Freshman Kristin Smart Disappeared Without A Trace After A Californian College Party 26 Years Ago - And Now The Prime Murder Suspect Has Been Found Guilty After A
Freshman Kristin Smart disappeared without a trace after a Californian college party 26 years ago - and now the prime murder suspect has been found guilty after a podcast helped cops crack the case.
The podcast Your Own Backyard saw the host interview those close to the cold case, leading to a breakthrough with Paul Flores, now 45, charged with Smart's murder.
His father Ruben Flores, 81, was charged with acting as an accessory after the fact.
More than two and a half decades after Kristin's disappearance, the younger Flores was found guilty of the crime at Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas, .
He was handed his verdict on October 18.
Kristin Smart's body has still never been found.
Smart, 19, was a 'bright' student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She attended a party one night in May 1996, and was never seen again.
Flores' father, now 81, was alleged to have helped bury Kristin behind his home in Arroyo Grande, and later dug up the remains and moved them. But the jury found Ruben not guilty.
Now, partly thanks to the podcast and its host Chris Lambert, Smart's family have finally received some measure of the closure they have been seeking after their daughter's death.
Here, DailyMail.com examines the mystery that's gripped the US for nearly three decades.
THE CASE OF KRISTIN SMART: The freshman was last seen after a party in May 1996.
Investigators have been searching for her killer ever since. Paul Flores, who was also a 19-year-old freshman at the time of her death, was charged with her murder in 2021. He was found guilty in October 2022
Paul Flores, now 45, was found guilty of first-degree murder.
His father, Ruben Flores, now 81, was charged with accessory after the fact, but he was found not guilty
Pictured: Kristin Smart's room, where all her belongings were left in place after she went missing.
A friend claimed he once saw Paul Flores bothering Smart in the room
Pictured: A sign asking for information on Smart.
The Your Own Back Yard podcast's coverage of her case reignited an investigation and helped bring charges against the Flores men. Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder
The last time Kristin was seen: College party, May 1996
Kristin Smart, from Stockton, California, was in her freshmen year at college when she disappeared after a party on May 25, 1996.
On the night she was last seen, Smart and her friends from California Polytechnic State University grabbed a ride in a truck and arrived at an unofficial fraternity house near campus.
According to her college friend Margarita Campos, Smart was 'not under the influence at all' when she last saw her at around 10pm on the intersection of California and Foothill Boulevards.
Former student Ross Ketchum recalled speaking to 19-year-old Smart about surfing and school at the Memorial Day weekend party, held at 135 Crandall Way.
There were about 70 people at the gathering and everyone was 'shoulder-to-shoulder,' Ketchum said.
Tim Davis, a senior who helped host the party, told investigators that towards the end of the night he spotted Smart sprawled on the lawn, apparently passed out.
Davis was going to walk her home with another student, Cheryl Anderson.
Paul and Kristin were both freshmen at Cal Poly in 1996 when she vanished. He was staying in Santa Maria Hall and she was in Muir Hall, which are 0.2 miles apart - a four minute walk.
Paul was the last person to see Kristin alive
Kristin Smart went missing May 1996 while at California Polytechnic State University.
To this day, her body has not been found
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But Paul Flores, then 19, volunteered to help after appearing 'out of nowhere,' Anderson recalled.
Anderson said Smart appeared 'very intoxicated' and her speech was slurred.
Davis and Anderson walked with Flores and Smart, but parted ways before reaching their dorm buildings.
Flores was then the only person left helping Smart stagger back from the party at around 2am.
He was the last person to see her alive.
A missing-person report was filed with campus police on May 28.
Searches were conducted on campus and in her Muir Hall dorm room, where they found her wallet and other belongings.
Smart was formally declared dead in 2002, and her body has never been found.
