Man who killed teens must pay $21K to their families

Byron Smith
Byron Smith, center, comes out of a Morrison County courtroom in Little Falls, Minn., Monday, April 21, 2014, during a break in his trial.
Elizabeth Flores / The Star Tribune via AP file

A Minnesota man convicted of killing two unarmed teenagers who broke into his home in 2012 has been ordered to pay more than $21,000 in restitution to the victims' families.

Byron Smith, 66, was convicted in April of first-degree premeditated murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Nick Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer. Smith was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He is appealing.

Morrison County District Judge Douglas Anderson ruled Tuesday that Smith must pay more than $9,570 to Brady's family and more than $11,840 to Kifer's family.

The families asked for more to cover funeral expenses, but Anderson says the state failed to show they incurred expenses for headstones, and the families can access the roughly $1,200 that's in a fund designed to help pay for funeral costs.

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