Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. Smart's body was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor said. Testimony resumes at the Kristin Smart hearing after a week off. 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. There's no question about it. Flores wasn't talking. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. Today, we make the first move toward bringing justice to Kristin, her family, and the people of San Luis Obispo County.. The Smart family. James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. By the time they called the Cal Poly campus police, Kristin had been missing for more than 48 hours. James Murphy: The podcast is out. Prior to the arrests, in February 2020, Flores home, his parents home, and his sisters home were searched by police. 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. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. 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.". Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. DAN DOW [press conference]: We intend to use evidence of other sexual crimes in this prosecution to prove the facts necessary for the attempted rape in this case. Van Rooyen rules that Flores will be tried for murder in the 1996 disappearance of Smart. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. He says they are Ruben's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend. Also taking the witness stand on Wednesday was Edward Chadwell. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. It is every parent's worst nightmare. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. Cadaver dogs were sent into Paul Floress dorm room. When they showed up, it was Paul Flores. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [to reporters]: It's been a puzzle and it's a very slow process to find each of those little pieces some of that information came to light through the podcast many of you are familiar with. In 2011, the Smarts hoped those boulders would become a little lighter when Ian Parkinson became the . On Aug. 2, local media reported that Denise Smart, Ms. Smarts mother, spoke at a preliminary hearing, where the judge was deciding whether prosecutors had established probable cause to proceed to trial. The excavation below his deck showed damning evidence that a body had been buried in that location and then recently moved, prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle said. Instead, on Monday, May 27, Denise Pearce says the Smarts got a call from Cal Poly's campus police asking if Kristin was with them. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. So, she slowed down and walked with them. At the time of the April 13 arrests, the sheriff said he believed that had enough evidence to win convictions. Those were kind of unspoken things. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. He refused to answer questions during a deposition in November 1997, citing the Fifth Amendment. Other witnesses included students who were at the party. Ms. Smarts family declared her legally dead in 2002, but the search, and the investigation, continued. A single woman's earring. Please come with me." She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. 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. Flores defense team serves Your Own Backyard podcaster Chris Lambert with a subpoena to serve as a witness in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on August 30th, as he has interviewed several witnesses before they spoke to law enforcement. Anyone can read what you share. Nikki Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the court, said the documents were not supposed to be public. And DNA evidence could not be found linking any other evidence to Kristin. It's fine. Kristen has facial dimples. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert told Rolling Stonelast year. They're known for being a really safe school.". JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Chris Lambert: And that's when they're told that earring has been misplaced. Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. What's going on? The elder Flores is charged with accessory after the fact to the crime of murder for allegedly helping Paul conceal Smarts body. What Chris did was take a local story and turn it into an international story. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Mesick argued there were many innocent explanations why soil had previously been dug up in the yard. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. 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. Chris Lambert and it worked. Cole said that Ruben then clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three to have been arrested. The defense claims the prosecution is wearing said color as a result of a Facebook request on the site Justice for Kristin Smart' to wear purple during a Memorial Day celebration. Chris Lambert: At that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person, a possibly murdered person. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. In April, Paul Flores, 44, was arrested on one count of murder in connection to the case, and his father, Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested as an accessory after the fact. Murphy and Sinclair promised the Smarts the billboard will stay until their daughter is found. The hearing began August 2 and is expected to last into at least next week. Due to the evidence gleaned from the excavation, it is reasonable to believe Ruben Flores currently knows the location of Kristin Smarts remains," Peuvrelle said. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. So, they did not immediately get a warrant to search Susan Flores's home. 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. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. He had a smirk when he said it, like it was a joke, she says. 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. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. 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. Paul Flores was charged with murder and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office personnel dig in an area in the backyard of the home of Ruben Flores, in Arroyo Grande, Calif., March 16, 2021. He built the home on White Court for Ruben and Susan Flores in 1991. The prosecution upholds the validity of these searches, including one of Flores dorm room that was done after he moved out. Flores and his parents have always maintained that he had nothing to do with Smarts disappearance. Defense lawyers have criticized the evidence used to arrest both men last week. All Rights reserved. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. Onuma was evicted from a Kaneohe, Hawaii residence after his connection to the Kristen Modafferi . Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. As of 2021, Kristen Modafferi's case remains unsolved. He invoked the Fifth Amendment 27 times. Defense Attorney Sanger calls the move a stunning lack of objectivity.. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. Paul Flores, right, in court with his attorney Richard Hutton in 1996. 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. On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. Podcaster Lambert will not be called to the stand during the Kristin Smart murder hearing. Whatever happened in those early hours, one thing is indisputable: Kristin Smart has never been seen again. By herself, which is pretty amazing. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. 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. 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. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. 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. 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. Kristin did not have a purse, money, her I.D. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. Peterson may or may not have been at the party Smart disappeared after. He says "no.". 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." And I was like, "nah, I have to study." Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my parents. Chris Lambert: So much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week. And here's your key." But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. "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. 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. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Griffin Cherry was her close friend: Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. Missing-person posters and billboards offering rewards appeared along roads and in other public places. Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. Paul Flores, a fellow freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, was the last person seen with Smart on May 25, 1996. And I was, like, "uh OK, fine.". They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. The document presented summaries of why prosecutors didn't want either man to be released pending a trial that could be years away. PODCAST EPISODE 1: Kristin broke down begging her mother to let her drop out and go somewhere else. 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. But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. He discussed some of the evidence that was collected during searches of the property, including anomalies in the backyard and a 4-foot deep hole under the deck containing fibers and human blood. