Woman stabbed to death in Los Angeles luxury furniture store, suspect in custody

LOS ANGELES (TCD) -- A 31-year-old man is in custody in connection with last week’s stabbing death of 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer, a design consultant for a luxury furniture store.

According to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department, on Thursday, Jan. 13, Wilshire Patrol officers responded to Croft House on the 300 block of North La Brea Avenue at approximately 1:50 p.m. At the scene, officers reportedly met with a customer who found Kupfer deceased on the floor.

In a news conference held by the Los Angeles Police Department, authorities said Kupfer was working at the store alone when the suspect walked in. At approximately 1:36 p.m., police say Kupfer sent a text alerting a friend that there was someone in the store that gave her a "bad vibe." According to police, shortly after, Kupfer’s deceased body was found covered in blood by the customer who called authorities.

Upon further investigation, police identified Shawn Smith as the suspect who walked into the store and fatally attacked Kupfer with a knife before fleeing through the back door. The attack was reportedly random and unmotivated.

According to police, they were able to use video surveillance from the alley to identify Smith as the suspect, who authorities believe is homeless.

KTLA-TV reports that someone alerted authorities about a man matching Smith’s description in Pasadena, and officers responded to the location and detained Smith.

According to KTLA, Smith has a long criminal past, including a 2020 arrest for a misdemeanor charge and a 2016 arrest in South Carolina for reportedly resisting or assaulting a police officer. Smith was also reportedly marked for extradition in North Carolina for assault with a deadly weapon.

According to KTTV-TV, Kupfer attended Brentwood High School and the universities of Miami and Sydney. In addition to working for Croft House, KTTV says Kupfer was also a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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