Recalling moments from 1996, Smart's heartbroken mother Denise said she contacted police shortly after Kristin failed to call home on Sunday, 중고트럭매매 May 26.�
>Kristin's cheerful call home was a weekly ritual, she sa
r>>Before she vanished on May 25, Kristin sent her parents an excited voicemail claiming to have good new
r>They never found out what it w
r>>Worried Denise had days earlier called the college president, but was redirected to a residential advisor who refused to give any information about Kristin on 'privacy' groun
r>> Smart, 19, was a 'bright' student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she attended a party one night in May 1
r>> Investigators tried to find the person behind her murder for the last 26 year
r>At long last, Kristin's family have some closure�
> Flores' father, now 81, was accused of helping bury the slain student behind his home in the nearby community of Arroyo Grande, and later digging up the remains and moved th
br>But he was found not guilty during his t
br>> Paul Flores, who murdered Kristin Smart, lived in this dorm room (nearest window in photo) in the Santa Lucia dormitory in 19
br>Prosecutors presented evidence that four cadaver dogs stopped at Flores' room and alerted to the scent of death near his
br>> Crystal Teschendorf (pictured), Kristin Smart's former roommate, said she and other students called police twice about Smart's disappearance in May 1996�
>A sheriff at the local San Luis Obispo Police Department then told Denise he had no jurisdiction over the college ca
>Four days after her disappearance, police filed a missing persons re
> Smart's former roommate Crystal Teschendorf claimed police didn't take her seriously when she reported the 19-year-old missing twice before police finally filed a re
>Teschendorf said she and several other residents in the dorm contacted police two days after Smart failed to return to her room, and then, again, two days later when she didn't show up for c
>'We had talked about possible scenarios of why she would not have come back to the dorms,' Teschendorf said of the concerned stude
'We kind of thought it was unus
>Testifying about her last interaction with Smart, Teschendorf said her roommate appeared to be in a 'good mood' as they parted ways on Friday, Ma
>When Teschendorf returned to their room, she noticed that Smart's keys and personal belongings that she normally took everywhere were still in the room, untouched, and her roommate was nowhere to be f
>Teschendorf said it was odd because although they weren't particularly close, Smart would usually tell her if she was going to spend the night out of their
>She said that she and the other girls in the dorm grew uneasy when none of them heard from Smart as they decided to make their first call to police on Sunday, May 26.�
> Mother Denise (center) is pictured shortly after the disappearance alongside Kristin's father Stan (second from left), brother Matt (right) and sister Lindsey Smart Stewart
t
> A member of the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department searches a vehicle during an investigation outside of a home in connection with the cold case on February 5
2
>The beginning of the investigation >Flores downplayed his interactions with Smart when he first spoke with police in the days after she was declared missing, saying she walked to her dorm under her own
r
>San Luis Obispo County district attorney's officials interviewed Flores in June 1996, but he later invoked his Fifth Amendment right before a grand jury, and then again during a civil disposition. �
>When Flores was first interviewed, he had a blac
r>
He told them he got it playing basketball with friends, who denied his account, according to court records.�
>He later changed his story to say he bumped his head while working on his car.�
>At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented evidence that four cadaver dogs stopped at Flores' room and alerted to the scent of death near
bed
>Over the years, women called him 'Chester the molester' and 'Psycho Paul,' according to a court
ment
>In the months after Smart disappeared, her frustrated parents hired attorney James Murphy who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Ruben and Paul Flores.�
>During the deposition for the civil suit, he only spoke to confirm his name and invoke the Fifth Amendment
.
It was dropped when the father filed for bankruptcy.�
> Paul Flores (right), then a prime suspect in the disappearance of Kristin Smart in 1996, appearing in Superior Court in Torrance with his attorney Richard Hutton, charg
ith DU
> Paul Flores is shown in an unrelated arrest photo from 1996, when
9.
He will now be sentenced for Sma
murde
>The revival of public interest: Your Own Backyard podcast >Despite over two decades without an answer, her heartbroken mother and father never gav
e.
Then in April 2021, Flores was charged for her murder.�
>And it was during the announcement of the arrest that San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson gave credit to the tireless work of podcast host Ch
Lambert
>Citing the podcast, Your Own Backyard, Parkinson said: 'In 2019, (we) interviewed several witnesses that had not been previously
rviewed
>'Some of that information came to light through the
...
that was produced and eventually led to our interviewing that witness.'�
>Lambert was one of the few journalists and members of the public who have been privy to what is happening inside the court room. He was updating his followers on the closing statements via his Twi
account
>The man from Orcutt, California, started the podcast in 2019, and has since been credited with renewing worldwide interest in the unsolved case.�
>Lambert forensically interviewed Smart's parents, best friend, college roommate, and others wh
ew Flores
>Born out of a desire to simply learn about what happened to the missing girl, Lambert embarked on the pet project without knowing the massive impact it would have for Smart's family.�
>He started asking simple questions to people close to Kristin in 2019 - and soon garnered over 12 million downloads across the globe.�
> Chris Lambert in front of Muir Hall dormitory at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Ob
, Californi
> Lambert, from Orcutt, California, forensically interviewed Smart's parents, best friend, college roommate, and others who knew the prime s
Flores.
Thanks to the witnesses that came forward, police were able to ar
Paul Flore
>Since the trial started, Lambert said that the defense team have unsuccessfully requested to go through his emails, text messages, and gain access to hi
dcast notes
>Lambert previously told the : 'They want to go through my emails, my text messages and it's just not going to happen. I'm not willing to turn that stuff over because there are so many anonymous sources I'm not willing to jeopardize.�
>'They're trying to poke holes in the witnesses' credibility and they want to do it through me, and I think that's improper.'�
>Speaking about his journey documenting aspects of the unsolved case, Lambert said: 'This didn't seem like it was ever going to happen. At the time I picked it up, it felt like the Kristin Smart case is that local case we all talk about, how come it never got solved?�
>'It didn't feel like
would happen.
