UCLA student texted a friend that she felt uncomfortable with the man in the store. Then he stabbed her 46 times

Shawn Laval Smith was convicted this week of murdering 24-year-old graduate student Brianna Kupfer in 2022

Prosecutors say a Los Angeles man convicted this week of the 2022 stabbing murder of a UCLA student was a sex offender who preyed on a woman who worked alone at a store.

The allegations were made in the trial of Shawn Laval Smith, who was found guilty on Tuesday of stabbing 24-year-old college student Brianna Kupfer 46 times with a knife in a Los Angeles furniture store where the victim worked and then leaving her to die alone.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Smith's conviction on Tuesday.

“Brianna Kupfer was a promising young woman whose life was tragically ended far too soon,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said in a press release.

“Brianna, a bright and talented 24-year-old student at UCLA, was dedicated to her studies in architecture and had her whole future ahead of her,” Gascón added. “Our thoughts are with Brianna's family, who have shown incredible strength and resilience throughout this horrific ordeal.”

Smith, 34, was found guilty of one count of murder and one special count of lying in wait and using a deadly and dangerous weapon, prosecutors said.

Related: UCLA student Brianna Kupfer suffered 26 stab wounds in brazen attack in broad daylight, autopsy results show

The murder occurred on the afternoon of January 13, 2022, at the Croft House furniture store, where Kupfer worked alone. According to local station KTLA 5, Smith allegedly left an audio recorder at the crime scene.

The audio recorder Smith left behind contained another recording from weeks earlier in which Smith could be heard angrily ranting about women, local station ABC 7 reported.

Related topics: Man charged with murder in random killing of 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer in furniture store

According to Westside Current, Fox 11 Los Angeles and local station ABC 7, Assistant District Attorney Habib Balian said in his closing argument this week that the recordings showed that Smith “hated women” and was on a mission to kill a woman.

A knife also found at the scene that was confirmed to have been used in the murder had a bent blade. The Westside Current reported that Smith's DNA was found on the knife, the sheath and the audio recorder – all left at the crime scene. The newspaper reports that Copper was pronounced dead at the store after a customer and her boyfriend came in and discovered her body.

Related: California man accused of stabbing UCLA student Brianna Kupfer now in custody: police

The Los Angeles Times reported that shortly before the attack, Kupfer had sent a concerned text message to a friend, explaining that a man in the store was bothering her. The friend did not see the text message in time and did not respond immediately.

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The jury reportedly reached a guilty verdict against Smith in less than an hour, and Kupfer's parents subsequently made an emotional statement outside the courtroom.

“There will never be justice because our daughter is no longer alive,” the victim's mother, Lori Kupfer, told reporters in tears, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles.

According to the news agency, Smith is now facing sentencing in October; he faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

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