Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Brutal Killing at Hancock Park Furniture
A man was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday for the stabbing death of 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer, who was killed while working at a furniture store in Hancock Park nearly three years ago.
Shawn Laval Smith, 34, was found guilty of the January 13, 2022, killing in a crime that prosecutors concluded came from a hatred of women. According to Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian, Smith had approached several women at businesses in the central Los Angeles area before entering the store where Kupfer worked.
Smith was convicted after the jury deliberated for slightly over an hour. The sanity phase of the trial is scheduled for October 2, 2024. Smith ultimately stabbed Kupfer 46 times, authorities said.
The jury, after just over an hour of deliberation, found Smith guilty of first-degree murder, along with special allegations of murder while lying in wait and the use of a deadly weapon, a knife, during the attack.
After the trial, Kupfer’s father, Todd Kupfer, expressed relief at the verdict. “I would say it’s an overwhelming sense of relief,” he told reporters. “This has obviously been a brutal couple of weeks for us.”
Kupfer’s mother, Lori, said she was thankful the conviction would prevent Smith from causing further harm.
