n t ryieble. >> i just buried my head into my vends and i started to cry.he tr noduntigu wpp, end. n at.tu 1do. l ly wd to cd tuzetiman. llg z5 n at.tu 1do. y he a right to protect ur intimate health heepnd warm.he ml that's absthe s es"d"pe , cltionmprove youaneitwny, sal ff yes evegr cni nus wa tfo e swt ctiool wn. is so an and tur xing n a xp ,e founnmhemustart maregr yd. nr sal ff yes evegr cni ivin feas th would haunt mto y. their families. >> i dropped to my knees. i was like, this can't be happening. >> basically, why?

>> every second of those terrifying minutes would be fiercely debated. >>our natural instinct is to save yourself, however you need to do it. divided over etou ore wellld.aveadnc >> but before all the fear and kendvemb, 2012llg, it was just tolittleesota. but ess >> everybody knows everybody and ad semntowne n. slues>> w i everything about everybody. k-er, harifir th >> 18-year-old rachel brady was spending the holiday with her stolgu 17-year-old brother nick and i y'e other break-ins. their 18-year-old cousin haile asing th but this time he was, as seen on kifer. this home security camera, he the cousins were inseparable. said he moved his truck a few had been since they were little. blocks away that morning to clean his garage. >> we were always together. we would go camping. the teens must have thought he we were always in the water, wasn't there. always doing something. >> i needed to clean out the garage and i wanted it out of me and haile were always together. the way for a while. >> nick was the fun loving one in the group. >> byron told him how he was in the basement when he heard the kimberly is his mom. first intruder break in upstairs

>> he would make sure to find and head toward him. something to make you sme. >> i heard footsteps coming down >> he would just sit there and hug me and be like, rachel, the stairs and then i saw his feet and then his legs. rachel, my big sister and make then i saw his hips, i shot. me laugh every single time. >> it was nick. b, each.ll kids, they liked to byron shot him three times. >> i was reacting. >> okay. >> what were you reacting to is what i'm asking? he wouldts ahe outhiy he. >> the threat. the previous losses. >> wioy.he ihisc i spent 20 years overseas. gyme a couple years in bangkok, llra several years in cairo. 20 years overseas, not one c kt dnda problem. and i retire to my peaceful thanksngr. wouwn hometown. ulyou the in >> while byron's voice broke a few times during his account, rettry e the sergeant was surprised how calm and matter of fact he was jendi for most of the interview. and ftrouna. >> you would think after such a ing atgrdma'ai horrific event, shooting and killing two people that broke ist nickanswerhoolut into your house that you would ovin, ldan. be very emotional, maybe crying at times.

i didn't notice any of that from answne to byron smith. he just maintained his re e d e idwas composure, which was rather odd. >> much stranger still is byron's account of what happened news after he shot nick. t waedar haile entered the house and byron fired again. ri elnd d wood .ywhihe i o>>hel s >> it jammed. the trigger clicked and she e or nick? laughed at me. i just pulled out the .22 and noin shot her. ouof tirwo if you try to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again. ou>> ig.tter ntter >> was haile really laughing? to the sergeant, it seemed like a bizarre detail. then byron told them this. >> i thought she was dead and it ts oke. >>be a g somin turned out she wasn't. so i did a good, clean finishing shot. >> he shot haile six times in all. and with that, the investigators came to believe this was something other than a simple >> acrtowa wod like s case of self-defense. e atng dthnd >> my question, byron, is why did you shoot again? she didn't have a weapon in her

hand. she wasn't -- >> i don't know if she had a weapon in her hand until later. >> she was laying there, hurt. did she -- she wasn't threatening you. i'm just asking -- >> i don't know if she was threatening me. >> there was certainly a continuation of the use of deadly force after it appeared to us the threat had stopped. and that made us believe that this needs to be looked at by the prosecuting attorney. >> byron smith was arrested that day, but later released on bond. a grand jury was convened to look at the case. syseakd in little falls, his friends were shocked that authorities could believe byron was anything but an innocent victim. >> it was ridiculous. that he would be this cold blooded killer? really? he's a quiet, soft spoken person. i just didn't fathom it. >> while byron was free on bond, the langs say he couldn't bear to go back to his home. so they took him in. >> i could hear him in nights,

