Little Falls man who killed two teens in his home sues former investigator over book

The man convicted of murdering two teenage intruders at his central Minnesota home on Thanksgiving 2012 is suing a former investigator who wrote a book about the crime.

Byron D. Smith, 77, filed a defamation civil case in Morrison County District Court last month against author Jeremy Luberts and St. Paul-based Beaver’s Pond Press.

The lawsuit says the 2023 book “Murder on Elm Street: A True-Life Crime Story” contains “false statements, misrepresentations, and omissions that defame [Smith] and mislead readers.”

Smith is asking for a permanent injunction stopping further publication or distribution of the book, as well as “damages in an amount to be determined at trial.”

On Wednesday, a judge set the first court date for Nov. 5.

Luberts, 51, retired from the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office three years ago. He was the lead investigator on the case, in which Smith killed 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady after they broke into Smith’s Little Falls home through a window in November 2012.

The case drew national attention amid debate over how far homeowners can go to defend themselves and their property.

A spokesperson for the publisher said Wednesday that Beaver’s Pond Press “has deep confidence in the integrity of the book, this author, and our work” but declined to comment further on the lawsuit.

In the trial, prosecutors argued that Smith sat armed and waiting in his basement and executed Kifer and Brady, who were unarmed, as they came down the stairs about 10 minutes apart, continuing to fire after they no longer posed a threat.

Smith claimed he was defending himself and was fearful the intruders might be armed because he had guns stolen in earlier burglaries at his home.

In 2014, Smith was found guilty of four counts of murder and immediately sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. In March 2021, he was denied his final appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Smith, who is representing himself in the civil case, says in the lawsuit that Luberts’ book speculates on his state of mind without factual basis, includes inaccuracies in timelines and details like the layout of his house, and mischaracterizes his conduct as an “ambush.”

“Another gross exaggeration is the author’s comparison of Mr. Smith to ‘Freddy Krueger’ [which] is inept because Krueger attacked others where they were,” the suit states, “not locked in his own home, for his own safety like Mr. Smith was at the time.”

Neighbor Kathy Lange, who has power of attorney for Smith, wrote a book about the shooting in 2020 titled, “Imprisoned by Fear: A True, Tragic Story of Teens, Drugs, Burglaries and a Homeowner’s Fear of Death by His Own Guns.”

“Byron was able to get his side of the story out through his friend,” Luberts said, noting he feels Lange’s book includes disparaging comments about him. “How ironic that they think it’s not OK that I put my personal truth out on this.”

Luberts said he was harassed by Smith’s supporters, both locally and from across the nation — including numerous phone calls to his home — which he thinks contributed to his health problems and the end of his marriage. He said Tuesday he thinks the lawsuit is just another form of harassment.