'A kind woman begging for her life': Trial in grisly killing of UCLA student begins

Opening statements began Thursday in the trial of Shawn Laval Smith, the man accused in the stabbing death a 24-year-old woman while she worked alone at a Hancock Park furniture store in Jan. 2022.  

The grisly killing unfolded on Jan. 13 while Brianna Kupfer, a UCLA graduate student, was working at Croft House on North La Brea Avenue.  

At 1:36 p.m. that day, Kupfer sent a text to a friend saying there was someone inside the store who was “giving her a bad vibe,” LAPD officials previously said. 

About 14 minutes later, a customer walked in and found her dead on the floor. 

Smith, who has an extensive criminal history in L.A. County, is accused of stabbing the 24-year-old, who he did not know, 46 times. He was arrested nearly a week after the killing in Pasadena.

During Thursday’s emotional opening statements, prosecutors presented body-worn camera footage from the officer who responded to the scene. The footage showed the officer entering the store and seeing Kupfer, unresponsive and covered in blood, lying on the ground.  

In the courtroom, Kupfer’s parents were visibly distraught, her father placing his head in his hands at the sight of the crime scene.  

“The defendant, pretending to be a customer, lured her into a sense of security and safety and vulnerability, even went outside, pretending to call his girlfriend,” the prosecutor told the court. “The evidence we’ll show you, they weren’t looking for a couch. It was all a lie.”  

Prosecutors say Smith, who was present in court, wearing a buttoned-down shirt, slacks and a medical face mask, killed the young woman before leaving through the back of the store.  

“Brianna Kupfer, lying on the floor in the Croft House covered in her own blood, smear marks of blood surrounding her,” the prosecutor added.  

Authorities say that audio of the murder was left behind at the scene.  

“Her last breathing words, she’s just telling him, ‘I can help you, I can help you, I can help you,’ and he’s telling her, ‘It’s over [expletive].’” 

Jessica Rogers, a resident of Pacific Palisades where Kupfer’s family also lives, told KTLA she doesn’t know the family personally, but attended the trial to show her support for them.  

“We heard a recording of him making these statements about how he hated women,” she told KTLA’s Kimberly Cheng, unable to hold back tears. “An innocent, kind woman begging for her life. She tried to get help. She did nothing wrong.” 

Prosecutors also told the courtroom that a knife used with such force it was bent was found at the scene and tested positive for Smith’s DNA.  

If convicted as charged in this case, the 34-year-old defendant could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.