It happened right during a work shift

hello I am uh calling because I see a gentleman who looks very similar to uh in the uh the CER stabing in La uh I'm in Pasadena currently hello everyone and welcome back to my channel in this video we'll delve into the events that occurred in 2022 in California 24-year-old Briana Kuper was an ambitious beautiful young woman with big plans for the future what happened to her can happen to any of us because we never know who we may meet on our way for certain reasons her story caused Great resonance in society making headlines in newspapers and appearing in news releases on television Brianna cuper grew up in the Pacific Palisades about 3 miles north of Santa Monica with her father Todd her mother Lori her little sister Michaela and her brothers Tucker and Brandon she grabbed graduated from Brentwood High School there she played soccer ran track and field performed with the dance team and was a cheerleading team captain after graduating high school Brianna enrolled at the University of Miami where she participated in a study abroad program at the University of Sydney in Australia in 2018 she graduated from the University of Miami in 2019 with a degree in public relations Brianna lived with her family at the start of the covid pandemic later she moved to Culver City and lived with her close friend Lynn mlan while working and taking courses at the University of California she was also a member of the University of California extension Student Chapter of the American Society of interior designers briana's family and friends described her as compassionate and talented in a variety of interests Michaela cuper said her sister loved to improve her life and the lives of those around her with her knack for design and love for learning she would keep journals to write down new knowledge she would discover such as historical facts or information about different events constantly trying new ways to express her creativity Brianna's father said she was taking online architecture and design courses at the University of California he added that she loved geometrical patterns design and drawing Brianna started working at Croft house because it was a sustainable Furniture Company and she was passionate about such causes here's what the company's official website says founded in 2010 Croft house aims to Encompass the sophisticated relaxed feel of the California lifestyle through its handmade pieces of statement Furniture manufactured locally in Southern California each piece is handmade with great attention to detail and a distinct focus on the individual processes involved longevity and craftsmanship are prioritized through the selection of only the highest quality materials available on Thursday January 13th 2022 Briana planned to leave work early because she had a flight scheduled from Los Angeles to New York she was supposed to fly there for a friend's birthday celebration the anticipation of meeting friends and flying made her a little worried and excited at the same time Briana was the only one who worked in the store that day there were no other employees there at 1:36 p.m. she texted her friend who also lived in Los Angeles saying that a man who entered the store was causing her discomfort and concerns but unfortunately the friend to whom Briana wrote this message saw it too late 20 minutes after Briana sent this message a customer came into the store and found her lifeless body lying on the floor he called 911 10 minutes later the police cordoned off the store she was pronounced dead at the scene police said someone had brutally taken briana's life and now the police had to find out who this person was who was this coldblooded Criminal Who decided to do something like this in broad daylight her death was heartbreaking to her family and friends they were devastated to learn of the incident no one could understand who had the motive to deal with Briana so cruy her father Todd cuper told the times after the attack that his daughter death was heart-wrenching it's torn us apart he said we really don't know what to do and what steps to take we just want her life to have more meaning dozens of people gathered outside the furniture store for a vigil celebrating Briana Ko's life and decrying the senselessness of her death Bri was the brightest part of anyone's day who got to interact with her Alex seagull a co-owner of the coft house furniture store said she was smart and capable and intelligent kind and friendly and just an incredibly driven person Todd cuper was outraged when an autopsy report containing graphic details of his daughter's death appeared in the press a 34-page autopsy report issued by the Los Angeles County Department of medical examiner coroner details her gruesome injuries including that she had been stabbed 26 times with a gray handled kitchen knife according to a spokesperson for the medical exam 's office autopsy reports are public records per California law the criminal managed to escape before the police arrived at the store detectives started interviewing people working near the furniture store hoping that someone might have seen or heard something that would help get on the trail of the criminal the motive for the crime remained unclear nothing was missing from the store and according to briana's friends and family she had no conflicts with anyone she was a friendly outgoing person who could get along with anyone nowadays it's almost impossible to do something like this and remain unnoticed especially in a big city like Los Angeles even if you manage to stay unseen by other people you are unlikely to be able to hide from the surveillance cameras located at every step the day after the incident the police released a video from a surveillance camera which in their opinion showed a man involved in briana's death he was dressed in dark clothes and had a backpack on his back his face was hidden by a white medical mask and sunglasses this camera was near a furniture store and the time it captured this man corresponded to when someone took briana's life the authorities offered a $250,000 reward for information that could lead to the suspect's arrest it was one of the biggest rewards ever offered by the authorities in California during the press conference representatives of the Los Angeles Police Department shared some information about the investigation's progress we're here today because of