PORT HURON, Mich. — A Michigan father is facing murder charges after prosecutors say he fatally shot his 17-year-old son and critically wounded two of his younger children just hours before a scheduled court sentencing for an indecent exposure case.
Authorities allege Jeffrey Smerer, 44, carried out the September 11 attack after planning it for a week. Police testified during a preliminary hearing Tuesday that Smerer admitted he intended to kill his three children; Kayleb, 17; Bentley, 13; and Kinzley, 12 before taking his own life.
Detective Grafton Sharp of the Port Huron Police Department told the court that Smerer said he was “stressed due to the sentencing on his court case” and feared going to jail. “He indicated the plan was to take Kinzley, Bentley, and Kayleb with him and then shoot himself,” Sharp testified.
According to police, Smerer retrieved a .380 pistol from a gun safe beneath his bed that morning. He reportedly entered the children’s room, told them “good morning,” then stepped into a bathroom where he questioned himself in the mirror before opening fire. Bentley was shot while under a blanket, Kinzley was struck in the throat as she was getting up, and Kayleb was later targeted in the living room, with Smerer allegedly aiming at his head.
Prosecutors said Smerer then tried to kill himself but the firearm jammed. He attempted suicide by cutting his wrist and ingesting medication, but survived after being disarmed by his wife and 19-year-old son, who were home at the time.
Kayleb died at the scene. Bentley suffered severe facial fractures, while Kinzley was left paralyzed from the neck down after a bullet lodged in her spine. She has also undergone facial reconstruction surgery.
Family members described Smerer as a devoted father struggling with mental health issues. “Jeff was a good father,” his brother-in-law, Lank Green, told WXYZ. “He did everything for the family. He searched out medical help, mental help, but didn’t get what he needed.”
Smerer had pleaded guilty earlier this year to an indecent exposure charge stemming from 2020. Relatives have declined to discuss the case publicly. On Tuesday, a judge denied Smerer bond and ordered him to have no contact with his surviving children as the case proceeds.
