The heartbroken father of a UCLA graduate student brutally slaughtered in a random daylight attack in Los Angeles is outraged that the autopsy report containing graphic details of her savage murder was leaked to the press.
Todd Kupfer stated, “You have people that don’t really care for humanity and, for whatever selfish gain, or for whatever reason they do, they act with no authority and without conscience.”
Brianna Kupfer (24 years old) was stabbed to death on Jan. 13, while she was working at Croft House, an upscale furniture store. Shawn Laval Smith was a career criminal and may have targeted her because she was alone.
“Everyone knows that she was brutally killed”. “It’s strange that people need to know more”. Kupfer stated, “It glorifies a terrible tragedy for the entertainment of others”.
The 34-page autopsy report by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner describes her horrific injuries. It includes 26 stabbings with a kitchen knife that had a gray handle. The autopsy reports are not available for public viewing.
Kupfer said he and his family have intentionally avoided watching or reading any media coverage about the autopsy. “We don’t want to know that at this point. It’s too difficult and too triggering,” he said.
A Los Angeles assistant district attorney contacted him Thursday to inform him of the privacy breach and said officials are investigating.
Smith, 31 years old, allegedly walked into Brianna Kupfer’s store around 2:30 p.m. and she immediately texted her manager to complain that the man was giving off a bad vibe. She was found dead minutes later. Smith fled, but she was captured six days later in Pasadena.
Smith had a long criminal record that spanned both coasts. He also held an active warrant for assaulting police officers at the time of the murder. The results of Smith’s mental evaluation are being analyzed by authorities.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, a progressive prosecutor, has come under fire because of his soft-on-crime policy. The murder rate in large cities has risen.
Gascon will be recalled amid an increase in homicides that has jumped 35% this year, compared to the same period of 2020, according to public data.
Kupfer stated, “Obviously, the recall program right now is an essential step.” “People must be held accountable for their actions. People shouldn’t lose their right to safety so that others can continue to commit crimes.
He said that his daughter’s murderer should be in prison.
Kupfer was raised in the Pacific Palisades, 3 miles north of Santa Monica, with her father, her mother Lori, her little sister Mikaela, and her brothers Tucker, and Brandon.
“She was a kind soul and always was trying to make herself better and everything around her better,” Kupfer previously stated. “She cared about people.”
The University of Miami graduate loved sewing and wanted her own clothing line. While she was at UCLA, she was studying design and had worked for Croft House on La Brea Ave. for about a year as an advisor.
Todd Kupfer stated that the family is trying to deal with the loss of their daughter.
He said, “You can’t move forward, all you can really do is move. So we’re trying to move and honor her every day with the actions and voices we use.” The pain doesn’t disappear, it is with you every day.”
Smith could spend life in prison if convicted of murder. Requests for comment from the Los Angeles District Attorney or the Medical Examiner’s Office were not immediately returned.