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. Smarts remains have never been found, but authorities recently said they believe they know where she was buried, though they havent disclosed the location. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. Also on the stand Tuesday were another cadaver dog handler, an expert in fiber evidence and a district attorney's office investigator. Cole said this was done so Lambert would include the information in his podcast during the time of the wiretap. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. Paul Flores is charged with first-degree murder and is accused of killing Smart while attempting to rape her. 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. 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. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. Cole said he has the admission on a digital tape recording. When Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart. Convicted killer Scott Peterson is expected to be called to the witness stand at a pre-trial hearing in California involving the 25-year-old disappearance of co-ed Kristin Smart. The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. Billie Eilish Explains Her Complicated Relationship With Social Media: 'I Don't Look at It Anymore', Theres no evidence of a sex crime in the charged crime (the murder case) itself, van Rooyen says. Ruben Flores was released on $50,000 bail to his ex-wife. Prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle asked him if he found the remains of any monkeys or ferrets or any human bodies on the property. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images The. Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. They didn't bring a forensics team. 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. So had Margarita Campos, who lived in the next room in Muir Hall. And she's like, "please come with me. Previously sealed documents related to the case become available to the public that explain the rape charges Peurelle attempted to add against Paul Flores. 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. Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo), via Associated Press. 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.. Jonathan Vigliotti [with Lambert outside of the the dorms]: Paul and Kristin then make their way here. Helicopters were used to canvas the area. Berkeley. And for the first time clues about what may have happened to Kristin Smart. She and all who have worked so hard toward this day deserve nothing less.. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. 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. Cole in 2019. Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated, and Flores had said he would walk her home after an off-campus party. She feared for her life, so did not tell anyone at the time or for years after. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. In his complaint, Murphy alleges, along with Ruben, there were two other unnamed individuals. to find the next challenge. 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. I've got her. to California to search for Kristen Modafferi. Paul Flores was ordered held without bail Monday. DAN DOW [press conference]: It is alleged that Mr. Flores caused the death of Kristen Smart while in the commission of or attempted rape. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. 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? KSBY will have more on what takes place in court on KSBY.com and KSBY News at 5 and 6 p.m. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Det. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Eighteen-year-old Kristen Modafferi was a college honor student from North Carolina spending her summer in San Francisco. In high school he was known as a loner. He'd go anywhere. She was never seen again and her body has not been located. During Tuesdays hearing, San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Detective Clint Cole testified about a conversation he had with Ruben Flores at his Arroyo Grande home when Cole was there to obtain a DNA swab. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . It was on Memorial Day weekend 1996 that their 19-year-old daughter Kristin Smart disappeared. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder 20 photos. No charges were filed, but Lambert discovered Flores's troubles started at a young age. D.A. The two men made their first courtroom appearance on July 14 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, where Judge Craig B. van Rooyen denied the district attorneys motion to add two rape charges against Paul Flores, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported. That young woman was Kristin Smart, and she hasn't been seen since. The judge in the case has issued a gag order preventing lawyers, investigators, witnesses and others from speaking about the case or releasing documents. Chris Lambert: They're hopeful, but they've also been let down so many times before. 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. They might have found evidence in those vehicles. She was never seen. 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. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. Cole also testified that the Flores family was wiretapped for 30 days starting on January 5, 2020. She had taken a job at a coffee shop to pay for a photography course at U.C. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? What happens next? Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? And they told Lambert they weren't surprised when they heard about Flores's connection to Kristin's disappearance. Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus police. Ruben will be released on bail that he can afford. You can go." Van Rooyen saying that his release could result in great bodily harm to the public. On Monday, he questioned why investigators needed to keep searching for evidence after making arrests. PODCAST EPISODE 4: So, I walk him up to his sister's apartment, and all of a sudden, he just like picked me up, carried me inside, turned around and shut the apartment door, and locked it. 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. 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. And my roommate actually kicked down the door to make him stop. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. Devastating. She was last seen in the Lands End area of San Francisco, close to where Laci and Connor washed up. 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. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. 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. Kristen has never been found. Even worse they never sealed his dorm room. D.A. After over 25 years, there is no evidence that Paul Flores committed the crimes for which there is no evidence.. 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. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. The Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. He has denied any involvement. 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. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? Defense attorney Robert Sanger, in turn, tries to poke holes in Flemmings recollections. Investigators in Kristin Smart case serve search warrant at the home of the prime suspect's father Smart was last seen near her California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly) dorm, but she. Paul Flores was identified as a person of interest early in the case. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. 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. D.A. 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. She withdrew money from the bank, a surveillance camera capturing what are . By then, the semester was over and the room had been cleaned out. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Witness Jennifer Hudson takes the stand, where she tells the court that, in 1996, when she was 17 years old, Flores laughingly told her he had taken care of Smart. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. Kristin Smart, a bright, adventurous communication studies freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, went missing May 25, 1996. His father was found not guilty of helping to hide her body. She loved swimming and skiing. IE 11 is not supported. Books from this author. Cole said investigators checked out the skateboard ramp location but did not find a body. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. https://www.nytimes.com/article/kristin-smart-case-timeline.html. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. The judge rules that the DA cannot be disqualified for wearing purple clothing. I guess the answer is yes. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. According to a county probation bail report obtained by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "biological evidence" was found under Ruben's deck. On Monday, June 23rd, 1997, she arrived for work at the Crocker Galleria mall. And when they did . They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. Her dorm entrance is right over here. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill Kristin Smart? Kristen Modafferi. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is this a case that takes a miracle to solve? Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? Nearly a week after their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material.