i'm sorry, i didn't want to hear anybody. i could hear him crying. >> the case quickly became a big controversy in little falls, minnesota. did people take sides? >> absolutely. #tid d-x haasd cter rid-nce. people became more opinionated about what happened. >> some people would come up to me, he's going to prison, he shouldn't have done that. i said, well, you haven't heard the whole story. hey pi beties ♪ rid-nce. >> i think byron has a lot of support in this area. d ♪suns e frft woher le nshowksgifo hn 2 >> bill anderson is byron's neighbor. the same one who called authorities the day after the shootings. >> myself, would i have done the same thing that mr. smith did? no doubt in my mind. no doubt in my mind. >> it seemed like a big box of puzzle pieces. >> prosecutors were in charge of evaluating the case against byron, and they knew it was controversial from the start. ust >>w soong. aeron >> when brent and i got involved o ca poli dent ad ou in it, the e-mails started, the >>thorosbo phone calls, castigating us for

th troling tr edene taking this. e f' after all, doesn't a homeowner eletgati any langaighsardhoe have a right to defend his dwelling? i didn't argue with people. i said just stay open and let the evidence come out and see if 64 smilivi you hold that same view. in chs >> after looking at all the sag,own his adcameit., i evidence, the prosecutors believed there was a strong case. >> the moment nick broke the window and entered into that t ha byrelsog ppened house, didn't byron smith then have the right to defend himself? i>> c johheeio ha >> yes. y o.a alndeeth h owoth yes, he did. but that's not what he did. hs.nec he went way, way beyond defending himself. >> that grand jury in minnesota agreed. in april of 2013, five months after the shootings, byron smith fs, thi a was indicted on two counts of bad cout first degree murder. now there would be a trial in >>til quiere sre the case everyone in town was talking about with revelations from both sides. coming up -- s in tceann'ow >> i try a lot of murder cases. this one seemed like a real challenge. >> why? >> because a lot of people thought we would lose it.

ust ankehingng>> s han. >> murder or self-defense? thiswak ag he m to f, a >> why did he wait so long u brods before calling authorities? >> fear. peitthyou.the erf. >> the explosive debate heads into court, when "dateline" continues. vo: you get used to pet odors in your car. heesd t stai.n sh>>tas on tngyoig y diatars igatto anorsyou bee 'se g anotmierly hn ng a.ce inor w o th wi sa dthmber, eyap llsudd iem ime ythie. youhesois nic b d thme h washo erne three s? w -- eall a >>e you r saial, an

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april. f d owhat he seup surveillanceh and just like the town itself, carved in two by the mighty mississippi river, the people of little falls, minnesota found themselves divided. on one bank stood those who saw byron as a cold blooded killer who fired nine shots as two unarmed teenagers. >> when you're talking about out over ie ho multiple shots, down on the ground, right away it jumps out he l tc jes an t ed a th at you hey, this is premeditated murder. >> on the other bank were those f >> he ow who viewed smith with every right to defend himself and his antltr home against intruders. >> they weren't invited for it's hain de d thanksgiving dinner. they didn't come through the door. >> but nick's mother was hlking taclea determined even through her own grief not to make up her mind d until she heard all the facts. y?p bot atim >> i kept an open mind, because ou hgru ver owroan if he was fearful for his life, i couldn't fault him for defending himself. neou ack w i waited until i heard all the

evidence. >> the evidence said byron push unst ckderm hn smith's defense attorney would bef us show his client had done nothing es aus wrong. >> this is a case about big friend b tou t misunderstanding. es.heun own s loly dis gun this is about byron smith being lookoue ma accused of a crime he did not commit. >> did you believe that byron si a l smith was justified in shooting o be rof es ted ni, palive>>, when i nick brady and haile kifer? >> yes. it's not something he wanted to housethndn do. ay but he didn't ask them to nd hs.ing man of ncere,ha hbyron h ry burglarize his home in a violent way on thanksgiving. impe kit e was vi it sg. they chose to do that. and he reacted. >> so the defense came to court at,only confident a jury would see it that way. on'tkig tried. in minnesota, as i understand ng it ededar.l it, you have the right to protect your life. .ecethut t you have the right to protect your home, your property, as y y ootingck survetos agna long as it's reasonable. pe a hatdywe >> if somebody breaks into your t haen we onlhehous home and commits a felony th t esron offense in your home, you can frn him oanks d kill that threat.

