His home. You have a right to protect your home and to protect yourself. He planned, he prepared and was determined to kill. The most chilling detail of all. What youll hear on tape. Im still shaking. No one would be the same. I think thats probably one of the hardest parts about all of it. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Tonight, kate snow with 12 minutes on elm street. 12 minutes, not a long time. But for three people whose pasts collided on thanksgiving day, 12 minutes was all it took for their lives to explode in a flash. I refuse to live in fear. 12 minutes that would haunt their families. I dropped to my knees. I was like, this cant be happening. Basically, why . Every second of those terrifying minutes would be fiercely debated. Your natural instinct is to save yourself, however you need to do it. A town divided over what happened inside this house on elm street. Weve had a lot of things happen in trial. Ive never in my life had evidence such as this. This might be more than what were initially being told. But before all the fear and the finger pointing, it was just another thanksgiving weekend in november, 2012, in the small town of little falls, minnesota. Everybody knows everybody and everything about everybody. 18yearold rachel brady was spending the holiday with her 17yearold brother nick and their 18yearold cousin haile kifer. The cousins were inseparable. Had been since they were little. We were always together. We would go camping. We were always in the water, always doing something. Me and haile were always together. Nick was the fun loving one in the group. Kimberly is his mom. He found joy in everything. And he would make sure to find something to make you smile. He would just sit there and hug me and be like, rachel, rachel, my big sister and make me laugh every single time. Like all kids, they liked to tease each other. Like when rachel called nick the nickname he had had since he was a little boy, nickel baby. Is that the family joking name . His really good would call him it after they heard me could it. He would get so mad. At me for saying it in front of his friends. Growing up, nick was into sports and loved the outdoors. So did his cousin, haile. Who was as bright and active as he was. She was vivacious, bubbly and funny. She was very athletic in high school. She was in gymnastics and softball and track. The close knit cousins spent the wednesday before thanksgiving together. Rachel says there wasnt all that much for teens to do in little falls, so they would drive around town in the red mitsubishi. Nick rebuilt himself. Would you cruise down the main drag here . Pretty much everywhere. Just spending the day with no cares . Yeah. They all spent the night together at a friends apartment. On thanksgiving morning, nick and haile left around 11 00 a. M. They said they were going to go to my mom and dads house. The plan was to meet later at grandmas house. But nick and haile never showed up. Kimberly and rachel tried calling them. Is it strange for nick not to answer his phone . Absolutely. Even if i called over and over again, he could have answered. And been like what do you want . Strange for haile not to answer the phone . Extremely. She would have never not answered my phone call. So where could they be on thanksgiving of all days . Adding to their worry was the weather. It had started snowing. So im thinking, okay, the weather. Maybe he got stranded somewhere. I was hoping that he was just staying overnight somewhere. In a safe place . Yeah, in a safe place. Were you worried about a car accident . I was. Very worried. Nick wasnt experienced driving in the snow. The family spent thanksgiving night on edge. Sure enough, on friday morning, there was frightening news. We heard about a car accident that had a red car. And we thought it was him right away. So we went and looked and it ended up being car pieces for a different car. And so when that wasnt him either, we started to get extremely worried. We drove up and down the back roads. Up and down the highways. We looked anywhere i could think of. Through town. Anywhere. Rachel posted messages on facebook, has anyone heard from haile or nick . Still nothing. By friday afternoon, they were out of their minds with worry. We called and called and called. No answers, no nothing. We kept getting the voice mails. I was like nick, this is getting serious. My we i started crying. And i was like, you better not be making fun of me this better not be a joke. Yeah. Before the day was over, the family would find out, this was no joke. Something terrible had happened to nick and haile. But it wasnt a car crash or an accident. It was something no one in little falls could have seen coming. I tried to be a good person. Across town, there was concern too. Just worry and panic. Like somethings wrong. When we return, someone else had also met with trouble that thanksgiving day, the deadly kind. Livestream your favorite sport, at the airport. Binge dvrd shows, while painting your toes. On demand laughs, during long bubble baths. Tv on every screen is awesome. The allnew Xfinity Stream app. All your tv at home. The most on demand, your entire dvr, top networks, and live sports on the go. Included with xfinity tv. Xfinity the future of awesome. The friday after thanksgiving, 2012, Kimberly Brady was worried sick that her son nick and her niece haile never showed up for thanksgiving dinner. They had been missing for more than 24 hours. Did you have a mothers intuition . I knew something was wrong. It was just so unlike nicholas. By friday afternoon, the family was frantic. So you decided to call the police . We went in we went into the Sheriffs Department and filled out missing persons reports for both of them. As authorities processed those reports, three other sheriffs deputies were over on elm street investigating something so troubling they later called in a crime scene van. That got the attention of john and cathy lang, who saw the van go straight towards the house of their good friend, byron smith. A 64yearold retired man living on his own. I was decorating the christmas tree. I saw a big, huge truck go down his road, called the crime scene unit. And i shouted for john, i think you were in the kitchen. And i said, call byrons cell. Something has happened. What did you worry, what did you think had happened . I thought he was