10-minute murder contains depictions of violence that some listeners may find disturbing. Discretion is advised. I'm Hello and welcome to 10 minute murder, the podcast for people with stuff to do.

And all the episodes are brief and bingeable.

I don't think bingeable is a real word, but we can pretend like it is.

By the way, big announcement of what's coming soon to 10-minute murder at the end of this episode.

So stick around to the very end to hear what it is.

What exactly constitutes a justifiable use of firearms is a debate you'll never catch me in.

There's so many strong feelings on both sides. And being a true crime connoisseur,

giving it a fancy name makes it seem less creepy. Right? Well, in researching countless

true crime cases, I don't often get completely caught off guard by what people are capable of

doing to one another. The case we're talking about today, though, it's bonkers.

Byron Smith and the Home Invasion Homicide.

While many of us were enjoying Thanksgiving Day in 2012 with our friends and family,

Byron Smith was in his basement, hidden, and armed. A retired security engineering officer,

lived alone in his Minnesota home, having never married, he spent much of his time reading

and collecting things. Some of those things started to come up missing.

Byron was being burglarized, at least half a dozen times leading up to the day that found

him crouched in his basement.

He had enough of the break-ins.

He installed security cameras.

He started constantly wearing a pistol on a holster on his side.

He even stashed water and granola bars in the basement, just in case,

in case of what I don't know, but just in case.

...