Tracy McGeagh, left, and Joan Douglas mourned Brianna Kupfer at the vigil on Jan. 20. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Hundreds of people gathered on Jan. 20 in commemoration of Brianna Kupfer, a 24-year-old woman who was murdered in the Croft House furniture store where she worked on La Brea Avenue.

Mourners hugged each other and cried as flowers and candles were placed on the sidewalk in front of the store at 326 N. La Brea Ave. where she was killed on Jan. 13. Many people held up signs with photographs of Kupfer and vowed that she would never be forgotten. Others signed cards affixed to Croft House’s façade and lit candles in Kupfer’s memory.

“To have her life taken away so senselessly … there are really no words to describe how terrible it is,” said Pamela Taylor, a neighbor of the Kupfer family in Pacific Palisades. “This has been so devastating. It’s horrific. The family is absolutely broken.”

Members of the Kupfer family were not present at the vigil and have asked for privacy, said Alex Segal, co-founder and director of business development for Croft House, who spoke briefly to the crowd.

“[Brianna] was the brightest part of anyone’s day who got to interact with her. She was smart and capable, intelligent, kind and friendly, just an incredibly driven person,” Segal said. “It’s unthinkable. The question just screams, ‘Why?’ I don’t know that there will ever be a sufficient answer to that question, but when you look around at all the people that have shown up for her, you can see the semblance of how we start to put things back together.”

Flowers and candles were placed in front of Croft House on La Brea Avenue at the vigil for Brianna Kupfer. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The vigil was held a week after Kupfer was found dead inside the store and a day after a 31-year-old man who police said was homeless was arrested for the murder. On Jan. 21, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged the suspect, Shawn Laval Smith, 31, with one count of murder, with the special allegation that he used a knife. Smith remains in custody on $2 million bail.

The vigil was organized by Hancock Park residents Yael Kopple and Sheila Meyer, who said they did not know Kupfer but were deeply saddened by her death. Kopple said it was important for the community to come together to show support.

“We didn’t want to just go on and be silent,” Kopple said. “We wanted to be here so people can remember Brianna. What happened is absolutely not OK. It is horrifying, it’s terrible. It’s just so scary because it could have been any of us.”

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer also attended the vigil and called the murder a tragedy.

“It was exceptionally important to be here and stand with the family. I have children who are only a little bit older than Brianna was, so the devastation of that family is unimaginable,” Feuer said. “This is an important step for helping the family begin to heal, because they’re being embraced by hundreds of people, and it was really important for me to be part of that.”

Los Angeles Police Department officials have not released further information about Smith, who was arrested at approximately 11:50 a.m. on Jan. 19, near the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Colorado Boulevard and in Pasadena. A bartender who works at a restaurant across the street from the location where Smith was arrested recognized him and called 911, according to media reports. A $250,000 reward was announced the day before Smith was arrested. Authorities have not said whether the unnamed person who called police will receive the reward.

Hundreds of people attended the vigil, which was organized by Hancock Park residents Yael Kopple and Sheila Meyer. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Smith has an extensive arrest record. He was most recently arrested in the city of Covina on Oct. 27, 2020, on an unspecified misdemeanor charge, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department booking records. No charges were filed in that case.

Smith also has a criminal record in Charleston County, South Carolina, including three arrests from 2016-19 for trespassing and resisting arrest. On Nov. 14, 2019, Smith was arrested in Charleston, South Carolina, for allegedly firing a weapon inside an occupied vehicle, according to Charleston County Court records. He was released on $50,000 bail on the weapons charge and the case is pending. Authorities did not disclose how long Smith has been in the Los Angeles area, but court records show he had an address in Charleston as of July 2021.

Anyone with information about the murder is urged to call the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Bureau Homicide Unit at (213)382-9470.