Brianna Kupfer's parents speak out ahead of trial of her alleged murderer
Brianna Kupfer's family speaks out before trial
Opening statements begin this week in the murder trial of Shawn Laval Smith, the man accused of murdering Brianna Kupfer in an apparently random attack at a store in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. Kupfer's parents spoke about their daughter's life and legacy ahead of the trial.
LOS ANGELES - Opening statements begin Thursday in the murder trial of Shawn Laval Smith, the man accused of murdering Brianna Kupfer at a Hancock Park furniture store in 2022. Ahead of the trial, Kupfer's parents spoke exclusively to FOX 11 about their daughter and her legacy as they hope to get closure and justice.
The family had just celebrated the holidays together. Todd Kupfer had remarked and a "lucky" family they had had. Weeks later, their world was turned upside down.
"It's interesting because you sit here and you think, ‘What am I going to say about her?’ and you want to be authentic and you want to be real," said Todd Kupfer. "And all those things never sound real, when you say that she was an angel and she was perfect, right? It sort of doesn't sound true, but in fact, it pretty much was."
Todd and Lori Kupfer described their daughter as empathetic and the family peacemaker. Now, they say they're constantly reminded that she's gone.
"Your brain honestly wakes up from a nap, from sleep, and you feel like someone electrocuted you, because your brain suddenly realizes ‘my daughter’s gone,'" said Lori Kupfer.
"You wake up, you think about it. You can't help it," said Todd Kupfer. "Take a walk, you think about it. You do anything, she comes to mind."
The 24-year-old UCLA grad was stabbed 26 times and suffered nearly 50 total knife wounds in the attack at the Croft House furniture store on N. La Brea Avenue on Jan. 13, 2022.
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Smith was charged in November 2022 with Brianna Kupfer's murder, as well as two special circumstances in what officials have said was a random attack. He faces life in prison.
Shawn Laval Smith. (LAPD)
To her family, Brianna Kupfer was "so kind and she'd never criticize," said her father. "She would show by example. She was really a good good girl. A good living example of what more of us should be like."
Her mother Lori said she wished she "could go back and just spend a day with little Brianna, even when she was a child. And just play, whatever she wants, and just really listen to her. That's what you miss. You just miss all those unsaid things."
When asked what kind of legacy they hope Brianna will leave behind, Todd Kupfer said he hopes people will remember "That she loved life, and she loved people. We've met so many people, and people have written to us… and every one of them was like, ‘Oh my God, she made such a difference in my life.' So it’s a shame that she couldn't spend time with more people. But she did do that."