The man accused of brutally murdering UCLA student Brianna Kupfer in a shocking 2022 attack appeared in court on Wednesday to learn his fate.
Brianna Kupfer, 24, was murdered in January 2022 at the luxury Los Angeles furniture store where she was working by Shawn Laval Smith, now 34.
Smith was seen sitting in in Los Angeles Superior Court as prosecutors played the chilling audio recording of the murder, which captured Kupfer’s desperate pleas for her life as she was stabbed to death.
The murder trial, presided over by Judge Mildred Escobedo, saw dramatic scenes as the Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney held up the alleged murder weapon – a knife – and its sheath for the jury to examine.
Photos obtained by Dailymail.com show the accused killer wearing a striped button-down shirt and cloth face mask.
Brianna Kupfer was stabbed 26 times in the attack in January 2022
The man accused of brutally murdering UCLA student Brianna Kupfer in a shocking 2022 attack appeared in court on Wednesday to learn his fate
The murder trial, presided over by Judge Mildred Escobedo, saw dramatic scenes as the Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney held up the alleged murder weapon – a knife – and its sheath for the jury to examine
Smith, who was sitting next to his defense attorney, listened to testimony from witnesses as prosecutors laid out their case against the accused killer.
In an opening statement, the prosecution argued Smith was on ‘a hunt to kill a vulnerable woman who was alone and secluded.
The suspect reportedly had a recording expressing his desire to ‘kill women.’
‘Just 18 days before he found and slaughtered Brianna, the defendant recorded himself talking about the most vile, disgusting and grotesque thoughts about women,’ said Los Angeles County prosecutor Habib Balian in court.
‘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 said. ‘The evidence we’ll show you, they weren’t looking for a couch. It was all a lie.’
Smith was seen sitting in in Los Angeles Superior Court as prosecutors played the chilling audio recording of the murder, which captured Kupfer’s desperate pleas for her life as she was stabbed to death
If found guilty, the defendant could face life in prison without the possibility of parole (Pictured: Defense attorney and Shawn Laval Smith)
In an opening statement, the prosecution argued Smith was on ‘a hunt to kill a vulnerable woman who was alone and secluded (Pictured: Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney hold up sheath for a knife as Shawn Laval Smith listens to testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court)
Brianna Kupfer, 24, was murdered in January 2022 at the luxury Los Angeles furniture store where she was working by Shawn Laval Smith, now 34
‘Brianna Kupfer, lying on the floor in the Croft House covered in her own blood, smear marks of blood surrounding her.’
‘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].’
Kupfer, a 24-year-old UCLA graduate student, was working alone at a furniture store in Hancock Park when she was stabbed to death in what police described as a random attack.
She was stabbed to death while working alone at the Croft House store on La Brea, just minutes after she texted a friend that a man in the store was ‘giving her a bad vibe’.
Smith, 31 at the time of the killing, was tracked down in Pasadena a day after the Los Angeles Police Department named him as the top suspect in the unprovoked slaying.
Smith – who reportedly has a rap sheet spanning two coasts – was out on bail when he allegedly stabbed Kupfer to death.
Photos obtained by dailymail.com show the accused killer wearing a striped button-down shirt and cloth face mask
Smith, who was sitting next to his defense attorney, listened to testimony from witnesses as prosecutors laid out their case against the accused killer
He was cuffed without incident at a bus stop near Fair Oaks and Colorado Boulevard about 11:50am. It’s not clear whether he was armed.
Smith was taken into custody about 15 miles from the high-end furniture store where Kupfer was killed.
A pedestrian tipped cops off after spotting the wanted man sitting on a park bench.
The accused killer – who police believe has been a homeless transient – initially gave officials a false name, a source told the news outlet. However, the LAPD fugitive unit was able to confirm his identity with a fingerprint reader.
Previously Smith was arrested and charged with violent crimes in at least three states.
At the time of Kupfer’s murder, he was free on a $50,000 bond after allegedly firing a weapon toward an occupied vehicle in Charleston, South Carolina, in November 2019.
Smith, who is waiting to be arraigned, is a career criminal with a long rap sheet spanning both coasts, and was currently free on a $1,000 bond from a misdemeanor arrest in Los Angeles County in October 2020, sheriff’s records show
The architectural design student from Pacific Palisades was alone in the Croft House store on La Brea Avenue in LA’s upscale Fairfax neighborhood when a man entered around 1:50 p.m. and stabbed her. She was found 20 minutes later by a customer
An indictment in that case was handed down on March 16, 2020, just before COVID-19 paralyzed the courts, and the docket shows no further action on the case.
Smith, who is waiting to be arraigned, is a career criminal with a long rap sheet spanning both coasts, and was currently free on a $1,000 bond from a misdemeanor arrest in Los Angeles County in October 2020, sheriff’s records show.
Smith was arrested in Covina, California, on October 27, 2020, and charged for allegedly stealing items from a local Home Depot. He was cited and released, police said.
He was convicted by San Diego prosecutors in 2017 for carrying a concealed dagger and brandishing a deadly weapon in a fight. He was given three years probation and ordered to pay a $400 fine, according to court records.
If found guilty, the defendant could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
