ever since i heard it, it's been replaying in my head over and over. >> it was all very unbelievable. >> it happenn thanksgiving. two teenagers missing. >> i just buried my head into my hands and i started to cry. >> where they were and what they did would launch a terrifying case. >> why did this have to happen here? >> with a deadly end. >> nobody's leaving until we figure out what happened.

>> a man at home, alone, and afraid. what would you do if you felt in danger? >> they were really attacking his home. >> you have a right to protect your home and yourself. >> he planned, he prepared and was determined to kill. >> the most chilling detail of all. what you'll hear on tape. no one would be the same. >> i think that's probably one of the hardest parts about all of it. >> i'm 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 past 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 can't 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. >> we've had a lot of things happen in trial. but i've never had evidence such as this. >> this might be more than what we're 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. >> 18-year-old rachel brady was spending the holiday with her 17-year-old brother nick and their 18-year-old 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 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 sense he was a little boy, nickel baby. nobody else called him that, just the family? >> his good friends would call him it after they heard me could it. he would get so mad. >> growing up, nick was into sports and loved the outdoors. so did his cousin, haile. >> she was vivacious, bubbly and funny. >> she was very athletic in high school. she was in gymnastics and

softball and track. >> the close nit cousins spent the wednesday before thanksgiving together. they would drive around town in the red mitsubishi. 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 friend's apartment. on thanksgiving morning, nick and haile left around 11:00 a.m. >> they said they were going to go to my mom and dad's house. >> the plan was to meet later at grandma's 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. >> 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 i'm thinking, okay, the weather. maybe he got stranded somewhere. i was hoping that he was just staying overnight somewhere. >> were you worried about a car accident? >> i was. >> nick wasn't experienced driving in the snow. the family spent thanksgiving night on edge. 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 wasn't him either, we started to get extremely worried. >> we drove up and down the back roads. up and down the highways. anywhere i could think of. >> hotels, 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. >> i started crying. i said, 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 wasn't 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 something's wrong. >> when we return, someone else had also met with trouble that thanksgiving day, the deadly kind. .

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the friday after thanksgiving, 2012, kimberly brady was worried sick that her sop nick and niece haile never showed up for thanksgiving dinner. they had been missing for more than 24 hours. did you have a mother's

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 into the sheriff's department and filled out missing persons reports for both of them. >> as authorities processed those reports, three other sheriff's 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 64-year-old 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 byron's 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. it's amazing. >> a worldly guy. >> very much so. a great conversationalist, and fun to talk with. >> but recently, byron wasn't 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, had become afraid. >> he was acting real quiet, real scared. >> and then that crime scene van showed up outside byron's home and cathy was sure her friend was in trouble. >> just worry and panic. like something's 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 break-in. >> if you break into somebody's home, you better not have an expectation you're going to walk out alive, because the law permits them to shoot you. >> michel wetzel is the sheriff. he 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 byron's house, the sheriff's 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 didn't 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 don't remember if i said anything else. he's 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. >> he's like, your son was shot. and then, i mean, shot? that just wasn't -- >> doesn't 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 couldn't function. i couldn't 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, haile's gone, too. >> that's your brother and your best friend. do you remember what was racing through your head, rachel? >> basically why? i guess we all just couldn't 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 depending 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. . [ dog barks ] ♪ [ male announcer ] imagine the cars we drive... being able to see so clearly... to respond so intelligently and so quickly, they can help protect us from a world of unseen danger. it's the stuff of science fiction... minus the fiction. and it is mercedes-benz... today. see your authorized dealer for exceptional offers

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like 10% off all in-stock composite decking heat shields are compromised. weare those thrusters burning? that's a negative. what's that alarm? fuel cell two is down. i'm going to have to guide her in manually. this is very exciting. but i'm at my stop. come again? i'm watching this on the train. it's so hard to leave. good luck with everything. with the u-verse tv app, the u-verse revolves around you the u-verse revolves around you the story of what happened on elm street spread quickly around little falls, minnesota. that two teenagers had broken into byron smith's house,

leaving the terrified homeowner no choice but to shoot them in self-defense. 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 didn't 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 son's death, nick's mother had so many questions. how do you reconcile in your head, your beautiful boy, who loves the outdoors, and what they're telling you, that he broke into somebody's house? >> i just couldn't imagine it. it just was so not him. 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 didn't know him at all. >> nick had once done yard work at byron smith's 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 break-ins. those cameras prove there was no mistake about a break-in. just after 12:30, the hooded figure is nick. he looks through several windows. he clutches his hood closely. jeremy is an investigative sergeant. >> you could see that there had been what appeared to be a little bit of casing done on nicholas brady's 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 walks into the house.

minutes later, another figure. it's 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 byron's 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 didn't 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 byron's house. just a month earlier, he hand 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. >> 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 nick's car, parked on a secluded road near byron smith's 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 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 nick's mom, while she didn't want to believe much of what she was learning about her son, tried to imagine herself in byron's shoes. >> i don't believe that breaking and entering is right and i wouldn't 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 was 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 -- >> why in the world are we only hearing about the shooting of two people in a house a day lateer? >> it turns out deputies had rushed to byron smith's house friday afternoon, only to learn that the break-in and shootings happened thursday, on thanksgiving day. >> i asked him, why didn't you call law enforcement? he tells me, i didn't want to bother you guys on thanksgiving day. >> that struck the sheriff as extremely odd. >> nobody worries about wrecking our thanksgiving. they don't 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 sheriff's office. when you found out byron smith waited 24 hours -- >> my mind was then, why? if you were so scared, why weren't you on the phone? i mean, those kids have families, too, waiting.

