The suspected killer of UCLA graduate student Brianna Kupfer was arrested on the morning of January 19.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tweeted that the suspect, 31-year-old Shawn Laval Smith, was arrested in Pasadena “in the area of Fair Oaks and Colorado Blvd.” “We would like to thank the public, the media and our partners at Pasadena [Police Department] for their support in apprehending the suspect,” they added.
We can confirm, Shawn Laval Smith, the suspect responsible for the murder of Brianna Kupfer is in custody, after being located and detained by Pasadena PD around 11:50am this morning in the area of Fair Oaks and Colorado Blvd.
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) January 19, 2022
We would like to thank the public, the media and our partners at Pasadena PD for their support in apprehending the suspect.
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) January 19, 2022
Kupfer was stabbed to death on January 13 while working at the Croft House furniture store in the Hancock Park area; she was working alone at the time and texted a friend that the suspect gave her “a bad vibe,” according to LAPD Lt. John Radke. The friend did not see that text right away. Kupfer’s father, Todd, told Fox News that Kupfer wasn’t supposed to be working and that it was abnormal for an employee to be working alone at the store. Police believe the attack was random.
Smith has had several prior arrests in South Carolina, North Carolina and California as far as back as 2010, Fox Los Angeles reported. His most recent arrest was in October 2020 in a misdemeanor case; he was released on $1,000 bail but it was not immediately clear what the outcome of that case was.
Todd told Fox News that Kupfer was “a great model, she was very, very caring … she really is the role model. I’m so proud of what she had accomplished.”
A vigil will be held for Kupfer in front of the Croft House store on January 20 at 1:30 p.m.
