A man has been found guilty by a Los Angeles jury for the brutal murder of a UCLA graduate student, an event which has caused deep distress across the community. Shawn Laval Smith, aged 34, faced charges for the fatal stabbing of Brianna Kupfer while she was working at the Croft House furniture store in Hancock Park in January of 2022. Shawn Laval Smith was accused of ending Kupfer's life, stabbing her 46 times in an attack that was recorded in audio. This verdict was reached after less than a day of jury deliberations, NBC Los Angeles reports.
Prosecutors highlighted Smith's animosity toward women as a driving force behind his actions, stating he targeted Kupfer because she was alone at the time, as relayed by CBS News Los Angeles. Following his arrest in Pasadena, Smith was found to have a history of expressing violent sentiments toward women, which authorities say was captured on a digital audio recorder at the scene of the crime. Despite the defense's assertions that there was no premeditation and suggestions that Smith's actions might have been influenced by his race, the jury sided with the prosecution. Smith now faces the prospect of life in prison without a possibility of parole.
Smith's attorney, during the closing arguments, attempted to deflect from the motive by questioning the role of race in the media coverage, stating, "The thing we can’t talk about, the thing we consciously notice, is why it's attracted so many people,” according to arguments obtained by NBC Los Angeles. This came despite the evidence presented in the form of security footage from the store as well as DNA on the murder weapon.
Smith had been recorded just a month before the killing discussing his wish to kill women, which the prosecution took as an insight into his mindset. This, coupled with evidence of Smith's movements on the day of the murder and the grim nature of the attack, portrayed a premeditation that the jury seemed to accept as motivation. According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, the grievous nature of the crime was underscored by the prosecution with the number of stab wounds and depth of each recorded in the autopsy report. Kupfer's parents, during an interview, described their daughter as the family peacemaker and expressed how they are constantly reminded of her absence following the tragic incident.
The trial has cast a spotlight on larger concerns of violence against women, drawing attention from the city and beyond. Kupfer had even texted a friend about an individual she felt uneasy about, moments before the attack—a detail that punctuated the tragic circumstances of her death and may have crystallized the notion of vulnerability in the case. Smith's stoic appearance in court, noted by Hoodline, contrasted with the community's emotional response to a case that has been both harrowing and a rallying point for those seeking justice for Kupfer.
