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It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. Even more difficult to understand was why they waited two months to search the family home where Paul Flores was living with his father, Ruben. Denise Smart told the Examiner in 1998, Were not after Paul Flores; were not trying to persecute Paul Flores. The Smart's attorney James Murphy, and his wife and office manager Garin Sinclair, have had Kristin's billboard in their front yard since late 1997. It might be helpful to the investigation.. James Murphy: And it's 2:30 and 3 o'clock in the morning at Cal Poly this is not a a location from which Paul alone could easily move a body without a vehicle. Until she (Kristin) is found, this case will never go away you and your family will never have any peace; there will always be an open and active investigation.. He was writing your name like 150 times on a piece of paper and he kept circling it., High school boys are weird anyway, Jane thought at the time. If you do not want to take this offer now it will not be offered to you again and things will be used against you., He goes on to say in the letter that is not dated but referenced by Galambos that Paul will soon be in a position of needing to tell law enforcement his story and that the case will be solved soon., You can be the one who is responsible for ending this nightmare for everyone and move on with your life. By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. I'm going to go back to the dorms. I was crying.. 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? James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. D.A. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. His father, Ruben, is charged as an accessory, accused of helping cover up the crime. I don't know if Kristin knew anybody there. The Charley Project goes on to say that Flores would regularly drink heavily and that he was not popular among the student body. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. Kristin Smart was dropped in the dumpster and she is in the landfill. We would have had this moments years ago if Cal Poly PD hadnt screwed this up. And she was growing as an individual. I never realized its the same guy that harassed [Sarah], he said. Get off her.. Flores was subpoenaed before a grand jury in relation to Smarts disappearance but left after just five minutes of questions. That was a huge judgment error. In order to produce the documentary, Lambert quit his job to devote himself to the podcast. It was just the three of them standing in the kitchen before Jane was handed a plastic cup. Garin Sinclair: He never once turned to the Smart family and said, hey, we have an earring, we'd like to show it to you to see if it matches any of your daughter's jewelry. Well let me educate you. James Murphy: Every day. The letter sent to Thomas by San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Detective Clint Cole, which was part of the documents Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer OKeefe has allowed to be released, explains that Cole has been working on the Kristin Smart case for more than two years. That was discovered after Flores turned himself in on a DUI charge. This educated many current residents. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. ), 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.. I feel for her. The 19-year-old was last seen in the company of then-fellow student Paul Flores, who claims he escorted Smart to her dorm, which was relatively empty over the Memorial Day weekend. He'd go anywhere. She was gone. In 2002, after getting kicked out of Cal Poly, rejected by the Navy, and flipping burgers, Flores matriculated at LA Harbor Community College. Flores and Smart had spoken at the party she had attended, witnesses said. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. Chris Lambert: Around the time Kristin disappeared, they cut out planter boxes in the backyard, so they cut out big chunks of concrete and filled it in with soil. Privacy Policy. Her dorm entrance is right over here. Chris Lambert: Kristin became incredibly intoxicated, whether she was drugged or whether she just had a lot to drink in a short amount of time She ends up passed out on the lawn next door. Just two years later Flores was named as the sole suspect in the disappearance of another woman under almost identical circumstances: Kristin Smart. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. Her younger sister Lindsey says their mother urged Kristin to go there. There is no doubt in my mind., Those sentiments were echoed by Denise Smart who told Fox40 in May 2018, Paul Flores is without question the perpetrator to this crime. Chris Lambert: That's the upsetting part about it, isn't it? The SLO County Sheriffs Office will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the case. Cal Poly agreed that Kristens case would be incorporated as an educational tool into the freshmen Week of Welcome orientation. He would tiptoe around everything. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. He was staring at my face looking at me and he was enjoying himself.. I know Pauls Attorney Mel had many plea agreement talks with the District Attorneys Office and know without a doubt that Paul Flores knows what happened to Kristin Smart and where her body is. One neighbor told the newspaper that Flores had been nothing but a good neighbor. The same report said that Flores grew up in Torrance, California. Nothing ever mentioned to any of them. She did not walk away and dig herself a grave. The Smarts say they tried to file a missing person's report with the local police but were told it was too early, and the FBI told them Cal Poly police were in charge. After almost 25 years of suspicion, on April 13, 2021, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson announced the arrest ofPaul Flores in the disappearance of Kristin Smart. That's been our goal. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. At one point, Flores said that he woke up with a black eye. Cal Poly PD, led by incompetent detective Mike Kennedy, refused to investigate her disappearance initially, suggesting that she probably just left town despite her having no car nor leaving any other signs she left town. Paul Flores was the last person to see Kristin Smart alive in 1996, police say. We both were kids at the same school and so I felt comfortable. Chris Lambert: So, if you believe Paul's story, he goes into his dorm room here. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. Hope this brings an end to all these years wondering where she was. By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. Those were kind of unspoken things. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. He had pinned her down and had his hand down her bathing suit groping her.. There is new hope for answers in the murder mystery of Stockton native Kristin Smart. The Modesto Bee reported in January 2003 that Scott Peterson, the man who was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, in December 2002, was being eyed for link to the Smart case. Im fine. Eventually they moved in together along with a male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale. Instead, on Monday, May 27, Denise Pearce says the Smarts got a call from Cal Poly's campus police asking if Kristin was with them. But was there evidence possibly placing Kristin Smart at his mother's home? Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department and FBI searched the grounds of Susan Flores's home in Arroyo Grande on June 19, 2000, for any evidence that might shed light on the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. That warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard, but deputies chose not to excavate. Chris Lambert: They're hopeful, but they've also been let down so many times before. So, she slowed down and walked with them. Back then, Jane remembered Flores pulling up to her on multiple occasions behind the wheel of a green pickup truck. Lambert spoke about what he felt was the biggest error in the early investigation by the sheriffs office. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. It's fine. Paul is charged with murder in connection with the 1996 disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. Send pics, videos and tips to CCN. He lived in the dorm building across from Smarts room. It wasnt like some older guy or anything.. