A homeless man in Los Angeles, Shawn Laval Smith, was convicted of murdering 24-year-old college student Brianna Kupfer, whom he stabbed 46 times while recording the attack. Smith, 34, targeted Kupfer at the furniture store where she worked, exploiting her vulnerability as she was alone.
Prosecutors revealed that Smith had been “hunting for a woman alone” in 2022. Shortly after he entered the store, Kupfer texted a friend, expressing her discomfort about a man’s presence. Tragically, about 20 minutes later, she was discovered dead, her body covered in blood.
The audio Smith recorded during the attack was crucial to his conviction. In the recording, he can be heard assuring he would not harm her, instructing her to “just get down on the floor.” Distressingly, a woman’s screams follow as he repeatedly declares, “It’s over, it’s over.”
After the stabbing, Smith escaped through the store’s back door, leaving Kupfer to bleed to death. The investigation uncovered that Smith had left his house that day prepared to kill, carrying a filet knife, which later bent from the force of the attack.
The evidence at the crime scene included the audio recording device and the knife, both bearing Smith’s DNA, which was instrumental in establishing his guilt. Smith’s history of criminal activities, including assaults on a police officer and vandalism, compounded the severity of his latest crime. He was out on bail from a prior charge of firing a flare gun from a vehicle at the time of the murder.
Following the verdict, Kupfer’s lawyer lamented the loss of a “promising young woman” and commended the jury’s dedication to justice. He characterized Smith as a predator driven by misogyny, a harsh reality reflecting his gruesome intentions.
