Suspect Arrested in Stabbing Death of UCLA Grad Student at Upscale Furniture Store
Shawn Laval Smith was arrested after someone recognized him from surveillance images circulated by police.
The manhunt is over for the suspect wanted in connection with the stabbing death of UCLA grad student Brianna Kupfer, who was killed while working at an upscale furniture store in Los Angeles.
Shawn Laval Smith was arrested after a good Samaritan recognized him from surveillance video and called police.
Smith is well-known to police and has a lengthy list of arrests on both sides of the country, with at least 11 arrests in North and South Carolina and Los Angeles.
Police released video of Smith looking ultra calm at a 7-Eleven, just 30 minutes after allegedly slaying the 24-year-old. Cops say the suspected killer is homeless.
Smith paid in cash and at one point lowered his mask, revealing his facial features. He bought a vape pen, then casually returned to the cashier and exchanged it for another.
The 7-Eleven where the suspected killer was spotted is exactly 1.3 miles from the luxury furniture store where Kupfer was found slain.
Police say before the fatal and senseless attack, he visited several stores up and down the street.
He wore a painter's mask — a simple mask that protects against dust, and also carried a dark backpack.
Despite his long rap sheet, at the time of Kupfer’s murder, Smith was free on a $1,000 bond.
"I think people are in positions where they can effect change and that they get the message what they are doing is not the right solution," Brianna’s heartbroken father, Todd Kupfer, told Inside Edition.
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