A Michigan father who admitted to shooting three of his children — killing one and leaving two with life-changing injuries — has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jeffery Smerer, 45, from Port Huron, received the sentence on Monday over the September 11, 2025 shootings that left his 17-year-old son Kayleb dead. His 13-year-old son Bentley and 12-year-old daughter Kinzley survived the gun assault but were left with seriously life-changing injuries.
“Jeffery Smerer sentenced to life without parole for killing his 17-year-old son and shooting two other children.”
Smerer pleaded guilty in May to one count of open murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, two counts of first-degree child abuse and five counts of felony firearm use. The plea meant the case never went to trial. The judge said avoiding what would have been a long and deeply emotional trial had spared the surviving victims from having to relive every detail in court, adding that the proceedings would almost certainly have ended with exactly the same result.
Even without a trial, Monday’s sentencing hearing heard emotional statements from the children who survived the attack. They described how an ordinary school morning suddenly became a tragedy that shattered their family forever.
The family’s eldest son, who was 19 at the time, said that Kayleb had simply been waiting to leave for school. He told the court his younger brother was sitting on the sofa with his backpack on, watching TikTok, when Smerer walked over, pointed a gun at him and fired. He described Kayleb as his father’s ‘favorite’ child. Reports from the courtroom said Smerer wept while listening to the statement.
Bentley also spoke directly to his father about what happened that morning. He recalled being greeted before the shooting began. ‘I didn’t know a “good morning” was shooting me in the face,’ he told the court. Turning to Smerer, he added: ‘You can cry all you want, won’t change a thing. You crippled my sister, you killed my brother, your own children that you loved your entire life, just to kill. You deserve everything coming to you.’
Police said Smerer later admitted that he had planned to kill Kayleb, Bentley and Kinzley before taking his own life because he feared he ‘might be going to jail’. Authorities said he had been due to be sentenced later that same day over a misdemeanour indecent exposure conviction. The case stemmed from allegations that he exposed himself to a child who attended a daycare run by his family back in 2020.
Investigators said Smerer first injured himself but survived before using a .380 handgun to shoot the three children. He later claimed that he tried to kill himself but the pistol ‘jammed’. His wife Brandi and the couple’s eldest son, who were both at home, managed to disarm him. All three injured children were rushed to hospital, where Kayleb later died. During an earlier hearing, a detective said Smerer told police that Bentley had been under a blanket using his phone when he fired. According to the detective, Smerer said he aimed towards the glow coming from the screen.