llnfls dido uys g woabout >> he said that everything byron rurs whonrecking did that thanksgiving day and the next was evidence that he was truly terrified inside his e sh yousohyyohone own home. why did he wait so long before calling authorities? >> fear. he was afraid there was a third or fourth or fifth person. so he was afraid of the , to backyard, the front yard, the stairway, the door. i thos hiay t becaarerndled clthre s he's just in utter fear and he ultear goes in a closet and hides in c his own house until the fear >> b s stongli.ve subsides. ultear >> b s stongli.ve ng>>ld a, you woulry eale crdi c >> as for smith's calm demeanor and the matter of fact way which 's s he described the killings -- >> i just pulled out the .22 and shot her. >> the defense said he was just trying to help the authorities ings ]at? thewier s. g any way he could. ick anretty am it alup. h sn >> on the exterior, he appears to on to be calm, but he's talking ll♪ ick anretty am it alup. about how frightened he is internally. he's trying to explain to the

police what happened. he's trying to help solve what occurred. >> but would the defense be able to convince the jury that byron smith's own account of the shootings, how he gave haile a self-described finishing shot, was really justified. >> i did a good, clean finishing shot. >> from a human standpoint, it just sounds so cold blooded. >> it does, and i had to deal with the way it sounded. but it's not evidence of what he's thinking. it's evidence of emotion. it's not evidence of murder. >> he thought his strongest evidence to justify the shootings was the fact that nick brady had broken into byron smith's house before, had even stolen guns. so byron had every reason to fear for his life. >> you wanted to show them these are kids up to go good. >> no, that's not what i wanted to do. i wanted the jury to see the truth, rather than just see a painted picture that the media was playing their high school photographs. >> but the judge said testimony

about nick's involvement in that previous break-in was irrelevant and inadmissible. he also couldn't say in court that there was evidence that nick and haile together had robbed another house, too. >> unfortunately the judge would not allow that evidence to come in. and i thought he was making a grave error. >> how many witnesses did you have lined up that weren't allowed to speak? >> about a half dozen. >> so byron smith's friends watching in court could only hope that the jury would see things as they did, that he was a scared man who defended his life and property. >> we know him as our friend, byron. so it was ridiculous to us for authorities calling him a cold blooded killer. >> it would be an uphill battle in the court of public opinion, thought prosecutors. they knew they had the burden of proof. >> i try a lot of murder cases, and this one in particular seemed like a real challenge. >> why? >> because a lot of people thought we would lose it.

>> a lot of people saw this as a referendum on whether it's okay to protect your property and protect your life. you don't see it that way? >> not this case, not these facts. >> but to prove murder in the first degree, the state would have to show that byron acted not just with excessive, unreasonable force, but also with premeditation. and while the defense may have had a lot of townspeople on its side, the prosecution had something else. >> a piece of evidence they felt would sway any juror to see byron smith, not as a fearful victim but as a calculating killer. did byron tell investigators that he had made audiotapes? >> no, he did not. >> coming up -- >> you're dead. >> the revelation that stopped everyone cold. those 12 deadly minutes heard on tape. >> can you ever erase that from your memory?

there are people who think byron smith is a hero.

what do you say to them? >> i say he's a murderer. and murderers can't be heroes. >> in a sharply divided minnesota courtroom, the prosecution argued that byron smith was no fearful, innocent victim, but an angry man bent on violent confrontation. he told investigators from the beginning that he was sitting reading a book in the basement, that he was caught unaware. you don't buy any of that? >> no, not at all. >> the prosecutors said they had evidence that it was premeditated murder. they told the jury byron had set a trap for the burglars. remember the story about moving his truck to clean the garage? the prosecutors said that was a lie. that byron had, in fact, moved the truck to make it look like he wasn't home. you think byron wanted to catch the people who had been breaking into his house? >> clearly. he planned, he prepared, and he was determined to kill whoever was breaking into his house and

stealing his property. >> the prosecution said byron was in the basement, not to read a book, but to wait, like a hunter. >> it just seemed like byron smith was deer hunting. like a lot of folks do in minnesota. where you get in your stand and you wait and you wait and when a deer comes by, you shoot and kill it. and it just seemed like that's what he did with these kids. >> but could they prove it? turns out the prosecutors had something they had never encountered in nearly half a century of combined trial work. do you remember when you first listened to it? >> i do. and it knocked me out. i've never been able to hear a murder occurring. >> byron smith recorded the break-in and shootings. investigators found this digital audio recorder on a book she feel in the basement. it captured more than six hours worth of audio that day. you ended up with a trove of information.

