And Murphy and Sinclair believe they can prove it. She was never seen again and her body has not been located. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. Paul Flores was charged with murder and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press. The prosecution upholds the validity of these searches, including one of Flores dorm room that was done after he moved out. D.A. Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. But the Flores's have fought back, suing the Smarts for intentional infliction of emotional distress. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. That warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard, but deputies chose not to excavate. James Murphy: Paul Flores had a reputation amongst the girls that knew him at Cal Poly as being a creeper that he was always trying to hit on women. Susan Flores and her boyfriend were never charged in the case. Her dorm entrance is right over here. I've got her. She was declared legally dead in 2002. The Smart family filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores in 1997, but he was not immediately charged criminally in the case. I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? 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. Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. 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. 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. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. Ms. Smarts family said they had faith in the justice system, comforted in the knowledge that Kristin has been held in the hearts of so many and that she has not been forgotten.. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. Devastating. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. Also on the stand Tuesday were another cadaver dog handler, an expert in fiber evidence and a district attorney's office investigator. Ruben Flores, 80, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for hiding Smart's body after his son allegedly killed her. LOS ANGELES A California college student missing for nearly 25 years was once buried in the backyard of the home owned by the murder suspect's father, authorities said in a court document. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. 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. Cole in 2019. 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. Previously sealed documents related to the case become available to the public that explain the rape charges Peurelle attempted to add against Paul Flores. And she was growing as an individual. 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. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. We just, "do you know anything about it". We want to hear it. UPDATE - San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Detective Clint Cole returned to the witness stand Wednesday in the preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores, testifying that searches of Ruben's home turned up evidence leading them to believe human remains had been buried there. JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. Those were kind of unspoken things. I didnt understand why. Clockwise from left, Kristin, Denise, Stan, Matt and Lindsey. 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? But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. 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. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. 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." Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. Lindsey Smart Stewart: She definitely, like, took advantage of life, seized the day she was super ambitious and was determined you know, to find the next adventure. Cole also talked about his interview with Jennifer Hudson in November 2019. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. She was gone. Flores, who had been seen with Smart earlier in the evening he attempted to flirt with her and apparently fell on her at one point, according to witnesses joined the group and allegedly accompanied Smart home. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. Please enter valid email address to continue. Ruben Flores was released on $50,000 bail to his ex-wife. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. Flores, 44, was arrested Tuesday at his home, nearly 25 years after Smart left a party near the Cal Poly campus and vanished on the way back to her campus dormitory. Prior to the arrests, in February 2020, Flores home, his parents home, and his sisters home were searched by police. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. 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. She was never seen again. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. It was turned over to a detective with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office, but Garin Sinclair says, the Smarts never knew it existed until the Lassiters were deposed in January 1997. A lot of women felt uncomfortable around him, Flemming says. James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. 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! On July 21, Kristin Smarts parents and her brother, Matt, testified about how they had searched for her after her disappearance. In fact, Cheryl Anderson, who trusted Flores to walk Kristin back to her dorm alone, told police that her friends called him "Chester the molester," because he was known for groping girls. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. The judge rules that the DA cannot be disqualified for wearing purple clothing. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. In 1997 when Paul Flores was deposed for the civil suit, the only thing he would confirm on tape was his name. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. They took in soil, I assume, for some kind of analysis. Recently unsealed court documents show the extent to which law enforcement has looked into Flores over the years: 48 search warrants involving wiretaps and GPS tracking, and a search of Flores former Cal Poly dorm room. and I was like, "Noooo.". 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. That turned out to be college. But cadaver dogs told a different story. Our family has always known that this was going to be a long, difficult, and emotional journey. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? 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: The phone call never comes. By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. The Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. Kristen has never been found. I was afraid Id end up missing or buried someplace, she says. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. People are watching Ruben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores. Since Parkinson came on the scene, investigators have dug up hillsides; searched the homes and properties of all the Flores'; collected evidence; seized Paul Flores' computers; monitored his cell phone and text messages, and found new witnesses -- some with the help of Chris Lambert. What's going on? As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Kristen Modafferi was last seen on the afternoon of June 23, 1997, at the coffee shop where she was working in the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. Paul Flores pleads not guilty to the murder and attempted rape of Smart. Just days after taking over the investigation, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office brought several dogs trained to detect human remains, to the Cal Poly dorms. PODCAST EPISODE 4: At 8 a.m. on June 19th, 2000, a team of sheriff's investigators knocks on the front door of Susan Flores's East Branch Street home. But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. He was not welcome.. Back in San Luis Obispo, the Smarts, feeling ignored by the sheriff's office, continued a relentless campaign to get them to do more to find their daughter. Flores defense team moves to recuse the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office from the Smart case because prosecutor Peuvrelle and others have been seen wearing purple clothing, Smarts favorite color. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Testimony resumes at the Kristin Smart hearing after a week off. Maybe we cant. Anyone can read what you share. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. Smart was declared dead in 2002. every piece of evidence points directly at Paul Flores. Any evidence that might have been there was long gone. Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" He built the home on White Court for Ruben and Susan Flores in 1991. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo), via Associated Press. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. There's no question about it. In 2011, the Smarts hoped those boulders would become a little lighter when Ian Parkinson became the . Mesick declined to comment Tuesday, citing the gag order. Kristen has facial dimples. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. A hundred percent that was happening. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. "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. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. 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.".
Isaias 54:17 Explicacion, Marlin Model 60 Serial Numbers, Hartford Golf Club Membership Cost, When Does Purdue Global Release Financial Aid, Carnival Dream Dry Dock 2021 Upgrades, Articles K