LOS ANGELES—A transient convicted of murdering a UCLA graduate student—who was stabbed 46 times inside a Hancock Park furniture store in an attack captured in a chilling audio recording—was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a judge found that he was sane at the time of the crime.
Shawn Laval Smith, 34, was convicted Sept. 10 of first-degree murder for the Jan. 13, 2022, killing of Brianna Kupfer, 24.
After a brief hearing Wednesday morning that included a review of reports from a pair of doctors, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo said there was “absolutely no evidence whatsoever” to show that Smith was insane at the time of the crime….