LITTLE FALLS, Minn. - The burning question surrounding the Byron Smith murder trial was answered Monday, when his defense announced that Smith will not testify in his own defense.
Mere hours later, the defense rested its case.
Smith's lead defense attorney Steve Meshbesher told KARE 11 that Smith was willing to testify but that he advised him not to.
"He in fact 'did' testify -- the transcripts, the interviews -- it was unnecessary," Meshbesher said of the decision not to have Smith take the stand. "It had no relevant value."
Meshbesher says he will address the recording Smith made of the fatal shootings and the comments Smith made that some find offensive.
Smith is accused of murdering teenage cousins Nick Brady and Haile Kifer after the two broke into his home on Thanksgiving Day 2012.His attorneys say Smith was living in fear after a series of burglaries at his home. Prosecutors say Smith repeatedly shot the teens after the threat had been eliminated.
The defense did resume its case Monday morning by calling a series of character witnesses, including Smith's brother Bruce, who testified that the defendant is "highly regarded by everyone that's known our family." Two of the defendant's neighbors, 16-year-old Dylan Lange and his mother, Kathleen Lange, testified that they know Smith to be an honest man.
The 65-year-old defendant has lived with the Lange family since the fatal shootings.
A private investigator hired by the defense was recalled to the stand, and told jurors that because the staircase to Smith's basement partially obstructs the view of any person descending stairs, the defendant would not have known if the teens were carrying weapons.
The judge gave jurors final instructions Monday afternoon, with closing arguments set for Tuesday morning. Jurors will be sequestered while they deliberate.
When asked by a reporter if he liked his case, Meshbesher bristled.
"There is two dead people in this case, and I don't like that, that's a sad event," Meshbesher said. "But Byron Smith has plead not guilty, because he is not guilty."
