Prosecutors claimed that a homeless lunatic who murdered UCLA student Brianna Kupfer in 2022 captured on camera the horrific crime in which he stabbed her 46 times before leaving her to bleed to death.
District authorities in Los Angeles County claim that 24-year-old Kupfer was ambushed by 34-year-old Shawn Laval Smith, who was "hunting for a woman alone," at the upscale furniture store where she worked. Then, according to police, he left a filet knife at the scene that was splattered with Kupfer's blood and had Smith's DNA on the handle, as well as an audio recorder that he had used to record the incident.
Smith, who has a long criminal history, was found guilty of murder on Tuesday by the jury, which found that he had assaulted the woman with a knife after "lying in wait."
Chilling moment masked man paces outside Southport home minutes before mass stabbing
Alabama stepmom who stabbed husband heard on 91 1 call 'coaching' daughter, 9, to take the blame
Smith was characterized by LA County Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian as a sicko akin to Hannibal Lecter who gets his thrill from the thought of killing women. Records made a month before Smith's grisly attack contained statements about his desire to kill women, according to evidence Smith's trial in Los Angeles revealed. Smith was found guilty of first-degree murder.
“This man hated women,” Bailan said in his closing argument, according to NBC LA. “It’s easier probably to sleep at night to think something is wrong with him rather than face the truth that this man was on a crusade to hunt, to destroy and to kill for the mere fact that she was female.”
Robert Haberer, the defense lawyer, contended that Smith's murder was not planned. “It sounds like he was blowing off steam, probably because he was pissed off about something in that moment. Who the hell knows what it was?” ABC 7 quoted him as saying.
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment storie
Kupfer has attended graduate architecture school. Bailan claimed that Smith "used her kindness against her" during the final statements, according to an ABC7 quote. "Left her bloody on the floor when he was close, safe, and her guard was down." He could receive a life sentence without the chance of release. But before anything else, a judge needs to decide if he was sane when the incident happened.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Kupfer had texted a friend just before the incident, stating that she was feeling uneasy about a man inside the business. The friend did not reply right away since they did not see the text in time. The jury reached Smith’s guilty verdict in less than an hour, according to reports
Local News
