Prosecutors claim that the Los Angeles man found guilty this week of stabbing a UCLA graduate student to death in 2022 was a predator who was watching for a lone lady working at a shop.
The accusations were presented during Shawn Laval Smith’s trial. On Tuesday, Smith was found guilty of stabbing student Brianna Kupfer, 24, 46 times with a knife inside the Los Angeles furniture business where she worked, and then abandoning her to die on her own.
Smith’s conviction was made public by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday.
“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 release.
“A bright and talented 24-year-old UCLA student, Brianna was dedicated to her studies in architectural design, with her whole future ahead of her,” Gascón added. “Our hearts are with Brianna’s family, who have shown incredible strength and resilience throughout this harrowing ordeal.”
The district attorney’s office said that Smith, 34, was found guilty of one count of murder and one count of lying in wait, along with the use of a deadly and dangerous weapon under unusual circumstances.
Jan. 13, 2022, saw the mid-afternoon murder at the Croft House boutique furniture business, where Kupfer was working by herself. KTLA 5 in the area claims that Smith left an audio recorder at the crime scene.
According to local ABC 7, Smith left behind an audio recorder that contained a previous tape from many weeks prior, in which he was heard vehemently disparaging women.
According to Westside Current, Fox 11 Los Angeles, and local ABC 7, deputy district attorney Habib Balian claimed in his closing arguments last week that the tapes demonstrated Smith “hated women” and was planning a woman’s murder.
The blade of another knife found at the site, which was identified as having been used in the murder, was bent. According to the Westside Current, Smith’s DNA was discovered on the audio recorder, the knife, and the sheath that were all left at the crime site. According to the site, Kupfer’s body was found inside the store by a customer who had come in with her boyfriend. Kupfer was declared deceased.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Kupfer had texted a friend just before the incident, stating that she was feeling uneasy about a man inside the business. The friend did not reply right away since they did not see the text in time.
According to accounts, the jury returned a guilty verdict for Smith in less than one hour, and Kupfer’s parents made an emotional speech outside the courtroom following the verdict.
According to Fox 11 Los Angeles, the victim’s mother Lori Kupfer sobbed as she told reporters, “Justice will never be served because our daughter’s not alive.”
According to the outlet, Smith will now have a sentencing hearing in October and might receive a life sentence without the chance of release.