>> and then for him to say he didn't want to bother anybody on thanksgiving. >> 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 smith's story, was it all adding up? >> you would think after a horrific event, you would be very emotional, maybe cryi amazing!

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newwith two unique ingredients. to mix in however your heart desires. go on. spoon me. mixim - from the ehrmann family. it's love, your way. nick brady and haile kifer had broken into byron smith's house. the frightened home opener said he had shot them in a moment of self-defense. but investigators had questions for byron. so sergeant luberts escorted him down to headquarters right away. >> 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 break-in a month earlier, when two of his guns were stolen. >> these are people who have stolen by guns. i figure they're willing to use those if they steal guns. >> byron wasn't home during the other break-ins. 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 wasn't 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. >> i heard footsteps coming down the stairs and then i saw his feet and then 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 i'm 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 byron's 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 didn't notice any of that from byron smith. he just maintained his come proe pocher, which was rather odd. >> much stranger still is byron's account of what happened

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? to the sergeant, it seemed like a bizarre detail. then byron told them this. >> i thought she was dead and it 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 case of self-defense. >> 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. 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.

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. >> i think byron has a lot of support in this area. >> 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. >> when brent and i got involved in it, the e-mails started, the phone calls, castigating us for taking this. after all, doesn't a homeowner 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 you hold that same view. >> after looking at all the

evidence, the prosecutors believed there was a strong case. >> the moment nick broke the window and entered into that house, didn't byron smith then have the right to defend himself? >> yes. yes, he did. but that's not what he did. he went way, way beyond defending himself. >> that grand jury in minnesota agreed. in april of 2013, five months after the shootings, byron smith was indicted on two counts of first degree murder. now there would be a trial in the case everyone in town was talking about with revelations from both sides. coming up -- >> 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. >> murder or self-defense? >> why did he wait so long before calling authorities? >> fear. >> the explosive debate heads into court, when "dateline" continues. ♪

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and it looks like he's size deck craving italian.ete resurfacers there are lots of fiat cars to choose from, like the four-door 500l... [godzilla choking] which is surprisingly big. byron smith's first degree murder trial got under way this april. 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 multiple shots, down on the ground, right away it jumps out at you hay, this is premeditated murder. >> on the other bank were those who viewed smith with every right to defend himself and his home against intruders. >> they weren't invited for thanksgiving dinner. they didn't come through the door. >> but nick's mother was determined even through her own grief not to make up her mind until she heard all the facts. >> i kept an open mind, because if he was fearful for his life, i couldn't fault him for defending himself. i waited until i heard all the evidence. >> the evidence said byron smith's defense attorney would show his client had done nothing wrong. >> this is a case about big misunderstanding. this is about byron smith being

accused of a crime he did not commit. >> did you believe that byron smith was justified in shooting nick brady and haile kifer? >> yes. it's not something he wanted to do. but he didn't ask them to burglarize his home in a violent way on thanksgiving. they chose to do that. and he reacted. >> so the defense came to court confident a jury would see it that way. in minnesota, as i understand it, you have the right to protect your life. you have the right to protect your home, your property, as long as it's reasonable. >> if somebody breaks into your home and commits a felony offense in your home, you can kill that threat. >> he said that everything byron did that thanksgiving day and the next was evidence that he was truly terrified inside his 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 backyard, the front yard, the stairway, the door. he's just in utter fear and he goes in a closet and hides in his own house until the fear subsides. >> as for smith's calm demeanor and the matter of fact way which he described the killings -- >> i just pulled out the .22 and shot her. >> the defense said he was just trying to help the authorities any way he could. >> on the exterior, he appears to be calm, but he's talking about how frightened he is internally. he's trying to explain to the place 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? >> no ever. awesome, amazing, and that's epic, bro, we've forgotten just how good good is. good is setting a personal best before going for a world record. good is swinging to get on base before swinging for a home run. [ crowd cheering ] good is choosing not to overshoot the moon,

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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 april work. do you remember when you first listened to it? >> i do. and it knock eed 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." we'll see you next friday at 8:00, 7:00 central for the start of our two-hour fridays. all summer long.

and i'll see you tomorrow on "today." i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, good night. . . - previously grimm... - mom, dad, this is my fiancee, rosalee. - [growls] [both snarl] - a fuchsbau. are you out of your mind? - you think my grandma's dress fits? - absolutely. - i can't be your best man. it's just too dangerous. and what if one of them woged, saw that i'm a grimm? - you wear sunglasses. there you go. problem solved. - why don't you tell me how the royals got a federal agent to work for them. - you're a dead man, and you don't even know it. [grunts] you wouldn't mind if i took care of renard, would you? - i don't mind at all. - where is she? where's my daughter? - i had no choice. - i can't live without my baby. - there is one thing i'd like you to do first. - anything. - you remember how the grimm took your powers away? - yes. - it's time to return the favor. - by the power vested in me by the great state of oregon,