Police said Jeffery Smerer described each step before admitting the shootings in court.
PORT HURON, Mich. — A father’s own account of a school-morning shooting became the backbone of a St. Clair County case that ended with guilty pleas to murder, assault, child abuse and firearm charges.
Jeffery Smerer, 45, pleaded guilty May 26 in the Sept. 11, 2025, attack that killed 17-year-old Kayleb Smerer and wounded two younger siblings. The plea came after police described a timeline that started with an alarm at about 6 a.m., moved through the children’s bedroom and living room, and ended with Smerer injured and disarmed inside the family apartment.
Investigators said Smerer woke that morning knowing he was due in court for sentencing in a separate indecent exposure case. Detective Grafton Sharp testified that Smerer told police he retrieved a .380 handgun from a gun safe kept under his bed. He then went to the bedroom shared by Bentley Smerer and Kinzley Smerer. Bentley was 13 and Kinzley was 12 at the time. Sharp said Smerer greeted the children with “good morning,” then stepped into a family bathroom.
The bathroom moment became a key detail in court because police said it showed Smerer had time to stop. Sharp testified that Smerer looked in the mirror and talked to himself, asking whether he was really going to carry out the shootings. He then walked back into the children’s room. According to Sharp, Smerer told investigators that Bentley was under a blanket and using a cellphone, so he aimed toward the phone’s glow. Kinzley was getting up when Smerer fired toward her throat, the detective said.
The next step in the timeline led to the living room, where Kayleb was on a couch. Police said Smerer shot the teenager in the head. First responders later took all three children to a hospital. Kayleb died from his injuries. Bentley and Kinzley survived with critical wounds. Family descriptions of their injuries later included severe facial fractures for Bentley and a spinal injury for Kinzley. The exact sequence of medical treatment has not been fully detailed in open court, but the injuries became part of the child abuse and assault charges.
Smerer also described what police called a failed suicide attempt. Investigators said he tried to use the gun on himself, but it jammed. He then cut his wrist and took medication that had been kept in the master bedroom. His wife and adult son responded to the gunfire and helped disarm him. Police arrived at Glenview Gardens Apartments, near Kraft Road and 24th Avenue, and the case quickly moved from emergency response to homicide investigation. Authorities later said Smerer had planned the attack for about a week.
In court, the same timeline was reduced to admissions. Defense attorney David Kelley asked whether Smerer intended to shoot the children in the home. “Yes,” Smerer said. Asked whether he also intended to shoot himself, Smerer hesitated, became emotional and said yes. Judge Michael West warned him that pleading guilty without any agreement from prosecutors meant a likely life prison sentence. Smerer said he understood and continued with the plea. No charges were dismissed or lowered.
The list of charges reflects each part of the attack. Smerer pleaded guilty to one count of open murder in Kayleb’s death, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder for the shootings of Bentley and Kinzley, two counts of first-degree child abuse and five counts of felony firearm. The felony firearm counts attach to the use of a gun during the other crimes and can add mandatory prison time. Prosecutors said the plea leaves the full punishment question for sentencing.
The separate court case that was scheduled for the same day added another marker to the timeline. Police said Smerer told investigators he was stressed about being sentenced for indecent exposure. That case involved exposing himself to a child connected to a daycare over a period tied to earlier years. He was later sentenced to one year in jail and ordered to register as a sex offender. Investigators have not said that the three children who were shot had any role in that earlier case. The children were inside their home preparing for an ordinary morning when the shooting began.
Neighbors and relatives later described the family’s shock and the children’s injuries as the court case moved forward. Community support focused on Kayleb’s funeral costs and medical care for Bentley and Kinzley. In the courtroom, however, the next step is legal rather than investigative. Smerer’s guilty plea removed the need for a trial, and the judge must now impose sentence under the charges that remain.
Currently, Smerer is scheduled to be sentenced June 29 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. The hearing will decide how the life-eligible murder count, assault counts, child abuse counts and firearm penalties are ordered. He remains in custody until that hearing.
Author note: Last updated June 22, 2026.