EXCLUSIVE: The heartbroken father of a UCLA graduate student brutally slaughtered in a random daylight attack in Los Angeles is outraged that the autopsy report containing graphic details of her savage murder was released to the press.
"You have people who don’t really care about humanity and, for whatever selfish gain or for whatever reason, they act… without a conscience," Todd Kupfer told Fox News Digital.
Brianna Kupfer, 24, was stabbed to death Jan. 13 while working at upscale furniture store Croft House by career criminal Shawn Laval Smith, who may have targeted her because she was alone in the store.
"Everybody knows she was brutally murdered. I don’t know why people would need to know more than that. It's glorifying a horrible tragedy for entertainment," Kupfer said.
WHO IS BRIANNA KUPFER, THE LOS ANGELES STABBING VICTIM?
A photo combination of Brianna Kupfer and her alleged killer Shawn Laval Smith (Family handout/mugshot )
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. Autopsy reports are public record per California law, according to a spokesperson for the medical examiner's office.
Kupfer said he and his family have intentionally avoided watching or reading any media coverage about the autopsy. "We don’t want to know that at this point. It’s too difficult and too triggering," he said.
A Los Angeles assistant district attorney contacted him Thursday to inform him of the autopsy's release.
Flowers are placed outside Los Angeles Croft House furniture store in memory of slain graduate student Brianna Kupfer. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Smith, 31, allegedly strolled into the Brianna Kupfer's store at about 2:30 p.m., and she immediately texted her manager to say the man was giving her a "bad vibe." Minutes later she was dead. Smith fled but was arrested six days later in Pasadena.
Smith has an extensive criminal record spanning both coasts and had an active warrant for assaulting a police officer at the time of the murder. Authorities are currently awaiting the results of Smith’s mental health evaluation to proceed to trial.
FATHER OF SLAIN UCLA GRAD STUDENT BLAMES POLITICIANS FOR CRIME SPIKE
Progressive prosecutors like Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón have come under fire for their soft-on-crime policies, as the murder rate has surged in many big cities.
Gascón faces a recall amid a soaring homicides rate that has spiked 35% so far this year compared to the same period in 2020, according to public data.
The 24-year-old was studying design as a grad student at UCLA. (Todd Kupfer)
"Obviously, the recall campaign right now is an important step," Kupfer told Fox News Digital. "People need to be accountable for their actions. People shouldn't have their right to safety taken away so others can have a free pass to commit crimes over and over again."
BRIANNA KUPFER SENT PAL OMINOUS TEXT BEFORE SHE WAS STABBED TO DEATH
He added of his daughter's killer, "He should have been in jail."
Kupfer grew up in the Pacific Palisades — about 3 miles north of Santa Monica — with her father, her mother Lori, her little sister Mikaela and her brothers Tucker and Brandon.
Brianna Kupfer in a family portrait. (Todd Kupfer)
"She was a kind soul and always was trying to make herself better and everything around her better," Kupfer previously told Fox News Digital. "She cared about people."
The University of Miami graduate loved to sew and wanted to create her own clothing line. She was studying design at UCLA and had been working at Croft House on La Brea Ave. for about a year as a consultant.
Todd Kupfer said the family is doing its best to cope with the immense loss of their beloved daughter.
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"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."
Smith faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder. The Los Angeles district attorney didn't immediately return requests for comment.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect autopsy reports are public record in California, according to LA County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
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