Kristin Smart was a 19-year-old freshman at Cal Poly, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, when she disappeared after a walk home from an off-campus party early in the. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. November 01, 2017. And for the first time clues about what may have happened to Kristin Smart. "Should he be allowed bail, it is a virtual certainty that he would use his freedom to continue his attempts to help Paul Flores thwart prosecution in this case and continue to hide her remains.. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. Paul Flores talks to his attorneys Sara Sanger and Robert Sanger on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. had been arrested in connection with her disappearance, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart, while in the commission of, or attempted, rape. The unsealed documents include two claims from 2011 and 2017 that Flores raped two women while they were drunk in San Pedro. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. In February 2020, the authorities executed search warrants at four locations in California and Washington State and recovered what the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office described as items of interest. One location was the Los Angeles home of Paul Flores, KCAL-TV reported. The younger Flores has long been the only person of interest in Smarts disappearance; she was last seen on May 25th, 1996, after attending a party near campus. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. Smarts family issues a statement following the news about Flores going to trial: Yesterday was a very good day and we want to take this opportunity to thank all of Kristins supporters in San Luis Obispo and beyond. Marital Status: Single Characteristics: Caucasian female with brown hair and eyes. He has not been charged in those incidents. Kristin Smarts family in 1999, three years after she was last seen walking home from a party in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Earthmovers were used in searches on and near the California Polytechnic State University campus in 2016. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. 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 technology uncovered a soil disturbance under the deck as well as four soil samples that tested positive for human blood; an April evacuation also tested positive for blood. Ruben will be released on bail that he can afford. I was afraid Id end up missing or buried someplace, she says. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. The elder Flores is charged with accessory after the fact to the crime of murder for allegedly helping Paul conceal Smarts body. Paul Flores, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. 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. 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. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. 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. Also on the stand Tuesday were another cadaver dog handler, an expert in fiber evidence and a district attorney's office investigator. Clockwise from left, Kristin, Denise, Stan, Matt and Lindsey. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. Kristen has never been found. Judge van Rooyen announced in April that the trial would be moved to Monterey County, about 140 miles north of San Luis Obispo, after the defense team requested the change of venue because of extensive publicity around the case. Kristen Modafferi - Unsolved Mysteries Cole testified about why investigators believe a crime was committed at Ruben's property on White Court in Arroyo Grande. The document presented summaries of why prosecutors didn't want either man to be released pending a trial that could be years away. They didn't bring a forensics team. Alicia Tejada is the field producer and Addison Briley is the associate producer. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. 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. Other witnesses are also questioned, but Flemmings testimony is noteworthy as he is the first to say he saw Flores and Smart together before the party. Chris Lambert: That's the upsetting part about it, isn't it? I guess the answer is yes. September 15, 2017. After Paul and Rubens arrests, Sheriff Ian Parkinson revealed that Lamberts podcast helped move the investigation forward. Book Author Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and true crime writer. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. Missing-person posters and billboards offering rewards appeared along roads and in other public places. Plans & Pricing ; Podcast Statistics; PowerPress Plugin . They might have found evidence in those vehicles. or even her keys. The document said investigators at the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department had biological evidence indicating Smart was once buried under Ruben Flores' deck behind his home in nearby Arroyo Grande. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. Chris Lambert: And that's when they're told that earring has been misplaced. Chris Lambert: They're hopeful, but they've also been let down so many times before. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. All Rights reserved. They described dropping her off at the party at an unofficial fraternity house, and said that when it was over, she needed support to walk as she was being accompanied home by Paul Flores. 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. When they showed up, it was Paul Flores. In April 2021, investigators charged Paul Flores, left, with Kristin Smart's murder, and his then-80-year-old father Ruben, as an accessory after the fact. Anyone would have been terrified if they heard it.. James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. Jonathan Vigliotti [with Lambert outside of the the dorms]: Paul and Kristin then make their way here. D.A. He later told investigators that he walked her as far as his dorm, where they parted ways. PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. It's just a motivator for me. Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my parents. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. The Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. Paul Flores killed Kristin Smart in dorm room during attempted rape, DA Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. And I was, like, "uh OK, fine.". He gets his arm around her torso and her arm around his neck, and he's helping her walk. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. 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. DAN DOW [press conference]: But the allegation that he was committing or attempting to commit a rape when he killed her, is the basis for which we are able to file first-degree felony murder charges. The authorities removed items from Paul Floress home in Los Angeles in February 2020. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. 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." PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. My job was to hunt them. He refused to answer questions during a deposition in November 1997, citing the Fifth Amendment. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. Her books are available on Amazon. No charges were filed, but Lambert discovered Flores's troubles started at a young age. James Murphy: They're interested in seeing Paul Flores get convicted and Ruben Flores get held accountable. Kristin Smart case: Suspects Paul and Ruben Flores arrested in the Peterson may or may not have been at the party Smart disappeared after. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. The police searched her dorm room in Muir Hall, finding her wallet and reminders to turn in assignments. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. 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. (Pool photo by Dave Minsky/Santa Maria Times). Flores was also in possession of Tramadol and Flexeril, known as date rape drugs. But on April 13, 2021, after an investigation that spanned nearly a quarter of a century, the authorities announced that two California men Paul Flores, now 45, and his father, Ruben Flores, 81 had been arrested in connection with her disappearance. Later, the sheriff's office obtained a warrant for Ruben's DNA and Det. Paul Flores was charged with murder and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. Det. They had become close friends despite their differences. Police investigated whether Durst, 71, who lived in San Francisco at the time Modafferi went missing, was connected to her disappearance. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. The Smart family. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. 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. And when they did . 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. Chris Lambert says they're cautiously optimistic. Chris Lambert: They just have never given up and are never going to give up on their daughter. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. A single woman's earring. He said a backhoe had excavated a trench to dump soil that was removed to lay a nearby foundation. "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. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. Mesick argued there were many innocent explanations why soil had previously been dug up in the yard. The county sheriffs office searched his room once more during the weekend of June 29th, when a team of cadaver dogs signaled the smell of human decay. She was gone. The two girls walked to an area off campus where there were fraternities, sororities and residential housing for students. Flores was first interviewed by Cal Poly police investigators near the end of May 1996, according to The San Luis Obispo Tribune, and the Cal Poly police didnt search his room until June 10th. 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. Ruben's attorney, Harold Mesick, dismissed the evidence against his client as "so minimal as to shock the conscience.". Peterson. Let's go." Produced by Lisa Freed. Ann-Marie Christian: She was who she was because of her parents, for sure. On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. Related Stories What's going on? I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. Cole said that Ruben then clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three to have been arrested. Why? Mesick declined to comment Tuesday, citing the gag order. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. Chris Lambert: At that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person, a possibly murdered person. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. A very close-knit family. She loved swimming and skiing. 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. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. In March, the Oakland Police Department released a statement saying that it had worked with the FBI and found no evidence indicating Durst was involved. ORIGINAL STORY - Paul and Ruben Flores are back in court Wednesday for another day of their preliminary hearing. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. There's no question about it. On Oct. 18, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. 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. 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? Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. 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. For the next 25 years, I did whatever I could and looked for answers wherever I could, Denise Smart told the court, according to CBS 13, a local television station. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. A lot of women felt uncomfortable around him, Flemming says. According to a county probation bail report obtained by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "biological evidence" was found under Ruben's deck. Paul Flores and defense attorney Robert Sanger in court on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. D.A. PODCAST EPISODE 1: Kristin broke down begging her mother to let her drop out and go somewhere else. And they told Lambert they weren't surprised when they heard about Flores's connection to Kristin's disappearance. Case Cole went to his White Court home to collect it on May 19, 2021. / CBS News, (This story previously aired on May 8, 2021. 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. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. The court document was filed before bail arguments Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court when the father and son were arraigned. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. And my roommate actually kicked down the door to make him stop. And the body's not there now. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. Chris Lambert: So, if you believe Paul's story, he goes into his dorm room here. Chris Lambert and it worked. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. She was never seen. Flores and his parents have always maintained that he had nothing to do with Smarts disappearance. 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.". He has denied any involvement. 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? The 18- year old coed from North Carolina was taking a summer photography class at the University of Califorina Berkeley when she vanished June 23rd, 1997. The Kristen Modafferi Mystery: 20 years later, private investigators The defense questions Hudson about her drug use, but she says she was not doing drugs at the time. He built the home on White Court for Ruben and Susan Flores in 1991. 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. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. 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. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. It is every parent's worst nightmare. Cole in 2019. That's when Cole said Ruben asked why they would also be collecting DNA from Susan Flores and her boyfriend and Ruben told him, "They did not commit a felony, only I did.". To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. Those were kind of unspoken things. Proof of the L.A. charges cant act as a substitute for the SLO case.. On Monday, June 23rd, 1997, she arrived for work at the Crocker Galleria mall. Kristen Deborah Modafferi (born June 1, 1979; disappeared June 23, 1997) is an American woman who, at the age of 18, in the early summer of 1997, disappeared in mysterious circumstances after leaving her work at the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. Any evidence that might have been there was long gone. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. Margarita Campos: I mean, she was gone. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes kicked out of CPAC, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Biden team readies new advisory panel ahead of expected reelection bid, At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, House Democrats unhappy with White House handling of D.C.'s new criminal code. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old case. 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. Her younger sister Lindsey says their mother urged Kristin to go there. I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? On July 21, Kristin Smarts parents and her brother, Matt, testified about how they had searched for her after her disappearance. Paul Flores, lower left, remained in jail without bail while Ruben Flores, upper right, was able to post bail after a judge agreed to lower the bail amount from $250,000 to $50,000, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court/Zoom, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Five deaths with a connection to Alex Murdaugh's family investigated, Chilling details revealed in JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan deaths, Mother at center of international manhunt speaks out to "48 Hours". But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. They're known for being a really safe school.". 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's when the campus police finally handed the investigation over to The San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office but they did not find Kristin. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. You wouldn't let any of your friends be drunk around him. On May 25, 1996, friends dropped her off at an off-campus party. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. 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. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. He'd go anywhere. The jury hearing Paul Floress case began deliberations after closing arguments on Oct. 4. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. But Paul Flores remained behind bars help without bail. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Was the beeping in a backyard coming from Kristin Smart's watch D.A. The search for Smart did not begin until a week after her disappearance, as campus police refused to take a missing persons report from a dorm mate; the hunt only began in earnest after the student called the police and the Smart family. 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. 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. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. Griffin Cherry was her close friend: From the start, investigators. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? to California to search for Kristen Modafferi. "48 Hours" looks back to their arrests and how the saga began. She didn't think that was OK. Previously sealed documents related to the case become available to the public that explain the rape charges Peurelle attempted to add against Paul Flores. That young woman was Kristin Smart, and she hasn't been seen since. James Murphy: Every day. Kristin Denise Smart (born February 20, 1977 [1] [6] -declared legally dead May 25, 2002) was an American woman who was found to have been murdered by Paul Flores at the end of her freshman year on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press. It encouraged the previously reluctant to come forward. This obviously gave law enforcement new leads to follow and connect with what they already were holding close.. Disappearance of Kristen Modafferi - Wikipedia

Columbia County Civil Service Exams, Pepsi Club Buffalo Bills, Duggar House Goodbye Room, Chris And Paige Mafs Still Together, Articles K