his own words on tape. >> indeed, we did. >> here is byron smith shortly before the break-in, talking to himself. >> in your left eye. >> why would he say that? a half hour before anyone came over? well, when you go through the autopsy photographs, you see that he shot haile kifer in her left eye. >> he was planning where he was going to shoot an intruder? >> not just shooting them but where, where in the face is he going to shoot them? >> then it sounds like byron is planning not just the shooting, but also his defense. he practices contacting a lawyer. >> i realize i don't have an appointment, but i would like to see one of the lawyers here. >> ten minutes later, the practicing is over. the recorder captures something real. how quickly did everything go down that day? >> 12 minutes. >> 12 minutes, from the first shot hired at nick brady to the ninth and final one fired at

haile kifer. >> it was frightening. >> the prosecutors played all 12 minutes in court, but first warned nick and haile's families, who sat through every day of the trial, that they may not want to hear it. >> he suggested that you probably shouldn't be there that day. >> he did, more than once. >> why did you want to be there? >> i needed to know. you need to hear the whole story to understand it, i think, in this case. you can't just make a snap judgment. >> this is the sound of nick entering the home. walking down the stairs to the basement. >> and as he's going down the stairs, you can hear him get shot. >> we won't play that part of the recording. but listen to what byron says after shooting nick three times. >> you're dead. >> then there's a rustling sound

that the prosecution says is byron unfolding a tarp that he uses to move nick's body. you can then hear byron reload his gun. ten minutes go by, then the recording picks up a whisper. >> nick? >> it's haile coming into the house looking for her cousin. >> so she comes in and goes right to the basement, starts walking down and that's when he shoots her. >> here on the recording is what the prosecution says is a pivotal moment. in his interview with investigators, byron said he felt threatened by haile, and that she had been laughing at him when he fired. >> she laughed at me. >> but on that audio recording of the shooting, which again we have edited, the prosecution says haile clearly sounds terrified. >> oh, my god. >> she's screaming in a high pitch, saying oh, my god, oh, my god. >> after she's done shooting, this is what byron says. >> bitch!

>> those in court saw byron smith wipe away tears as the audio played. there was stunned silence, save for the quiet sobs from nick and haile's families. can you ever erase that from your memory? >> not ever. >> ever since i heard it, it's been replaying in my head over and over. i feel like any time i hear somebody say, oh, my god, that's what i think of. >> but the prosecution wasn't done with that recording. >> i'm sure she thought she was a real pro. >> because byron continued to talk to himself after the teens were dead. >> i felt like i was cleaning up a mess. i don't see them as human. i see them as vermin. >> by now, kimberly heard all the facts she needed. what do you hear when you hear those words? >> pure evil. i don't know how you can say that.

about anybody. two precious kids. and i don't believe he was scared. i believe it was premeditated murder. >> but in court, the defense said that recording, as disturbing as it is, proves no such thing. >> i tried to be a good person. >> rather it shows a man quite possibly driven mad with fear. >> i feel a little bit safer. i'm totally safe. i'm still shaken a bit. >> he's talking to himself, mumbling things. a lot of things didn't make sense. >> he sounds frankly like somebody who is losing his mind. >> or lost their mind. he simply had no ability to deal with reality at that time. >> after a week of testimony, the case went to the jury. it was anyone's guess which portrait of byron smith the jury would believe, the cold blooded

killer lying in wait or the terrified man under siege in his own home. what were you thinking as the jury went out to deliberate? >> i gave it all to god. i was pretty peaceful. >> just put your faith in him? >> i did. >> and waited? >> and waited. >> it wasn't a long wait. the jury was back in less than four hours. the verdict -- guilty of first degree murder for killing both nick brady and haile kifer. >> i waited, i heard, then i believed, and it was said. >> i was very happy to see him taken away. but there was no winners. >> it doesn't give you your brother and best friend back. >> exactly. >> i put my head in my hands and went, thank god for them. you know, that they got that. >> the families? >> yes. >> but byron's supporters felt the opposite of relief. >> shocked.

stunned. >> it was such a one-sided trial. it was so unfair. >> cathy says there's so much more to her friend the jury never learned. >> he just came here to retire and wanted a quiet life. this should have never happened. >> this is just pure, utter sadness. >> it was just 12 minutes that changed so many lives in so many tragic ways. byron smith will live out his retirement in prison, having received an automatic life sentence. he plans to appeal. and nick brady and haile kifer, two young cousins who made a terrible decision to enter that home, paid for it with their lives. and their loved ones are left to mourn a future that will never be. >> you had a little baby girl not too long ago, and nick and haile weren't here to see that. >> i think that's probably one of the hardest parts about all

of it. i would have loved to see my brother hold her. >> he would have been uncle nick. >> uncle nickel baby. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." chaos and despair on the border with mexico. emotions are high as protesters attempt to turn away thousands of children attempting to enter the country after a traumatic journey from central america. this morning i'll ask secretary of homeland security jeh johnson about what the white house plans to do to fix this problem, what the president has called a humanitarian crisis. plus terror alert. security tightened around the world for direct flights to the

united states. are changes in store for security at the airports here as well. defeat for the president on obama care. rulings that will affect the political landscape this year. >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, this