Ruben Flores, 80, will be facing trial in April 2022 alongside his son as he was charged with accessory to murder after the fact. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. One female cousin called Flores a pervert. To his credit, the Sheriff both credited Matthew Lamberts podcast series and admitted mistakes (2 weeks B4 any investigation, dorm room cleaned, ignoring roommates pleas the day after she disappeared, wont seek warrant for bank records because shes a 19 y.o. I told him, You never do this again! It would be three more years before the property was searched again. His father is a businessman. Getty DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. Many have assumed that Paul and Ruben Flores had something to do with her disappearance and most likely killed her. Kristin did not have a purse, money, her I.D. Cookie Notice Were after our daughter. PODCAST EPISODE 5: If you were making a film about a new law enforcer who's coming to a small town to save the day, you'd probably cast Parkinson. I did have guilt about that. She regretfully denounced them as cruel rumors at the time. Investigators says Paul Flores' sister offered immunity during wiretap. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. Ann-Marie Christian: became friends with Kristin in elementary school. DAN DOW [press conference]: It is alleged that Mr. Flores caused the death of Kristen Smart while in the commission of or attempted rape. Chris Lambert: And he says he got a black eye playing basketball with his friends. He'd go through tunnels, under bridges, looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario. The documents detail the competing arguments between prosecutors and attorneys for . I blacked out and didnt consent to anything.. It was updated on October 22, 2022.). During a camping trip in Fresno, California, in the early 1990s, Floress female cousins playfully swiped and hid his wallet while walking en route to a liquor store to purchase slush puppies. Paul. Investigators are currently digging under Rubin Flores home in another apparent attempt to find the missing teens body. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. / CBS News, (This story previously aired on May 8, 2021. Flores was imprisoned at Santa Barbara County Jail for a time. Facebook 0 Twitter LinkedIn 0 Reddit Tumblr Pinterest 0 0 Likes. PODCAST EPISODE 3 | MARY LASSITER: It was like a red thing and it was like a smudge-like fingerprinted look on the back, just red, like maroon, like old looking and the smudge that it was like half a fingerprint. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. The family attorney refused to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. and our He would be stalking me.. He lived in the dorm building across from Smarts room. Kristin Smart was dropped in the dumpster and she is in the landfill. During a camping trip in Fresno, California, in the early 1990s, Flores's female cousins playfully swiped and hid his wallet while walking en route to a liquor store to purchase slush puppies. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. I believed him but he was probably cheating on me.. Paul Flores has long been the lone suspect in Smarts disappearance. 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. He returned later that Friday night and they drove to his friends home which Jane described as sparely furnished. Stan and Denise Smart, Kristins parents, sent The Daily Beast a statement praising the women for coming forward to share their stories and hope it leads to a break in their missing daughters case. I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? This boy walked up to me and said Oh hey, you need to be careful of that Paul Flores, I think hes stalking you. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. 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. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. Cal Polys only interest was in a coverup. No? When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. When asked about how he got the injury Flores told three different stories. They continued to bungle the case for a month, not properly interviewing Paul Flores or other witnesses and never searching his room. 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That would be Susan Flores, the owner of the home where Flores is suspected to have buried Smart. If Dan Dow prosecutes the case then the Flores have nothing to worry about. The Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. Paul is charged with murder in connection with the 1996 disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. The duplex was located up the same street from where her mom resided. He says "no.". James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. The two men are set to stand trial next spring in connection with the 1996 disappearance of Cal. She did not walk away and dig herself a grave. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. He never expected it would be a hit, but his podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in this decades-old unsolved case. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. 19 years after the disappearance of Kristin Smart from Cal Poly's campus, Paul Flores still remains the only suspect. We just, "do you know anything about it". Those were kind of unspoken things. Ruben faces a maximum of three years in jail. 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. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. In documents filed June 18, 2021, Thomas attorney, Guy Galambos, filed a motion of notice in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court to quash a subpoena for Thomas testimony during the preliminary hearing for Paul and Rubens case that July. Once Jane was admitted her story seemed to fall on deaf ears. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. In the months after Kristin's disappearance, one truck was traded in and the other was reported stolen. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. Flores said that the reason for changing his story was because he thought it would sound stupid if he said that he couldnt remember how he got the black-eye. I have worked with Cal Poly interns for years and always ask if they were told anything about Kristen Smart during WOW. 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. You ALWAYS ask your interns about it? Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? putting murder on the lawsuit was sending a message to Paul Flores and his family, that we believe that he killed Kristin and that we're coming for him. Deputies towed the car from Rubin Flores' home. Pretty sad how Cal Polys upper admin interfered with the PDs work and made this investigation go away. And she's like, "please come with me. And the body's not there now. The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old case. But cadaver dogs told a different story. He says they are Ruben's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend. James Murphy: It was just a sad phone call to have somebody say, our daughter disappeared and we think she's the victim of foul play and we'd like to pursue the guy that we think is responsible. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. 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. The living room had a TV and one sofa and the floor was white, she said. Powered by. His room was finally searched when the sheriff took over the case and at that point Paul had moved off campus and Cal Poly had deep cleaned his room, destroying any available evidence. That was a huge judgment error. In order to produce the documentary, Lambert quit his job to devote himself to the podcast. James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. There is new hope for answers in the murder mystery of Stockton native Kristin Smart. And DNA evidence could not be found linking any other evidence to Kristin. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. In November 2019, supporters of Smarts family held a vigil outside of Susan Flores home, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported at the time. Documents in trial of the man accused of killing Kristin Smart were unsealed by a judge on Wednesday. Susan Flores, mother of Paul Flores, and her boyfriend are accused of relocating the remains of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in an amended lawsuit filed by Smart's family. These new allegations against Paul Flores are very troubling and deserve to be thoroughly investigated. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. We would highly recommend that those people get in contact with us as soon as possible so we could investigate this further, he said. Deputies towed the car from Rubin Flores home. She was gone. Galambos says the letters referred to several crimes that Thomas may have committed, including being a possible accessory after the fact, or destruction of evidence, or even mishandling human remains., Galambos argument, in part, states that when trying to secure Thomas as a witness, the DAs Office fails to state which defendants actions or statements she witnessed and it fails to identify what actions and statements she witnessed. Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Hundreds gather in Arroyo Grande for vigil in honor of Kristin Smart, Hundreds of people gathered in the Arroyo Grande Village on Sunday evening: to remember Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly student who went missing in 1996. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. She was kidnapped.. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. Chris Lambert: I brought them a number of witnesses that they were very interested in. And Murphy and Sinclair believe they can prove it. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. Jane said she kept this secret for yearseven from her husband. At a Halloween party back in 1995before Smart had gone missingFlores allegedly grabbed Sarahs crotch on the dance floor. I guess the answer is yes. So, she slowed down and walked with them. And she was growing as an individual. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. Investigators are currently digging under Rubin Flores home in another apparent attempt to find the missing teens body. Susan Flores, an Arroyo Grande resident whose son Paul is the prime suspect in Smart's disappearance, broke her silence after new searches in the haunting case last week. Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. Just very involved with their children. A now-retired FBI agent believes those remains were once buried at the home of Floress mother. Apparently one witness may be an Australian exchange student who returned home after finals and was unaware of the case. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. 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. Paul Flores was taken into custody in the Los Angeles area, where he resides. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. Devastating. The father and son were both in on it? Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. Smart was last seen as three fellow students helped her home following a party. 19 years later, still no body, no arrests made, and no answers. It was only by pure luck that Paul was arrested for a different crime and the arresting agency (not Cal Poly PD) documented him having a black eye a fact that Cal Poly PD apparently never noticed. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. 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. I could not imagine being his mother. In April 2021, investigators finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and decided they had enough to charge the then-44-year-old Paul Flores with Kristin's murder, and his then-80-year-old father with being an accessory after the fact. Our roommate came in and yelled Leave her alone. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. On April 13, 2021, almost 25 years after Kristin Smart went missing, longtime suspect Paul Flores, 44, was arrested at his home in San Pedro, California, and charged with murder. Smart disappeared on her Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus two decades ago and now the search there is back on. I would hear many of my friends tell me Oh he grabbed my butt but I never believed them, Laura said. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. But further investigation of the Flores's two trucks seemed impossible. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . Denise Pearce: To be almost there. Chris Lambert: A young couple moves into it with their kid. Eventually they moved in together along with a male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale. Flores claimed he walked Smart to her dorm at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo on May 25, 1996 after a night of binge drinking. Still to this day I am afraid to go to the bathroom by myself in public places, she said, admitting she still asks her husband every time to stand sentry at the door when she has to go. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. She was saved by their male roommate, who barged in because of Lauras blood-curdling screams. 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