A California homeless man discovered responsible of brutally stabbing to demise a UCLA graduate scholar inside a boutique furnishings store was sentenced to life in jail with out the potential for parole on Wednesday.
Shawn Laval Smith, 34, was convicted in September for the grotesque homicide of Brianna Kupfer, a 24-year-old architectural graduate scholar, on Jan. 13, 2022.Â
The sentence was handed down after Los Angeles Superior Courtroom Decide Mildred Escobedo reviewed reviews from docs and decided Smith was sane on the time of the homicide, FOX11 Los Angeles reported.
Kupfer was working alone at Croft Home in Los Angeles’ Hancock Park neighborhood when Smith, a homeless man with a protracted prison historical past, entered the shop and stabbed her 26 occasions throughout an unprovoked assault.Â
WHO IS BRIANNA KUPFER, THE LOS ANGELES STABBING VICTIM?
Shawn Laval Smith, 34, was convicted for the 2022 killing of Brianna Kupfer, 24, who was stabbed a number of occasions whereas working alone in a Los Angeles furnishings store. (KTTV/Linkedin)
Kupfer suffered 11 stab wounds to the chest, two within the stomach, one to the pelvis, two on her proper arm, 5 on her left arm, two on her proper leg and three on her left leg. Safety cameras confirmed Smith on the retailer and his DNA was discovered on the knife, prosecutors mentioned.Â
Smith was arrested six days after Kupfer’s homicide.Â
Brianna Kupfer labored at Croft Home, a luxurious furnishings retailer in Los Angeles, when she was stabbed to demise. (Todd Kupfer)
Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that Smith went “looking for a girl alone” on the day of the homicide, having approached six different shops earlier than discovering Kupfer working alone.
Moments earlier than her demise, Kupfer had despatched a textual content to a buddy that mentioned she was getting a “unhealthy vibe” from somebody inside the shop, authorities have mentioned.Â
The 24-year-old was finding out design as a grad scholar at UCLA. (Todd Kupfer)
BRIANNA KUPFER SENT PAL OMINOUS TEXT BEFORE SHE WAS STABBED TO DEATH
The buddy mentioned they noticed the message about quarter-hour later, though police mentioned Kupfer was killed inside 10 minutes of sending it. A buyer discovered Kupfer useless inside the shop.
Kupfer’s household remembered the 24-year-old as somebody who all the time labored to raised herself and her neighborhood.
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“In some ways, [Brianna] embodied every part that’s nice about Los Angeles, and the complete metropolis ought to grieve over this mindless act,” the household mentioned in an earlier assertion. “Brianna was a sensible, humorous, pushed and a sort soul who solely wished to raised herself and her neighborhood each day.”
Fox Information’ Louis Casiano, Brie Stimson and Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
