PACIFIC PALISADES—On August 3, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office released the coroner’s report on the January 13, for Brianna Kupfer, 24, of Pacific Palisades. She was a UCLA student working at Croft House Furniture on North La Brea Avenue who was stabbed 26 times by Shawn Laval Smith.
Canyon News was provided the coroner’s report from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office which indicated Kupfer died of exsanguination, which is the loss of organ blood.
Todd Kupfer, Brianna’s father, made a plea on social media for journalist and the public to give the family privacy, and asked that the media not print every detail of their daughter’s death. The victim’s father indicated that they were trying to avoid the news because that is not the way they want to remember her.
At 1:36 p.m. on January 13, Kupfer sent a text to someone informing them that the person in the store [Smith] made her feel uncomfortable.
Smith, a transient man who had no connection to the victim, attacked the student with a knife. A customer found Kupfer lying on the floor in a pool of blood and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Smith fled the scene and was at large for approximately a week with a $250,000 reward offered by the Los Angeles Police Department for information on the whereabouts of Smith who had an extensive criminal history.
He was arrested on January 19 and booked into Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles on $202,000 bond.
Authorities learned that Smith was out on a $50,000 bond in South Carolina after firing a flare gun into a vehicle with a child inside. His trial was delayed due to the pandemic.
On October 27, 2020, Smith was arrested at 3:25 a.m. booked into jail by Los Angeles Police Department, at the West Covina Courthouse at 3:44 a.m. and was released at 4:45 p.m. on a $1,000 bond. His sentencing date was scheduled for the following day, October 28, 2020. The LADA’s Office did not press charges.
Smith’s sentencing date is scheduled for August 8 at Hollywood Superior Court in Los Angeles. Smith is currently being evaluated to see if he has the mental capacity to stand trial.
