb ass. If only he wouldn't have recorded the event- he would probably be free now.
He reminds me of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy
Oh man!! Why did I listen to the audio?? That is a whole different level of crazy! The poor kids!!!
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