bana we're here today to pull out to call out to this community the chres for your help this individual responsible for this vicious senseless and brutal crime it walks amongst us I am convinced of that I'm convinced of it because of the reports of his activities prior to and in the aftermath of this brutal homicide where he visited businesses up and down LaBrea and along the Beverly Corridor as well businesses large and small and as you walked about the area countless thousands of people drove by walked by on Thursday our officers from south from West Bureau homicide responded and began their intensive inves ation investigation that has not stopped over the weekend continues uh every day and will continue until this man is identified and brought to the criminal justice system and in that course of that investigation they identified closed circuit television uh footage that identifies some of the clues and tips that I've talked about here they've also have imagery that we put a community bulletin together that I draw the Public's attention to if they've not seen it it's available at lepd online it showcases an individual with a distinctive backpack a male African-American 6' to 6'5 thin build with short dreadlocks wearing a painter style uh face covering it's been described as an n95 but it's actually closer to just a cone that you would find as a d filter at a say a Home Depot or Lowe's these are very distinctive attributes and a very distinctive ident identif identification and I'm convinced that a community that has be that began its outpouring to me and the members of my senior staff and the wlure uh the Wilshire station about their care and their concern for this this senseless tragedy I'm looking to that Community today to help us solve this crime police also found footage from a surveillance camera that allowed them to see the suspect more closely the same man as in the First Recording entered the supermarket Market located in the same area as the furniture store about half an hour after the attack on Briana in a statement the force said he should be considered armed and dangerous if seen do not approach call 911 thank you Chief what we can say is that uh 5 days ago at 1:36 p.m. in the afternoon Brianna was uh working in this store all by herself she sent a text to a friend letting her know that there was someone inside the location that was giving her a back bad Vibe uh regrettably that person did not see the text immediately and uh at 1:50 p.m. a citizen who was coming into the store a customer uh found Briana lying on the on the ground lifeless covered in blood that person called 911 our officers and paramedics arrived out here quickly but regrettably they determined that she was dead um suspect took off on foot and he was last seen uh walking through the neighborhood um he walked for Miles uh both north south east and west uh throughout this neighborhood someone out there knows this man someone out there knows what he did and boy there's a lot of money on the table are there any questions about the investigation at this time yes your release said that there were some items that were recovered that made you believe that this suspect is homeless you talk about what those items are do you still believe the suspect's homeless we do believe that the suspect is homeless and that's in part by the fact that he came on foot left on foot he's carrying a backpack which is consistent with homeless people carrying extra clothing with them and uh sleeping out in the streets uh there's some additional information that I cannot share with you at this point but we believe that he is homeless tabs and around the area we have been in uh contact with Lassa but regrettably we do not we haven't been able to um identify what camp or where this guy stays on a regular basis any indication talking about isna as you can imagine we did a very careful crime scene investigation um uh there is evidence uh that we are uh awaiting uh processing at this moment but at this point I don't have any answer on that it a this appears to be a random act um there was nothing taken and no no other suggestion of any other crime uh I don't want to speculate um but I you know I will point out the obvious that she was working by herself and I think some of the other locations where he went inside there were additional people working in the store at the same time so uh that probably played into this yes uh very impressive and the Los Angeles community needs to come together and come together for the right reason of course it's not just the money but we need to hold this person accountable for what they did uh the the suspect was inside the store for for several minutes and I'm not comment on all the video right now um the murder weapon um uh appears to be a knife Brianna's father Todd criticized the authorities Todd told reporters crime is truly spiking and we have a lot of criminals on the streets that shouldn't be out we have a lot of politicians that somehow forgot about people and think the key to getting elected is to support the lowest rung of our society and to give them rights and somehow that's the answer to getting votes he called his daughter a kind soul who was trying to make herself better and everything around her better he continued she cared about people we need to Champion my daughter as a beacon of what's wrong and make sure that people recognize that because it could be their children next and it's just an impossible price to pay it was 30 minutes but it felt like days he said as he recalled detectives delivering the news you don't want to hear it and you don't want to believe it you process it a little bit and it's the worst feeling I've ever had in my life on January 19th 2022 a week after briana's death police announced that they had arrested the suspect at a bus stop in Pasadena he did not resist arrest it was 31-year-old Shawn Laval Smith after getting acquainted with his criminal history I had one big question why wasn't this man already in prison let's look at Smith's biography and more detail because it really says a lot it may seem boring and unnecessary but don't jump to conclusions starting with minor offenses and feeling impunity he moved further and further and it eventually ended in tragedy we'll move from one state to another and start with Charleston South Carolina April 16th 2010 Smith is arrested and charged with breach of trust June 