dead. Cathy and john feared the worst for their friend, who had seemed out of sorts in recent months. Everything was fine when byron first moved back to his hometown of little falls about five years earlier, after a career that took him all over the world with the u. S. State department. He was talking about living in moscow and cairo and dakar. Its amazing. A worldly guy. Very much so. A great conversationalist, and fun to talk with. But recently, byron wasnt himself. His house had been broken into a few times, thieves taking everything from money to family heirlooms. They say their friend, who had mentored boy scouts and let their sons rock band jam in his garage had become afraid. He was acting real quiet, real scared. And then that crime scene van showed up outside byrons home and cathy was sure her friend was in trouble. Just worry and panic. Like somethings wrong. She was right. Something was wrong. Burglars had struck again. This time byron was home, and he had a gun. He had managed to defend himself, and survived the breakin. If you break into somebodys home, you better not have an expectation youre going to walk out alive, because the law permits them to shoot you. Michel wetzel is the sheriff. Byron told his deputies he had been in his basement when two intruders broke into his house and crept downstairs. Byron shot both dead. Minnesota law is clear on this thing, you have the right to use deadly force against another person if you believe your life or the life of another is in immediate jeopardy. As investigators continued to secure the scene at byrons house, the Sheriffs Office was calling another family. Kimberly brady had been frantically trying to find her son nick and niece haile. Now investigators knew what had happened to them. They drove out to speak with kimberly, and they brought a chaplain. As soon as i saw them turn the corner, something i knew he was gone. I didnt know how or why. Then all of a sudden i remember the door opened and the chaplain came out. All i said is, no. I dont remember if i said anything else. Hes like, your son is dead. Nick and haile were both dead. Kimberly fell to her knees, and then the chaplain told her, it was no accident. Hes like, your son was shot. And i was like and then, i mean, shot . That just wasnt doesnt fit . I just remember feeling, i said what do you mean shot to death, when i could get something out. And they said, well, he was shot three times. I was like, shot, what do you mean shot three times . And that was the i couldnt function. I couldnt really hear after that. Were you there, rachel, during that . I walked in, and my dad said that somebody somebody shot nickel baby and i went outside and i sat in the snow. I just buried my head into my hands and i started to cry. And then he tapped me on the shoulder and told me, hailes gone, too. Thats your brother and your best friend. Do you remember what was racing through your head, rachel . Basically, why . I guess we all just couldnt believe it was both at one time so suddenly. Even harder to absorb, how and where nick and haile were shot. They were the intruders byron smith killed. It was all very unbelievable. So what happened in that basement on elm street . The answer to that would lead to a heated debate. How far is too far when it comes to defending your home . When do you cross the line between victim and criminal . Coming up, what had nick and haile been up to . A grainy image captures a clue. Is that nick . You see him on different cameras, different angles Walking Around the house. Is that haile . Deputies are about to learn something puzzling. Why in the world are we only hearing about the shooting of two people a day later . When dateline continues. [ birds chirping ] [ inhales, exhales ] [ announcer ] cigarettes are not just dangerous when theyre smoked. [ rat squeaking ] theyre dangerous long after. Cigarette butts are toxic. They release chemicals that poison our water. And harm wildlife. And millions. Are polluting our environment. [ sniffing ] [ seagulls squawking ] the story of what happened on elm street spread quickly around little falls, minnesota. That two teenagers had broken into byron smiths house, leaving the terrified homeowner no choice but to shoot them in selfdefense. His friends and neighbors, john and cathy lang, had no trouble believing it. What was scary, it was very personal to him, because they were really attacking his home. But the family of those intruders, they were in shock. I didnt believe it. I thought it was completely not right or untrue. Teenage cousins nick brady and haile kifer had gone missing the day before, thanksgiving. Now, as she learned the circumstances of her sons death, nicks mother had so many questions. How do you reconcile in your head, your beautiful boy, who loves the outdoors, and what theyre telling you, that he broke into somebodys house . I just couldnt imagine it. It just was so not him. You just couldnt reconcile . Yeah, i had a lot of trouble. Kimberly had never heard the name byron smith. But rachel had. I knew that my brother had worked for him in the summer, but i didnt know him at all. Nick had once done yard work at byron smiths house. Now the sheriff had evidence of what he was doing there again. Byron had set up surveillance cameras at his home, frightened after a string of breakins. Those cameras prove there was no mistake about a breakin. Just after 12 30, the hooded figure is nick. He looks through several windows. As if checking to see if someones home. He clutches his hood closely. Concealing his face. Jeremy is an investigative sergeant with the Morrison CountySheriffs Department. You could see that there had been what appeared to be a little bit of casing done on Nicholas Bradys part. He even heads towards one of the cameras and tries to dismantle it. Then he walks out of camera range, shatters a window and enters the house. Minutes later the camera shows another hooded figure. This one carrying a purse and a cell phone. Its haile. On the video, it shows that the female had come walking up to the yard up towards the house. All on tape, clear as daylight. But why . What were nick and haile up to that day . They both went to my school at one time. Dylan lang is the son of byrons friends, john and cathy. In little falls, you have the regular high school crowds like the jocks and the goth kids. Then you have a group that