A new indictment was unsealed in court Monday against a transient who was already charged with the stabbing murder of UCLA graduate student Brianna Kupfer, who was attacked in January while working in a furniture store on La Brea Boulevard in Hancock Park.
Shawn Laval Smith, 32, also faces the special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and the special allegation of use of a knife, according to the superseding indictment, filed Nov. 15 and made public Monday, that replaces earlier charges.
Smith could face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
The grand jury indictment circumvents the need to hold a preliminary hearing, where the prosecution would have to present a summary of the evidence in the case in an open courtroom.
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Smith is also accused in the court filing of murdering Kupfer, who was 24, as she worked alone inside the Croft House furniture store.
The LAPD said earlier this year Smith appeared to be homeless and had entered several other businesses in the area before Kupfer was killed.
Security video from a nearby 7-Eleven store showed Smith purchase a vape pen less than an hour after the murder, detectives said this week.
Several days after the murder Smith was arrested by Pasadena police after someone driving near Fair Oaks and Colorado boulevards recognized him from a police wanted flyer.
Kupfer's family said she was born and raised in LA, went to Brentwood High School and graduated from the University of Miami. She was working on her master's in architectural design at UCLA when she was attacked.
Her aunt said Kupfer had a big heart, and was loved. She leaves behind her parents, and three siblings.
Recently the prosecutor who was preparing the case for trial was removed from the case and told NBC4 he believed it was because of his public criticism of some of DA George Gascón's policies.
