THE trial for Shawn Laval Smith, 34, who has been accused in the stabbing death of a 24-year-old woman began while she was working by herself at a furniture store began on Thursday.
Brianna Kupfer, a UCLA graduate student, was killed on January 13 while working a shift at Croft House on North La Brea Avenue.
Shawn Laval Smith appears ina mugshot released byCharleston County Sheriff[/caption]
At around 1:36 pm that same day, Kupfer texted her friend that she was feeling a “bad vibe” from a customer inside the store, the LAPD said.
14 minutes later another customer walked into the store and found Kupfer dead on the floor, police said.
During Thursday’s opening statements, prosecutors presented body-worn camera footage from the cop who arrived at the scene as evidence.
The footage revealed Kupfer, unresponsive and covered in blood, lying on the ground.
