Minnesota Man Serving Life Sentence in Home Invasion Killing Denied New Trial

A man who says it was his “civic duty” to kill two teens that broke into his Little Falls house, has lost his appeal for a new trial.

66-year-old Byron Smith is serving a life sentence for killing 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady on Thanksgiving Day in 2012.

In his appeal, Smith says he wasn’t able to give a full defense and witnesses weren’t allowed to testify.

Prosecutors say it was his own actions that convicted him because he made audio recordings of the moments he fatally shot the teens.