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Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. Lambert says Kristin could not stand on her own, so fellow student Cheryl Anderson who was also at the party began helping her back to campus. Cole said that Ruben then clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three to have been arrested. Margarita Campos: But when we got to the house it was pretty dead too, it was really -- it was like a couple of roommates hanging out playing video games And Kristin was, like oh gosh, there has to be something better than this. All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. And these girls are inviting us out. Cole also testified that on March 9, 2020, a witness reported some suspicious activity at the property. Paul invoked the Fifth Amendment when the DAs office subpoenaed him to testify before a grand jury in 1996 and after the Smarts filed a $40 million wrongful-death lawsuit against him; during a 1997 deposition, he again pleaded the Fifth. Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? Kristen has never been found. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. D.A. A lot of women felt uncomfortable around him, Flemming says. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . 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. When asked about how he got the injury Flores told three different stories. Kristin Smart, a bright, adventurous communication studies freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, went missing May 25, 1996. Books from this author. 'Keep her memory alive': Organizer encourages community to spread Mesick argued there were many innocent explanations why soil had previously been dug up in the yard. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. Paul Flores, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. On May 25, 1996, friends dropped her off at an off-campus party. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. James Murphy: An eyewitness actually documented the fact that throughout the night that there was activity in the area of the underside of that deck. Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. She adds that Flores said he put Smart under a skateboard ramp in Arroyo Grande. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. Real Name: Kristen Deborah Modafferi Nicknames: No known nicknames Location: San Francisco, California Date: June 23, 1997 Bio Occupation: Student Date of Birth: June 1, 1979 Height: 5' 8" Weight: 140 lbs. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In addition, the documents include a phone tap from January 2020 in which Pauls mother, Susan, tells her son: The other thing I need you to do is to start listening to the podcast. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. What happens next? Devastating. Her parents, Denise and Stan were both educators who encouraged their kids' passions. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. Kristin Smart case: Suspects Paul and Ruben Flores arrested in the and offers to help. Oct. 18, 2022 In the spring of 1996, Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old college student, left an off-campus party in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and walked home to her dormitory. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. 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. It's fine. Once, he says, Flores was lurking in the lobby of Smarts dorm at 1 a.m.; another time, he says he saw the man in Smarts dorm room. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. Below, Rolling Stone outlines where the Smart case is now: San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow announces chargesagainst Paul Flores and his father Ruben in connection with what he calls the 1996 homicide of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. I don't think she went back to her dorm at all. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. Det. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. Why? Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. A college student at North Carolina State University, ABC 7 writes that Modafferi had received a scholarship to work and live in a different city for the summer. And here's your key." He said a chemical called Bluestar, which detects bodily fluids, was used on the trailer and that there was a reaction on the right side of the trailer showing a stain that could be similar to a human being lying on its side. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #1: I wasn't surprised, but there's also that shock value of kind of "oh my god, I knew it! The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. The body of Kristin Smart, which has never been found, was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor said, according to a document filed Monday and posted on social media by a reporter for The Tribune of San Luis Obispo. In the months after Kristin's disappearance, one truck was traded in and the other was reported stolen. They have not been able to proceed with the civil case while there was an ongoing criminal investigation, but that didn't stop them from following every lead and preparing for an eventual trial. Paul Flores may have wanted a fresh start in Southern California, but Chris Lambert says, he could not seem to break old habits. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. The arrests of the father and son came after investigators using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs discovered evidence connected directly to Smarts death last month during a search at Ruben Flores home, authorities said. Flores wasn't talking. That's when the campus police finally handed the investigation over to The San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office but they did not find Kristin. The prosecution upholds the validity of these searches, including one of Flores dorm room that was done after he moved out. On day two, August 3rd, a close friend of Smarts from college, Steven Flemming, tells the court that Flores had interacted with Smart before the party they both attended prior to her disappearance. How 'Your Own Backyard' podcast led to arrests in Kristin Smart murder The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. "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. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. KSBY will have more on what takes place in court on KSBY.com and KSBY News at 5 and 6 p.m. The documents also include several people the defense believes investigators should have looked into in addition to Flores, including convicted murderer and fellow then-student Scott Peterson, who was previously ruled out. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images. Specifically, that they had Paul's white Nissan pickup in their possession. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. You can go." Additionally, the documents include information about a March 15th, 2021 search by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office of Ruben Flores Arroyo Grande property that included ground-penetrating radar. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. Lindsey Smart Stewart: It just amazes me the amount of evidence that's available, yet nothing has happened. And the body's not there now. He'd go through tunnels, under bridges, looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario. to search on and near the Cal Poly campus. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. The case recently reentered the public eye with the 2019 launch of the popular true-crime podcast, Your Own Backyard, hosted by musician Chris Lambert, who has spent his life haunted by a missing persons billboard featuring Smarts face. But cadaver dogs told a different story. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Despite the fact that law enforcement had collected substantial evidence that Kristin Smart may have had reason not to return to her dorm room after leaving (fellow party-goers) Cheryl (Manzer) Anderson and Paul Flores and despite the fact that they had collected substantial evidence that there were multiple potential suspects who stalked, harassed or otherwise had conflicts with Kristin Smart, law enforcement made an early choice to change their focus to murder and to Paul Flores as the only suspect, Sanger wrote in a defense motion. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. The sheriff's office seized the trailer and Det. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. DAN DOW [press conference]: We have evidence that we do believe there are other people that are not yet identified that have had some kind of a criminal act perpetrated on them by Mr. Flores. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Nic Coury / AP. Kristen Modafferi | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. These charges mark a major milestone, Dow says in a statement. James Murphy: Every day. Unsealed court documents in the Kristin Smart murder case include allegations of a discovery of human blood and witnesses who claim to have seen suspicious . ", 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.". Ken Blum is the editor. Maybe we cant. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. They had become close friends despite their differences. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Ruben Flores was acquitted by a separate jury. Hudson previously testified during the preliminary hearing that while hanging out with a group of skateboarders in San Luis Obispo in 1996, she heard Paul Flores use a derogatory term to refer to Kristin Smart and say, "I'm done playing with her and I put her out underneath my ramp in Huasna.". A California jury has found Paul Flores, the man accused of the 1996 murder of Kristin Smart, guilty of first-degree murder, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County District. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. It's, like, she has nothing on her. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. And my roommate actually kicked down the door to make him stop. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Kristin Smart went missing on May 25, 1996 while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and has not been heard from since. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Lindsey Smart Stewart: She had traveled the world before she even made it to college. She and all who have worked so hard toward this day deserve nothing less.. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? She withdrew money from the bank, a surveillance camera capturing what are . But further investigation of the Flores's two trucks seemed impossible. But the judge indicated he would set a reasonable bail amount Wednesday for the father, who has health problems is currently in the San Luis Obispo jail on $250,000 bail. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. A very close-knit family. How could she have gone out of town? Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. Chris Lambert: So, if you believe Paul's story, he goes into his dorm room here. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. In March 2021, investigators used cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to search Ruben Floress property in Arroyo Grande, Calif. Paul Flores was taken into custody at his home in the San Pedro section of Los Angeles on April 13, 2021, and was charged with murder. The defense wants to suppress some of these searches, though, claiming that they were done illegally or without warrants. Kristen Modafferi was an 18-year-old college student who was about to start a summer photography course at UC Berkeley when she disappeared after leaving work at a San Francisco coffee shop. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. I told her I didn't I didn't want to go. She had taken a job at a coffee shop to pay for a photography course at U.C. But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. Judge denies multiple unusual requests in Kristin Smart hearing In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria.