Brianna Kupfer news – latest: LAPD offer reward as comparisons made to same-day attack on retiring nurse

Councilmember Paul Koretz reads a statement from the family.

They call Brianna a rising star in the community who embodied everything great about Los Angeles who lit up any room she was in. She deeply loved her family and friends.

They thank the city council, LAPD, and the whole of the westside community for the outpouring of grief and sympathy at their daughter’s death.

In addition to the $50,000 offered by the city, more than $200,000 has been donated to bring the suspect to justice.

We are awaiting the 1pm PST LAPD press conference to officially announce the reward being offered for information to identify Ms Kupfer’s killer.

LAPD police chief Michael Moore, city council member Paul Koretz, and a member of the Kupfer family will attend.

In a statement, the LAPD said: “West Bureau Homicide Detectives are asking the public’s help for information identifying and locating the suspect in a deadly stabbing, which occurred on January 13, 2022 and will announce a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.”

The slain student’s father, Todd Kupfer, condemned politicians for failing to curb soaring crime in the days after his daughter’s murder.

“Crime is truly spiking, and we have a lot of criminals on the streets that should not be out,” he told Fox News on Monday.

“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.”

The Independent’s Arpan Rai reports.

A woman who owns a business next door to the store where Ms Kupfer was killed claims she came face-to-face with the suspect moments before the stabbing.

Dr Jennifer Botelho, who runs a chiropractic practice in Hancock Park, said a man matching the suspect’s description came into her store on Thursday afternoon.

“He asked a couple of questions: ‘Do you do orthopedics here?’ What kind of care we provide and then he left. So he was just here for a few minutes,” Dr Botelho told CBS Los Angeles.

She also said that she’s been forced to ramp up security at her business in recent months due to an increase in crime in the neighbourhood.

Offering her condolences to Ms Kupfer’s family, she said: “It’s terrifying. It’s horrible. She’s such a young girl. … We feel so horrible for Brianna’s family, and hope we can catch this guy.”

A Los Angeles nurse killed in a random attack on the same day that Ms Kupfer was killed was just about to retire, a neighbour has said.

Sandra Shells, 70, died in hospital on 16 January, three days after police say a homeless man assaulted her at a bus stop.

Ms Shells had been a nurse at a local medical centre for 38 years, and her death has left a shocked community trying to make sense of the attack.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz released a statement on Friday.

The tragic murder of Brianna Kupfer in Hancock Park has shaken our community to its core. There are no words that can express the deep sorrow and sadness that has engulfed us all. My family’s prayers are with Brianna’s family and friends at this time, with my commitment and reassurance that we will find the perpetrator who committed this heinous act and bring him to justice.

My Director of Public Safety was on scene yesterday with LAPD Operations West Bureau Detectives and Wilshire Area Captain Sonia Monico. We are working closely with our law enforcement counterparts to assure they have every resource necessary. LAPD is aware of my full and unconditional support to bring the perpetrator to justice.

The murder of Ms Kupfer has shocked residents of the affluent Hancock Park neighbourhood.

Situated in the Wilshire area, it sits to the south of Hollywood and Melrose, and to the east of La Brea, approximately four miles west of Downtown Los Angeles.

Centrally-located to the neighbourhood is the Wilshire Country Club. Other nearby landmarks include the LaBrea Tar Pits and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

A sizeable portion of the area is zoned as historically important having been developed in the 1920s. A number of residences of consuls generals are within Hancock Park, including those of Canada, Japan, and the UK — where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stayed on a visit in 2011.

The neighbourhood is approximately 71 per cent White, 13 per cent Asian, eight per cent Hispanic or Latino, four per cent Black, and four per cent mixed race. An estimated 20 per cent of the population is Orthodox Jewish.

Nearby businesses to Croft House, where Ms Kupfer worked, include lighting and plumbing stores, various eateries, a Kosher market, and two Orthodox synagogues.

Ms Kupfer’s slaying at her place of work has shattered the Hancock Park community, where she was known as a “kind soul”, beacon of positivity and role model to young women.

At the time of her death, the 24-year-old was seeking a graduate degree in architectural design at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

She leaves behind her parents and three siblings.

The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell explains everything we know about Ms Kupfer:

A neighbour whose home looks out over the alley behind the store where Ms Kupfer was killed has shared his regret that he didn’t catch a glimpse of the suspect as he fled.

John Harding said he frequently watches the alley for suspicious activity, but was out for a walk when the murder took place on 13 January.

“As I work from home, I just look out the window constantly just to see what is that individual doing? Are they just walking through, or are they looking in someone’s car trying to find a door that’s open to a back gate,” he explained to KABC.

“I took my dog for a walk at the time that this happened and I have a little guilt, if only I had walked at a different time, I might have been able to help identify the individual that did this violence to an innocent individual just doing her job.”