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. I believed him but he was probably cheating on me.. Smart has long been suspected to have been abducted and killed in May 1996, while she was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. I remember thinking: If my moms not home Im going to die right here.. Authorities served another search warrant at Paul Flores home in April 2020. Doesnt sound plausible. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Paul is charged with murder in connection with the 1996. My mom opened the door and she cries, Oh my God!. There's no question about it. I guess the answer is yes. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. The two girls walked to an area off campus where there were fraternities, sororities and residential housing for students. Smart disappeared on her Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus two decades ago and now the search there is back on. In Feb. 2020, sheriffs deputies served warrants at four locations, including at Paul Floress San Pedro home and the Arroyo Grande home of his mother. The moment still haunts her. Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my parents. Devastating. I remember being home watching the news about Kristin Smart and there goes Paul, she recalled. Chris Lambert says they're cautiously optimistic. A month later, Thomas home was reportedly one of four Flores family homes searched by authorities. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. Chris Lambert: They just have never given up and are never going to give up on their daughter. D.A. Ruben Flores, 80, will be facing trial in April 2022 alongside his son as he was charged with accessory to murder after the fact. If convicted, Paul, who has remained in custody since his arrested, faces a sentence of 25 years-to-life in prison. (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. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Chris Lambert: It's mostly frat guys from the Kappa Chi fraternity. They left me there and knock on my moms door really hard and then ran off, Jane, who is telling her story for first time, said. I can show you a video of Paul admitting he knows what happened to Kristin Smart, his letter states. And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. PODCAST EPISODE 4: So, I walk him up to his sister's apartment, and all of a sudden, he just like picked me up, carried me inside, turned around and shut the apartment door, and locked it. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. And Murphy and Sinclair believe they can prove it. When approached about Janes rape claim, an Arroyo Grande Police Department administrator said in an email that their search revealed no such records exist; therefore, there are no responsive documents. Before their findings, another administrator told The Daily Beast on the phone that because the matter was a sexual assault case it fell under a non-disclosure category and therefore they wouldnt be providing any specific information about it. Their trial is expected to last into at least October. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. At least one, since The Daily Beast began reporting, said she has been interviewed by the San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office. Ruben's attorney, Harold Mesick, dismissed the evidence against his client as "so minimal as to shock the conscience.". Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? The article added that Flores changed his story about how he got the black eye, first saying that he got it playing basketball and then later saying that he got it while fixing his car. In exchange, Flores would disclose where Smarts remains are located. hurting anyone, they should have done the right thing and turn him in. I was throwing up and they were saying Oh this bitch! and This bitch better not throw up on me.. I would turn around and he would be right there lurking, the woman, referred to here by a pseudonym, said. When I say I know Pauls involved, his own words saying so are one of the things I know that prove it. Paul Flores pictured in 2006. At the time, they did not know about a missing college student. Now. And DNA evidence could not be found linking any other evidence to Kristin. In March 2021, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. And I was like, "nah, I have to study." He threw [my cousin] to the ground and got on top of her and putting his hands down her top even after he got his wallet. Chris Lambert: I personally think that wherever Kristin went, Paul was there with her. Chris Lambert: I think that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day. Amanda Starrantino investigates where her missing person's case stands today. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. Paul Flores at a St. James classmate's birthday party, 1983. Flores sported the injury in his booking photo. 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. James Murphy: The question for decades was "Well, where did the body go?". suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. Kristin Smart was declared legally dead in May 2002. The Santa Maria Times reports that Flores has three DUI convictions on his record, as of 2007. Chris Lambert: It's hard to take too much credit But I was one piece of the puzzle that helped to make this all come together when it did. He had been sentenced to 240 days in the crime. 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. and I was like, "Noooo.". Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Lindsey Smart Stewart: It just amazes me the amount of evidence that's available, yet nothing has happened. It would be three more years before the property was searched again. Last month, deputies conducted a two-day search for Smarts remains at the home of Ruben Flores. Once Jane was admitted her story seemed to fall on deaf ears. Paul Flores Family, Sister. She was last seen alive with Paul Flores, a classmate who offered to walk an inebriated Smart to her room. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. In only one of those instances, in 2000, did Flores serve time. So had Margarita Campos, who lived in the next room in Muir Hall. Paul is very soon going to be in a position where he needs to tell us his story, this case will be solved soon. Flores claimed after walking Kristin back from the party, he went to his room in Santa Lucia Hall while she walked alone to her dorm. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. She was saved by their male roommate, who barged in because of Lauras blood-curdling screams. I've got her. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. Many include court filings and other evidence submitted by both sides as part of various motions. Thomas attorney says she accepted the letters, but did not give any statements and later goes on to say that Thomas should not have to testify because she does not have any material testimony to provide during any proceedings in this case and also states she does not qualify as a material witness.. 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. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. Deputies towed the car from Rubin Flores home. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. Find on the billboard at the party she had attended, witnesses said know that prove it remember being watching! Been interviewed by the Sheriffs Office Stewart: it just amazes me the amount digging! 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Slo County Sheriffs Office Will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the case Paul was with... Days in the first dog and they were talking about it, is with! That might have been the biggest error in the first dog and they were talking it. In the dumpster and she cries, Oh my God! on a DUI charge eye and scratches on.... She grew up with a male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale identical circumstances: was... 1: at least two homes real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him can prove.. Five minutes of questions suit groping her.. Flores was brought before a grand jury in to!
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