>He said that during the trial, defense attorneys have said 'a number of times' that the podcast was 'designed to co
t Paul Flores.
>In response, Lambeth said afterwards: 'I know that's just smear, that's their angle on it, but it couldn't be furt
from the truth
>'Tha
t my goal.
It was just, does anyone know what happened? Does anyone know where Kristin is?�
>'Getting into court was not a goal of mine and I didn't see it happening. And honestly once it's done, I think we're all just going to be relieved that it's over, regardless of the outcome.'�
> One of the few journalists and members of the public who was privy to what was happening inside the cou
was Lambert.
He was updating his followers vi
s Twitter accoun
>> Behind lattice work beneath the deck of his large house on a dead end street off Tally Ho Road, archaeologists working for police in March 2021 found a soil disturbance about the size of a casket and the presence of human bl
prosecutors sai
> Search warrants for issued for the Arroyo Grande home of Paul Flores' fat
Ruben Flores, 8
>The breakthrough - Flores men are arrested >Smart's case was never closed, but momentum was revived i
e last two years
>Investigators conducted dozens of searches over two decades, but turned their attention in 2020 to Ruben Flores' home about 12 miles south of Cal Poly.�
>It's believed that the new-found impetus was driven by the fresh interviews police conducted, which first came to light via the Your
Backyard podcast
>They arrested Paul Flores on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm in February 2021 when
home was searched
>Then in March, detectives served a search warrant f
ather's home.
They used ground-penetrating radar and a cadaver
during the probe
>Behind lattice work beneath the deck of his large house on a dead end street off Tally Ho Road, archaeologists working for police in March found a soil disturbance about the size of a casket and the presence of human bl
prosecutors said
> Paul Flores had long been considered a suspect in the killing, but prosecutors only arrested him and his father in 2021 after the inves
was revived.
He is pictured on April 13, 2021 being taken into custody. He
faces life in jai
> Members of the Sheriff's Office and FBI are seen putting up caution tape to keep people off the sidewalk outside the residen
n February 5, 202
>The blood was too degraded to
a DNA sample.
While an expert said it was human blood, the test used did not rule out the possibility it was from a ferret or primate, though court records said no remains of either such an
were found there
>In April 2021, the Smart family lawyer James Murphy filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores alleging that 'under cover of darkness,' the father and unnamed accomplices moved the body four days after investigators searc
his house in 2020
>Flores was previously accused of moving Smart's remains from the burial site 'in the event of an additional search of the property.'�
>An additional search did indeed take
a year later.
Investigators only searched underneath the deck of his home in 2021.�
>During Rubens' trial in October, Deputy DA Christopher Peuvrelle said during the closing statements: 'Only one spot in that entire backyard happened to have a surface disturbance showing it had been dug down into.�
>'Happened to be the perfect size for a human burial site,' he said.�
>However, a jury did not find the evidence credible enough to convict Ruben Flores.�
>Paul Flores was arrested at his San Pedro, California home on April 13, 20
nd charged with murder
>His father wa
aken into custody.
B
men pleaded not guilty
>At the time of their arrest, the Smart family said in a statement: 'It is impossible to put into words what thi
y means for our family
>'We now put our faith in the justice system and move forward, comforted in the knowledge that Kristin has been held in the hearts of so many and that she has not been forgotten.'�
>Authorities also said that they linked two other attacks on women in
Angeles to Paul Flores
>Prosecutors in July 2021 added that Paul Flores 'has a specific fetish for forcing himself upon women especially when they are drugged or inebriated, which is exactly the state of Kristin Smart in the early
ning of March 25, 1996.
> San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office personnel searching in the backyard of the home o
ben Flores in March 202
> An investigator uses ground penetrating radar to search the backyard of the home of Ruben Flores, in Arroyo Grande, California�
>The trial begins - 26 years after Kristin's disappearance >Opening arguments for the 1996 mystery started on July 18, 2022. �
>Prosecutors believed that Flores killed Smart in his dorm r
r trying to rape her.
They claimed that he was then helped by his father to bury the girl's body under the deck behind his home
Arroyo Grande, California
>They said that they later dug up her remains and moved them when law enforcements returned to search the house in 2020. �
>During the trial, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle sensationally pointed at Ruben Flores and his ex-wife, Susan Flores, and said of Krist
'She was under their deck.
