DEADLY ATTACK

Brianna Kupfer, Murdered UCLA Grad Student, Was Stabbed 26 Times: Autopsy

Brianna Kupfer was working alone at Croft House when she began getting a “bad vibe” from a suspect hanging around the high-end furniture store.

A 24-year-old university student who was killed while working her shift at a California furniture store was stabbed 26 times before her death, according to an autopsy report. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office found that Brianna Kupfer had been stabbed 11 times in her chest, five times in her left arm, thrice in her left leg, and once in her pelvis. She also suffered a further two stab wounds in each of three different places: her abdomen, her right leg, and her right arm, the New York Post reported Thursday. Kupfer was fatally attacked while working alone at Croft House on Jan. 13 this year. Minutes before the assault, she texted her manager that a suspect who had slipped into the store was giving her a “bad vibe.” Her body was later found in the store by a customer, according to the Post. Shawn Laval Smith, a 31-year-old transient man with an extensive criminal record and a history of mental illness, was arrested six days later. He was charged with murder and the use of a deadly weapon, and faces a life sentence if convicted.