Closing arguments begin in trial of man accused in brutal stabbing of UCLA student

The trial of the man accused of killing a UCLA graduate student as she worked at a Hancock Park furniture store is nearing its conclusion.

Closing arguments began Monday in the murder trial of Shawn Laval Smith, who allegedly stabbed Brianna Kupfer, 24, in January 2022.

Smith was arrested in Pasadena a week after the attack, during which he allegedly stabbed Kupfer 46 times after pretending to be a customer at Croft House on La Brea Avenue.

“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,” a prosecutor told the court earlier in the trial. “The evidence we’ll show you, they weren’t looking for a couch. It was all a lie.”

If convicted, the 34-year-old Smith could be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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