Prosecutors say a Los Angeles man convicted this week in the 2022 stabbing death of a UCLA grad student was a predator on the lookout for a woman working alone in a store.
The allegations played out in the trial against Shawn Laval Smith, who was convicted Tuesday for stabbing 24-year-old student Brianna Kupfer with a knife 46 times inside a Los Angeles furniture store where the victim worked and leaving her to die alone.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Smith’s conviction 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.”
Smith, 34, was found guilty of one count of murder and a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait, as well as the use of a deadly and dangerous weapon, the district attorney’s office announced.
The mid-afternoon murder happened Jan. 13, 2022, at the Croft House boutique furniture store where Kupfer was working alone. Smith reportedly left an audio recorder at the scene of the crime, according to local KTLA 5.
The audio recorder Smith left behind included another recording from weeks earlier in which Smith could be heard angrily ranting about women, local ABC 7 reported.
More at https://people.com/brianna-kupfer-murder-shawn-laval-smith-convicted-8710245