is misguided. Dylan didnt know haile well but says at school, nick was no angel. What did you know about those two teenagers . I knew that nick was aggressive. He would be the kid who would push you up against the locker and kind of a bully . Right. He was a bully. As it turned out, a thief. After the shootings, authorities determined that nick had been behind one of those previous burglaries at byrons house. Just a month earlier, he and a friend broke through this door and stole thousands of dollars in cash and priceless family heirlooms. And more disturbingly, two guns. They took things that were really important to him personally. Yes. And when they took the guns, he thought he was going to get shot by his own guns. He was extremely afraid. To the sergeant, it all looked like a classic case of trouble making kids crossing a line into dangerous criminal behavior. You have two teenagers that seemed to be running kind of rampant. You can obviously see that they had a change in their lives. In fact, when investigators located nicks car, parked on a secluded road near byron smiths home, they found items stolen from another house. Maybe it was the motivation of money and having material items. Maybe it was the motivation of having friends and wanting to please friends. The evidence appeared to be there, captured on that video, nick and haile had broken in and byron smith seemed to have every reason to be afraid. The impression that he kind of left on me was that he was living in fear. He was not sleeping. It was obviously bothering him physically and emotionally. At first, even nicks mom, while she didnt want to believe much of what she was learning about her son, tried to imagine herself in byrons shoes. I dont believe that breaking and entering is right and i wouldnt have expected it out of my son. It looked like a tragedy all around. Two intruders and a fearful homeowner with no choice but to shoot them. We know you have a right to protect your home and yourself. But a quick survey told sheriff wetzel that the teenagers were unarmed. As with any shooting, it would require more investigation. It would be ordinary with two people dead in a home that nobody is leaving until we figure out what happened. Beginning with one question a pretty big one. Why in the world are we only hearing about the shooting of two people in a house a day later . It turns out the sergeant and other deputies had rushed to byron smiths house friday afternoon, only to learn that the breakin and shootings happened thursday, on thanksgiving day. I asked him, why didnt you call Law Enforcement . He tells me, i didnt want to bother you guys on thanksgiving day. That struck the sheriff as extremely odd. Nobody worries about wrecking our thanksgiving. They dont worry about wrecking our day. So the intruders had been dead for 24 hours when byron called a neighbor for help and asked him to call the Sheriffs Office. When you found out byron smith waited 24 hours my mind was then, why . If you were so scared, why werent you on the phone . I mean, those kids have families, too, waiting. And then for him to say he didnt want to bother anybody on thanksgiving. Really . It became clearer and clearer and clearer there were some things that were strange about this case. Investigators were about to learn a lot more about that shooting in the house on elm street and what happened next would tear this town apart. Coming up i was no longer willing to live in fear. Byron smiths story, was it all adding up . You would think after a horrific event, you would be very emotional, maybe crying. I didnt notice any of that. Nick brady and haile kifer had broken into byron smiths house. The frightened homeowner said he had shot them in a moment of selfdefense. But investigators had questions for byron. So sergeant luberts escorted him down to headquarters right away. That friday. Can you tell me your full name . Byron david smith. I just wanted his story. I wanted to find out the rest of the facts that happened at the house. Whoever it was that was breaking into my home had been doing it for so long, that i was no longer willing to live in fear. Byron explained how he had been terrified ever since that breakin a month earlier, when two of his guns were stolen. These are people who have stolen my guns. I figure theyre willing to use those if they steal guns. Byron wasnt home during the other breakins. But this time he was, as seen on this Home Security camera, he said he moved his truck a few blocks away that morning to clean his garage. The teens must have thought he wasnt there. I needed to clean out the garage and i wanted it out of the way for a while. Byron told him how he was in the basement when he heard the first intruder break in upstairs and head toward him. You heard footsteps coming down the stairs, is that correct. Yes, and then i saw his feet and then i saw his legs. Then i saw his hips, i shot. It was nick. Byron shot him three times. I was reacting. Okay. What were you reacting to is what im asking . The threat. The previous losses. I spent 20 years overseas. A couple years in bangkok, several years in cairo. 20 years overseas, not one problem. And i retire to my peaceful hometown. While byrons voice broke a few times during his account, the sergeant was surprised how calm and matter of fact he was for most of the interview. You would think after such a horrific event, shooting and killing two people that broke into your house that you would be very emotional, maybe crying at times. I didnt notice any of that from byron smith. He just maintained his composure, which was rather odd. Much stranger still is byrons account of what happened a few minutes after he shot nick. Haile entered the house and byron fired again. It jammed. The trigger clicked and she laughed at me. I just pulled out the. 22 and shot her. If you try to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again. Was haile really laughing . As he shot her . To the sergeant, it seemed like a bizarre detail. Then byron told them this. I thought she was dead and it turned out she wasnt. 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 case of selfdefense. My question, byron, is why did you shoot again . She didnt have a weapon in her hand. She wasnt i dont know if she had a weapon in her hand until later. Okay. Wasnt looking at her hands. She was laying there, hurt. Did she she wasnt