Kristin Smart 19, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University had gone to a party on Friday, May 24 , 1996 -- and has not been seen since. When they reached the turnoff to Cheryl's dorm, she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her. Ruben's attorney, Harold Mesick, dismissed the evidence against his client as "so minimal as to shock the conscience.". Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." I got in his face, the ex-boyfriend, who requested anonymity, told The Daily Beast. JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Please enter valid email address to continue. According to a county probation bail report obtained by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "biological evidence" was found under Ruben's deck. Hes on top of me. Four months earlier, Kristin Smart, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly had gone to a party on Friday, May 24 the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. One late night at a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted a 21-year-old student whom well call Laura. His father Ruben Flores charged with being an accessory after the factwas found not guilty. BOE-A-2023-5092 Orden JUS/181/2023, de 21 de febrero, por la que se aprueba la relacin provisional de personas admitidas y excluidas en el proceso selectivo para acceso libre, al Cuerpo de Gestin Procesal y Administrativa de la Administracin de Justicia, convocado por Orden JUS/1254/2022, de 7 de diciembre. Once the dogs were let inside the room, they alerted to a corner of Flores bed mattress. And according to that probation report, "dozens of women have recounted Paul Flores' sexual assaults and predatory behavior that document his 25 years as a serial rapist." I guess you can call it little white lies, Flores told detectives. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. In one of Paul's police interviews he mentioned that he wanted to be let out of the interview because he needed to help clean up concrete at his mom's house So, what was being done in Susan Flores's backyard in the weeks after Kristin went missing? As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. Get off her.. But cadaver dogs told a different story. Facebook gives people the. We were standing by the washer and dryer and we were arguing and he shouted, No! and slapped my arm, Laura said. Sheriff Ian Parkinson was able to confirm that forensic physical evidence that authorities believe is linked to Kristin was located at, at least two homes. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. These new allegations against Paul Flores are very troubling and deserve to be thoroughly investigated. Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. Flores said he suffered the black eye during a basketball game he played with friends in Arroyo Grande on Monday. It was updated on October 22, 2022.). Jane said she kept this secret for yearseven from her husband. Jonathan Vigliotti [with Lambert outside of the the dorms]: Paul and Kristin then make their way here. Critics called. The Smarts' younger daughter, Lindsey, described her parents to Vigliotti: "I think they're like carrying boulders on their backs.". Thats how we metI was walking and he pulled over and said to me Hey, Ill take you to school, she remembered Flores asking her. Ruben lived here with his wife, Susan, and their children, Ermelinda and Paul. And these girls are inviting us out. "YOUR OWN BACKYARD" PODCAST: EPISODE 1: It's a cold and cloudy winter afternoon in San Luis Obispo and I'm retracing missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart's last known steps. Chris Lambert: And that's when they're told that earring has been misplaced. Ian Parkinson: I committed to them that I was going to go back to the beginning and re-examine every piece of evidence that we had. When Lambert later told Kristin's mother, Denise, about those early morning beeping sounds in Susan Flores's backyard, he said her reaction was "shock we just kind of stared at each other for a good long time I think it took a while to settle in, that this could potentially be huge." By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. He called his father at 9:47 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 1996. He'd go anywhere. He was staring at my face looking at me and he was enjoying himself.. Paul would try to get Kristins attention and she was too nice to tell him off. I have this PTSD fear of someone kicking the door in.. Kristin Denise Smart (born February 20, 1977, legally presumed dead May 25, 2002) was an American woman who is presumed to have been abducted, raped, and killed at the end of her freshman year of college on the campus of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Susan Flores and her boyfriend were never charged in the case. She was she was frantic I don't understand this, you know? DAN DOW [press conference]: It is alleged that Mr. Flores caused the death of Kristen Smart while in the commission of or attempted rape. And very chilling. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. Ann-Marie Christian: became friends with Kristin in elementary school. Have a good day, he said. Detectives asked Flores about a visible black eye on his face. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. First published on November 28, 2020 / 11:10 PM. Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. After all these years, Sheriff Parkinson says that Paul Flores continues to be their number one suspect. Sarah said shes still haunted by Flores. Flores said he suffered the black eye during a basketball game he played with friends in Arroyo Grande on Monday. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. It has been called Dr. Seuss Day because of this. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. View the profiles of people named Ermelinda Thomas. An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. But the investigation is ongoing. I was like Oh my God. Chris Lambert: I think that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. ", Although suspicion surrounded Flores almost from the beginning, any hopes for an arrest were dashed in May 1997 when then-Sheriff Ed Williams made an admission to the San Luis Obispo Telegraph: "We need Paul Flores to tell us what happened to Kristin Smart so absent something from Mr. Flores, I don't see us completing this case.". There was no change in the soil consistent with that.. And there were those nonstop tales of Flores being touchy-feely with her friends. She made a decision that shes regretted ever since. And while they did not rush to investigate Flores, Kristin's family says campus police were very quick to judge her. The investigation seemed to be hampered from the start by a series of missteps by campus police beginning with their assumption that Kristin was off having fun and ignoring worried friends who said she was missing. Podcaster Chris Lambert says that after 24 years, "I think it's time [for Flores] to talk." The woman, whom we'll call Jane, believes she was roofied, raped, and discarded by Paul Flores and his nameless friend when she was a 15-year-old high-school sophomore in 1994. But I've seen it. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. D.A. Its a fib. Paul R Flores and Paul Raul Flores are some of the alias or nicknames that Paul has used. ), A sheriff offices spokesman said his agency couldnt say if investigators working Smarts cold case had been made aware or not of the new alleged victims, citing refusal to comment on an open and active investigation.. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. When Anderson looked back one last time at Flores and Smart, she saw that he was leading Smart toward his dorm, Santa Lucia Hall, not Muir Hall, the prosecutor told the jury. Over the years, while Stan Smart hiked every trail around California's Central Coast in hopes of finding Kristin's remains, Denise relentlessly pushed law enforcement to do more. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. The murder trial began on Monday with opening statements from prosecutors and Flores defense attorney. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. The fact is, there is a lot of sort of evidence. I say that because you will see, when you actually listen to what comes out, its not what it seems to be, Sanger said. He noticed Paul Flores would randomly walk through the halls of Muir Dorm. 1996 was before the #MeToo movement, Peuvrelle told the jury. Its not a lie. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. Neither the ex-boyfriend nor Sarah saw Flores again until they read The Daily Beast story on Kristin Smarts disappearance, where Floress mugshot appeared. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. That turned out to be college. Then, in 2011, Ian Parkinson was elected sheriff. Margarita Campos: I was a little bit more introverted and inhibited and she was like, "no, we have to go out and we have to go like live life." I think they're just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. Flores only made one phone call the weekend Smart disappeared, according to prosecutors. Instead, Flores and his family were sued in 2002 by the Smarts in civil court for intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the parents of Kristin Smart by taking the body of Kristin Smart and secreting and/or destroying the body in a hidden place in the County of San Luis Obispo. The Flores family countersued for emotional distress. Both suits were shelved by a judge until Smarts remains are found. The moment still haunts her. I told her I didn't I didn't want to go. He hired a detective to work full time on the case, and over the past nine years deputies have carried out searches, conducted new interviews, and gathered additional evidence. Margarita Campos: I'll never forget her shadow against the building, this apartment complex, just standing like kind of cross-armed with the long leg And she was just kind of like looking at me like, [sighs] you're really walking away now, like you're really, you're leaving? In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. and offers to help. The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. A single woman's earring. My mom opened the door and she cries, Oh my God!. Includes Address (7) Phone (7) Email (2) See Results. Sources tell us investigators discovered videos and photographs on Flores' computer showing him engaged in sexual activity with at least 10 different women, apparently in various states of consciousness. He was seeing someone on the side who he called his friend, she said. Guardar . Authorities arrested Ruben Flores after San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's deputies served a search warrant at his Arroyo Grande home. or even her keys. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. I said, Stop it. It was never like Hey you want to go hookup? He never made advances and he would just say Hi at school.. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. Later, he told detectives that Smart was walking just fine and returned to her dorm while he returned to his dorm. Chris Lambert says, two days after that, when Flores was interviewed by campus police, they asked how he got his black eye as well as scratches on his hands and knees. An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. It's fine. All four dogs, including one who was considered the best of the best, separately signaled an alert indicating the presence of human remain odors only in Flores room. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. Lived In Dublin CA, King Of Prussia PA, Norristown PA. Related To Cooper Flores. And I was like, "nah, I have to study." Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. And Murphy and Sinclair believe they can prove it. The Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores is being searched today for the remains of Kristin Smart. The two girls walked to an area off campus where there were fraternities, sororities and residential housing for students. They asked him not to use their names: PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #1: Well his nickname was "Scary Paul.". Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Lassiter told Lambert the earring she found matched the necklace Kristin was wearing on one of the "Missing Cal Poly Student" billboards. A break in the case happened in 2020 when sheriffs deputies wire-tapped the phones of Flores, his father, and his mother to record their private conversations. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. Some even wondered if she might have been drugged. The family attorney refused to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. James Murphy: Every day. I've got her. Produced by Lisa Freed. She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. They might have found evidence in those vehicles. A hundred percent that was happening. And when they did . But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. I did have guilt about that. She told him that shortly after moving in, she was washing her car in the driveway and found an earring next to the left front tire. When The Daily Beast tracked Flores down outside his home last month, he didnt mount much of a defense. Flores and Smart were both 19-year-old freshmen Cal Poly students who attended the same party the night she vanished, on May 25, 1996. At the time Kristin Smart disappeared, investigators did not immediately search the home. I had zero interest in her, according to prosecutors. And it all came back to me. Since speaking with The Daily Beast, at least one of the women who has come forward saying Flores attacked her has been questioned by a detective working the Smart case. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. That warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard, but deputies chose not to excavate. San Luis Obispo County sheriff's officials gather under a coroner's tent in the backyard of Ruben Flores' house in the 700 block of White Court in Arroyo Grande on April 13. James Murphy: To see them in custody was a feeling of great joy for me. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. Prosecutors said Smart began falling down shortly after she was seen at the Tiki bar with Flores. (The office hired a detective in 2015 to work on Unsolved Crimes for $15,000 a month: There are four open homicide investigations and Smarts remains an unsolved missing persons case. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. I don't know if Kristin knew anybody there. Thats when everyone got involved, she said. Chris Lambert: A young couple moves into it with their kid. JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill Kristin Smart? 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