The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. Almost all knew nothing about it, thanks to Poly. Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. ", 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.". Why? Cal Poly agreed that Kristens case would be incorporated as an educational tool into the freshmen Week of Welcome orientation. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. Flores spit that he would rape her, she said. The Smart family sued Flores in 1996 in an attempt to get some answers in civil court about their daughter, but Flores took the fifth amendment. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. And she was growing as an individual. I find Parkinsons involvement of Cal Poly and their clown of a president in this news conference as distasteful and pandering to Cal Polys interests. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. October 22, 2022 / 10:10 PM In August 2011, a Facebook page dedicated to the search for Smart published his exact address. D.A. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? I said, Stop it. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? 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. In 1998, the San Francisco Examiner ran a feature on Flores that included a quote from his former lawyer, Greg Coates, who said that there were no facts to indicate that Paul had anything to do with the disappearance of Kristin Smart.. They took off running, Jane said. "Paul had this look on his face," the relative said. They continued to bungle the case for a month, not properly interviewing Paul Flores or other witnesses and never searching his room. The two men are set to stand trial next spring in connection with the 1996 disappearance of Cal. And my roommate actually kicked down the door to make him stop. Deputies towed the car from Rubin Flores home. Paul Flores lived in this home from 1992 to late 1996, and sporadically throughout the years since. I was throwing up and they were saying Oh this bitch! and This bitch better not throw up on me.. 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. Lambert spoke about what he felt was the biggest error in the early investigation by the sheriffs office. 19 years after the disappearance of Kristin Smart from Cal Poly's campus, Paul Flores still remains the only suspect. Is this Susan posting? Alexandra Wallace June 11, 2022. Meanwhile, the FBI, who recently excavated earth at Cal Poly to look for Smarts remains, referred comment to the sheriffs office. To the extent that he was forced to leave jobs because of the Smart family. 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. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. One day, Jane was congregating in front of the high school when a male friend approached and warned her about one particular junior. But I've seen it. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. In January 2020, Smarts mother, Denise Smart, told the Stockton Record that she had been contacted by the FBI regarding her daughters disappearance. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. 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. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. 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. James Murphy: Having a black eye doesn't make you guilty of anything but if the person you were with disappeared from the planet that's physical evidence. I was like Oh my God. Paul Flores Family, Sister. Flores was among those students and was the last to see Smart alive. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. Stop! and then it became Stop!!!!!. Devastating. My heart dropped, she said. Flores claimed he walked Smart to her dorm at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo on May 25, 1996 after a night of binge drinking. Deputies towed the car from Rubin Flores' home. 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. They're known for being a really safe school.". Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. Would you? She did not walk away and lose her life. The letter from the DAs Office has similar wording about the immunity deal. All the news reports conveniently ignore Cal Polys obstruction in their timelines. Ann-Marie Christian: became friends with Kristin in elementary school. Lindsey Smart Stewart: It just amazes me the amount of evidence that's available, yet nothing has happened. That could have been me.. So had Margarita Campos, who lived in the next room in Muir Hall. He was soon released from custody. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. That was discovered after Flores turned himself in on a DUI charge. Paul Flores was the last person to see Kristin Smart alive in 1996, police say. They didn't bring a forensics team. IF they knew he was out there murdering, raping etc. He was seeing someone on the side who he called his friend, she said. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. Two years later Smart would go missing and when suspicion quickly fell on Flores, Jane decided then and there that she may have been one of the lucky ones. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Still she stuck around until Flores allegedly laid his hands on her aggressively again. This boy walked up to me and said Oh hey, you need to be careful of that Paul Flores, I think hes stalking you. My mom opened the door and she cries, Oh my God!. 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. 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. The accusations didnt stop with classmates: Flores allegedly couldnt restrain himself around his own kin. Someone actually had to fund a newspaper sent to all SLO addresses to tell the truth. He grabbed me down there and while Im yelling at him my girlfriend threw a piece of gum at his face and he pushes her down., At this point every male at the party joined in to jump Flores, who fled, she said, adding, Boom, he disappeared., That same year, Sarah said, Flores pursued her again at a friends birthday party. At the time of Smart's disappearance, the vehicle belonged to Paul Flores' sister, Ermelinda Flores, who lived near Cal Poly. James Murphy: I'd love to do anything to end their suffering. Video by: Laura Dickinson READ MORE: sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article237462089.html More from The Tribune: Subscribe: bit.ly/2HrSD3v Twitter: twitter.com/SLOTribune Facebook: facebook.com/SLOTribune/ Website: sanluisobispo.com/ Digital news subscription: bit.ly/2HGn19E, Teenage Porn Star Controversy Rocks California High School. D.A. Denise Smart said that she was told, Be ready. When asked about how he got the injury Flores told three different stories. Hey interns, so back when you did WOW, did they tell you all about the girl that was violently raped and murdered in the dorms?? That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. Most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus. In only one of those instances, in 2000, did Flores serve time. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Wow, you must be a real hoot to work for. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. D.A. By this point Sarahs ex-boyfriend arrived and he and his friends scared Flores and his pal, trying to make sure they never showed their faces again. By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. He needs to swing for the fence to get reelected. Authorities arrested Ruben Flores after San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs deputies served a search warrant at his Arroyo Grande home. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. Flores wasn't amused. The Daily Breeze reported in September 2016 that Flores was living in San Pedro, California, since 2011 and had been working in Irvine. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. Same for the rest of his family. Paul had this look on his face, the relative said. It is every parent's worst nightmare. Kristin Smart was declared legally dead in May 2002. Before court broke for lunch, Cole also testified about a wiretap of the Flores family conducted by the Sheriff's Office in . By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. There's no question about it. I blacked out and didnt consent to anything.. But Paul Flores remained behind bars help without bail. That would be Susan Flores, the owner of the home where Flores is suspected to have buried Smart. 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. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. Ermelinda Macarthur currently lives in Kenmore, WA; in the past Ermelinda has also lived in Long Beach CA, Arroyo Grande CA and Bothell WA. But further investigation of the Flores's two trucks seemed impossible. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. But he entreated each woman who came forward to tell their story to The Daily Beast to reach out to his department. I'm going to go back to the dorms. He would tiptoe around everything. JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Back in 1996, with classes finished before the long Memorial Day weekend, Smart, a 19-year-old California Polytechnic State University, San . By the time they called the Cal Poly campus police, Kristin had been missing for more than 48 hours. Investigators are currently digging under Rubin Flores home in another apparent attempt to find the missing teens body. I drank this drink and I dont know what it was but let me tell you something the next thing you know I was passed out, Jane said. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. Whatever happened in those early hours, one thing is indisputable: Kristin Smart has never been seen again. Paul Flores was the key witness in the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. 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. 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? The amount of evidence that 's available, yet nothing has happened to hearing from Kristin that Sunday reach to... In Muir Hall most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus about how he got the Flores. She cries, Oh my God! james Murphy: what is the name of father! That Kristens case would be susan Flores: [ Long pause, grabs water bottle ] of not... 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