A UCLA grad student was stabbed to death while working at a luxury furniture store in Los Angeles.
Brianna Kupfer, 24, was alone at the Croft House store on La Brea Avenue in LA’s upscale Fairfax neighborhood when a man entered and stabbed her.
The architectural design student of Pacific Palisades was discovered 20 minutes later by another client.
By the time the police reached the spot, he was already dead.
Police said the male suspect, believed to be homeless, ran through the back door before quieting down an alley, saying he did not know the victim.
After graduating from Brentwood High School, Briana was working as a design consultant at a furniture store. She was also a graduate of the University of Miami.
The murder came amid a massive increase in crime in Los Angeles, with its wake-up District Attorney George Gascon for failing to crack down on the violence. According to the LAPD data, there was a 52 per cent increase in murders and shooting incidents in the city by 59 per cent in 2019 from the previous year.
The city has also suffered a shocking wave of follow-home robberies and organized robbery attacks on retailers.
Brianna Kupfer, 24, has been stabbed to death in a random attack while working at a luxury furniture store in Los Angeles.
Police said the male suspect (pictured) is believed to be homeless and fled through a back door before calming down in an alley
Brianna (center right) leaves behind her mother, father, brothers Brandon and Tucker and her sister Mikaela, who was her best friend, her family said.
his father told cbsla She was ‘loved by all’ and was a talented artist.
Croft House co-owner Riley Rea told the L.A. Times that Briana was beloved by her coworkers at the store she worked at for a year. She continued: ‘She was mature beyond her years.’
The LAPD said in a statement: ‘The suspect was found to be a black male, unknown age, tall, skinny, dark hoodie, sunglasses, a white N-95 mask, dark skinny jeans, dark shoes and a dark colored hoodie. Has been described as a bag of color. ,
‘Based on the evidence discovered by spies, the suspect is presumed to be homeless.’
Dr. Jennifer Botelho, the owner of a nearby chiropractic office, said the suspect entered his business shortly before he was stabbed.
He said: ‘He came in and asked a few questions: “Do you do orthopedics here?” We kind of care, and then he’s gone. So he was here for a few minutes.’
She said: ‘It’s terrible. it’s horrible. She is such a little girl. …we feel so terrible for Brianna’s family, and hope we catch this man.’
Her father described her as a ‘fairy’ and a shrewd young woman who was devoted to her family with great aspirations.
Brianna leaves behind her mother, father, brothers Brandon and Tucker and her sister Mikaela, who was her best friend, her family said.
Her father described her as a ‘fairy’ and a shrewd young woman who was devoted to her family with great aspirations.
The architectural design student at Pacific Palisades (pictured with her mother) was discovered 20 minutes after Thursday’s attack by another client.
After graduating from Brentwood High School and the University of Miami, Brian was working in a furniture store (pictured) as a design consultant.
The graduate student was alone in the Croft House store on La Brea Avenue when a customer entered and stabbed him
The murder has come amid a massive increase in crime in Los Angeles, with its wake-up District Attorney George Gascon for failing to crack down on the violence.
According to the LAPD data, there was a 52 per cent increase in murders and shooting incidents in the city by 59 per cent in 2019 from the previous year.
The city has also suffered a shocking wave of follow-home robberies and organized robbery attacks on retailers.
Jacqueline Avant, the 81-year-old wife of music producer Clarence Avant, was shot and killed at her $2.7 million Beverly Hills mansion in December after she became the victim of the most high-profile heist.
In nearby San Jose on January 3, nine hammer-wielding thugs stormed a San Jose shopping center and broke glass display cases at three stores and fled with $110,000 worth of jewelry.
Los Angeles police arrested 14 people last November in connection with 11 loot-and-grab robberies at stores where nearly $340,000 in merchandise was stolen.
According to police statistics, LA crime is on the rise. Shooting victims increased by 10.6 percent year-on-year and 53 percent from the same point in 2019
The murders came amid a massive crime escalation in Los Angeles, in which District Attorney George Gascon was fired for failing to crack down on the violence.
A Los Angeles Nordstrom, a Lululemon in Studio City, a Fairfax District store and a CVS Pharmacy in South Los Angeles were among the hit stores.
However, due to the county’s zero-bail policies, all suspects were released within hours of being handcuffed.
Gascon said of rising crime rates: ‘The reality is that we go through these cycles, and we go through cycles for a variety of reasons… we have.’
Gascon is currently embroiled in a row over a transgender woman who has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, with the DA saying she may be allowed to serve her sentence under house arrest.
He refused to prosecute 26-year-old Hannah Tubbs as an adult for a crime she committed two weeks before her 18th birthday.
On New Year’s Eve in 2014, Tubbs spotted a 10-year-old girl at a Denise in Palmdale, California, followed her In the bathroom, grabbed her by the throat and put her hand on the girl’s pants.
Gascon is refusing to sentence Tubbs as an adult because the defendant was 17 when the assault took place.
John Hatami, a prosecutor and supporter of the recall movement of Gascon, said Tubbs was too dangerous to be in the juvenile system.
“It clearly shows you the dangerous side of George Gascon’s blanket policies,” he said.
Separately, Gascon is facing another scandal after his own police asked federal prosecutors to charge the alleged murderers of an off-duty LAPD officer.
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva sought federal prosecution for four gang members accused of killing Officer Fernando Arroyos on January 27, fearing that chasing them through Gascon could result in a mild punishment.
Last year, Gascon removed an increase in punishment — such as membership of a gang — that would have seen Arroyos’ alleged killers potentially jailed for life if convicted.
California law stipulates a sentence of 25 years to life without parole, while Gascon’s reforms would offer murderers parole after completing their sentences.
The federal charges they now face come with an increase that automatically lengthens a sentence the person must be convicted of to life without parole.
Gascon previously announced that it had decided not to increase sentences in gang-linked cases as part of an increasingly controversial prison reform policy aimed at promoting ‘equity’.
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