12th 2013 Smith is arrested and charged with simple possession of marijana July 22nd 2013 Smith is arrested on a bench warrant and charged with littering on highways September 11th 2013 Smith is arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing they released him on September 13th 2013 after posting a $732 bond July 11th 2015 Smith is arrested on a bench warrant for careless driving no driver license and expired registration March 1st 2016 Smith is arrested on a charge of trespassing after notice he posts a $470 Bond and is released the same day March 5th 2016 Smith is arrested for trespassing after a notice and resisting arrest his bond is set at $10,400 he post bonded and is released on April 7th 2016 November 5th 2018 Smith is arrested on a bench warrant and charged with General Sessions and probate contempt of court March 13th 2019 Smith is arrested and charged with entering a premises after a warning he is released the same day after posting a $470 Bond June 8th 2019 Smith is arrested on a bench warrant and charged with entering a premises after receiving a warning no bond is set and he is released the following day November 13th 2019 Smith is arrested and charged with the discharge of a firearm into a vehicle while occupied in this case Smith was accused of firing a flare gun into a car occupied by a man and his child records show he was released on November 23rd 2019 after posting a $50,000 Bond June 27th 2016 Charlotte mecklinburg Police Department announced that Smith has 14 warrants for his arrest in connection to a rash of bicycle thefts in the Charlotte area October 27th 2020 Los Angeles County jail records show Smith is arrested on a misdemeanor charge he was released on $1,000 bail in January 2021 Smith vandalized a car in da City California and when officers arrested him he resisted and bit one of them according to court records he was charged in San Mato County with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest Smith subsequently pleaded no contest to one felony charge of resisting arrest in addition to an 8-month jail sentence Smith was ordered to serve 2 years of probation he served 133 days in jail and was released but failed twice to report to his probation officer his probation was revoked in November thus at the time of Brianna's death there was an active arrest warrant for Smith issued in November 2021 due to his violation of probation conditions unfortunately the law enforcement authorities could not find and isolate him before he took a human life moreover the authorities of South Carolina where there was an active arrest warrant for Smith never contacted the authorities of California even though he was in the San Mato County jail for 8 months eventually in January 2022 he was arrested in Los Angeles as a suspect in taking the life of Briana Kuper you can see photos of Smith Through The Years on your screen these are the pictures taken at the police station after his arrests Those Who Loved Brianna made sure her 25th birthday was special even though she was no longer alive hundreds of people who knew Brianna crowded into the Brentwood School track to run do yoga and at one point release butterflies we miss her it's a day to kind of celebrate and enjoy each other's company and really think about her through the day said Todd her father on January 22nd 2022 the authorities officially charged Smith with taking the life of Brianna the judge set a bail amount of $2 million to ensure he would remain Behind Bars until the start of the trial Smith's aunt told Fox News digital that that Smith suffered from unspecified mental health issues he was a good boy said Velma Washington who identified herself as his aunt and confirmed that the 31-year-old suspect had grown up here and there in South Carolina she said he had a history of Mental Illness but that she didn't know much about it Smith could face a potential life prison term without the possibility of parole if he is convicted as charged prosecutors have opted not to seek the death penalty against Smith Los Angeles District Attorney George gasan announced the charges saying those who show no compassion for human life will face serious consequences after taking office in December 2020 gasan barred his prosecutors from seeking the death penalty writing in a memo the reality is the death penalty does not make us safer it is racist it's morally untenable it's irreversible and expensive and beginning today it's off the table in LA county Smith is currently awaiting trial and Brianna's family is trying to figure out how to move on with their lives Todd said the family is doing its best to cope with the immense loss of their beloved daughter you can't really move ahead all you can do is move so we're trying to move and honor her as much as we can every day with our actions and our voices he said but the pain obviously doesn't go away it's with you every day despite seeming being introverted at first Briana was always the life of the party Michaela Kuper said Briana would push her to be brave with new experiences Michaela added convincing her to go whitewater rafting and skydiving in Australia she said Briana has definitely been the biggest role model for me my entire life and I think that pretty much every aspect of my life was shaped by her my opinions my humor the way that I approached life was all because of Brian Michaela said I was so proud of her and always trying to be like her briana's family dad Todd Mom Lori Brothers Brandon and Tucker and sister Michaela started the bana cuper Foundation we will be championing causes dear to Brian such as environmental and social justice issues as well as honoring victims like Briana through the protection of women and social betterment Michaela koer briana's sister wrote on the foundation's website we believe that bana was and continues to be a Guiding Light of pure love and that with more love in this world we can transform it into one she would be proud of it starts with the family and with the community

Channel: Checkered Sky - True Crime

Views: 58,516

Keywords: True, crime, true crime, true crime documentary, tru crime, solved, true crime story, True Crime, true crime channel, investigation, detective, disappearance, crime investigation, case solved, detective stories, documentary, crime documentary

Id: 6rUKaX9AVtc

Length: 22min 13sec (1333 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 25 2024