Prosecutors say a Los Angeles man convicted this week of stabbing a UCLA graduate student to death in 2022 was a predator looking for a lady working alone in a shop.
The charges were made during Shawn Laval Smith’s trial, in which he was found guilty on Tuesday of slashing 24-year-old student Brianna Kupfer 46 times with a knife inside a Los Angeles furniture business where the victim worked and leaving her to die alone. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Smith’s conviction. “Brianna Kupfer was a promising young woman whose life was tragically taken far too soon,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said in a press statement.
“A highly intelligent and talented 24-year-old UCLA student, Brianna was dedicated to her studies in architectural design, with her whole career ahead of her,” according to Gascón. “Our hearts are with Brianna’s family, who have shown incredible strength and resilience throughout this harrowing ordeal.”
Smith, 34, was convicted of one count of murder, a special circumstance charge of lying in wait, and the use of a deadly and dangerous weapon, according to the district attorney’s office. The murder occurred mid-afternoon on January 13, 2022, at the Croft House boutique furniture business, where Kupfer worked alone. According to local station KTLA 5, Smith left an audio recorder at the crime scene.
According to Westside Current, Fox 11 Los Angeles, and local ABC 7, Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian stated during his closing arguments this week that the tapes indicated Smith “hated women” and was on a mission to kill a lady. A knife found at the site and determined to have been used in the murder had a bent blade. According to the Westside Current, Smith’s DNA was detected on the knife, its sheath, and the audio recorder, all of which were left at the crime scene. According to the publication, Kupfer was pronounced dead inside the store after a client and her boyfriend discovered her body.
According to accounts, the jury found Smith guilty in less than an hour, and Kupfer’s parents made an impassioned speech outside the courtroom following. “Justice will never be served because our daughter is not alive,” the victim’s mother Lori Kupfer sobbed to reporters, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles. According to the outlet, Smith will now face a sentence hearing in October, where he could face life in jail without the prospect of release.
