Prosecutors Say Brianna Kupfer’s Killer Was on a ‘Hunt’ for a Vulnerable Victim
The trial for Shawn Laval Smith, charged with the 2022 murder of UCLA student Brianna Kupfer, began Thursday in Los Angeles, as reported by Fox News 11. Kupfer, a 24-year-old architectural design student at UCLA, was fatally stabbed while working at the Croft House furniture store in Hancock Park on January 13, 2022.
Prosecutors allege that Smith, 31, attacked Kupfer in an unprovoked assault while she was working alone at the La Brea Avenue store. Smith is accused of stabbing Kupfer 46 times and leaving the scene without taking anything from the store.
In their opening statement, prosecutors described Smith as being on “a hunt to kill a vulnerable woman who was alone and secluded.” Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian said Smith had recorded disturbing thoughts on a device, expressing a desire to harm women.
“Just 18 days before he found and slaughtered Brianna, the defendant recorded himself talking about the most vile, disgusting, and grotesque thoughts about women,” Balian told the court. The prosecution also presented evidence linking Smith to the crime, including security footage from the store and his DNA on the knife left at the scene.
Additionally, a digital audio recorder allegedly belonging to Smith was recovered, which prosecutors claim contained a chilling recording of the attack.
In presiding over the case, Judge Mildred Escobedo did not permit the media to obtain copies of the recordings. They were played during the prosecution’s opening statement and caused Brianna Kulpfer’s family to leave the courtroom. Kupfer’s family are residents of Pacific Palisades.
If convicted, Smith faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, with special circumstances of using a knife and lying in wait. During the presentation of crime scene photos and the recording, Smith showed little reaction as the prosecution described the final moments of Kupfer’s life.