>He told the court that there are no witnesses who can corroborate Flores' story of what happened in his dorm room on May 25, 1996.�
>And he said that at the time, Paul Flores and his father did not join in the community hunt for the missing teenager.�
> Paul Flores looks on at the second day of his preliminary
Tuesday August 3, 2021.
He murdered Smart in 199
> Judge Jennifer O'Keefe will sentence Paul
fter being found guilty.
The se
cing will occur on December
>'Paul Flores is guilty as sin. Justice delayed does not have to be justice denied. You now know the truth of what happened,' he said, according to those in the court.�
>Peuvrelle said: 'Now
know where she was all a
.
She was under their deck
>'The community moved Heaven and Earth to try to find her. Paul and Ruben, they moved the d
under their deck to hide her.
>Also heard during the trial was a recorded conversation between Paul F
s and his mother Susan Flores
>During the call, the mother tells her son he needed to tell her where they can 'punch holes' in the 'Your Own Backyar
odcast because 'only you can.
>Robert Sanger, defending Paul Flores, said there was no evidence against his client, and insisted the case was based on rumor.�
>'Conspiracy theories can be fun.
ove to hear them,' said Sanger
>
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<
this article
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'We like to watch shows, and you think, "I bet I know what happened." But you're here as jurors. You took an oath that
would follow the rule of law.
>Sanger picked holes in the witness testimony, noting it had been 26 years since Smart's dea
and questioning their memories
>In his closing arguments, Sanger said the prosecution's case was not to showcase evidence, but rather to evoke an emotional prejudice against Paul Flores by using phrases like 'guilty as sin' and quoting witness testimony that says Paul
es called Smart a 'd*** tease.
>The publicity of the case is 'the elephant in the room,' Sanger said, adding that there were people 'inserting themselves' into the case along with extensive news coverage locall
d 중고트럭매매 nationall
p>'A lot of this had an
uence on testimony,' Sanger sai
p>He also tried to undercut the prosecution's idea of Smart as a yo
innocent, insisting she was wil
p>'It'd be nice to just preserve this idea that everything was fine and she was angelic, but the reality is she engaged in at-risk behavior and you have to interpret how that affects the event
at may have transpired,' he sai
p>'You
pretty straightforward job.
You have to decide whether or not a murder was committed, beyond a rea
ble doubt,' Sanger told the ju
>p>'Short answer - it was not.'
p>But the jury decided it was. They h
d Paul Flores a guilty verdict.
p> San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle led the prosecution
both of the Flores men's trials
p> Paul Flores is picture
rt during his murder trial.
He denied killing
stin Smart - but was found guil
p> Ruben Flores speaks to the media after being acquitted of accessory to murde
arges on Tuesday October 18, 20
p> Monterey Coun
ior Court Judge Jennifer J.
<
'Keefe reads the verdict envelo
p>Sanger spoke about 'uncharged acts' witnesses that were presented, referring to the two women who came forward alleging Paul Fl
raped or attempted to rape the
p>'He's charged with murder,
rape or attempted rape,' he sai
p>He continued: 'That's wrong, that's bad, that's a crime he can be con
f, but that's not your job.
What you have to decide is w
er Paul Flores committed murder
p>Sanger also told the jurors that they needed to question whether the expert witnesses who testified for the prosecution are actually experts. 'It's junk science c
g into the courtroom,' he argue
p>Sanger said the case was straightforward: 'There is no evidence of a murder
that is really the end of it.'
p>He finished his closing arguments by telling jurors: 'You
cide the case for yourself.
It depends on all 12 of you to deliberate to show whether there's proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The only proper v
ct, in this case, is not guilty
p>During the prosecution's rebuttal, Peuvrelle asked the jury to find Paul Flores guilty of first-degree murder and summarized the evidence that had been presented during
trial that started on July 18.
p>He said: 'Sometimes we tell our kids
do not exist, but they do.
I ask you to render a truthful verdict that Paul Flor
s guilty of first-degree murder
p>Describing Paul Flores during the final statements, Rubens' attorney Harold Mesick said: 'He was an awkward freshm
ho liked to wear baseball caps.
He liked
lay pool and he liked to drink.
p>'Paul Flores was innocent, and his actions were helpful. When Kristin Smart fell at the party, he help
er up. He was doing a good deed
p>That 'good deed,' it now transpires, was the m
r of 19-year-old Kristin Smart.
p>Paul Flores was found guilty of
egree murder on October 18.
He f
a minimum of 25 years in jail.
p>He will be sentenced on De
er 9, 중고트럭매매 at 9am
/p>His father Ruben Flores was found not guilty by a separate jury.�
/p><div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-68929290-441d-11ed-9bcf-49ca0985ea4c" website Smart's killer is GUILTY after 26 years
