Im not going to exclude a member of the media (for doing their job).. "Up and Vanished" led a man to confess to killing a . 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. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. Paul Flores was charged with murder and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. Why? Kristin Smart went missing on May 25, 1996 while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and has not been heard from since. 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.". / CBS News, (This story previously aired on May 8, 2021. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. 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. Det. But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. to search on and near the Cal Poly campus. 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. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. 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. [emotional] I will go outside at nighttime and I'll look up at the full moon and I'll think that that kid's buried somewhere real close. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. His father, Ruben, is charged as an accessory. 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. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. Chris Lambert: A young couple moves into it with their kid. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. He also said that law enforcement leaked information to "Your Own Backyard" podcaster Chris Lambert. She was last seen in the Lands End area of San Francisco, close to where Laci and Connor washed up. "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. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. to find the next challenge. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Marital Status: Single Characteristics: Caucasian female with brown hair and eyes. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. So, she slowed down and walked with them. We feel like the stars aligned when the podcast aired, she told Rolling Stone. Smarts remains have never been found, but authorities recently said they believe they know where she was buried, though they havent disclosed the location. Other witnesses included students who were at the party. Ruben's attorney, Harold Mesick, dismissed the evidence against his client as "so minimal as to shock the conscience.". There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. September 15, 2017. So many people have played such important roles over the past 25 years, and we are humbled by the amazing support and generosity we have received. Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus police. 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. So, they did not immediately get a warrant to search Susan Flores's home. She was declared legally dead in 2002. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25. Our family has always known that this was going to be a long, difficult, and emotional journey. and offers to help. In 2011, the Smarts hoped those boulders would become a little lighter when Ian Parkinson became the . 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. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. The Tribune said it got the public documents from the courthouse in the city 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles. On Monday, he questioned why investigators needed to keep searching for evidence after making arrests. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. 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. And the body's not there now. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. And here's your key." 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. 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. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. Let's go." Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. 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. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? Anyone would have been terrified if they heard it.. Later, the sheriff's office obtained a warrant for Ruben's DNA and Det. We want to especially thank the District Attorneys Office for their relentless efforts. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. He later told investigators that he walked her as far as his dorm, where they parted ways. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. She adds that Flores said he put Smart under a skateboard ramp in Arroyo Grande. In the late 1990s, the. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. JAMES MURPHY: Does your son have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? But Paul Flores remained behind bars help without bail. And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. Paul Flores pleads not guilty to the murder and attempted rape of Smart. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. In high school he was known as a loner. These charges mark a major milestone, Dow says in a statement. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. 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. When authorities later confronted him with the two stories, Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. 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. Twenty-five years after Smart went missing, a prime suspect is charged with murder. Chris Lambert: It's mostly frat guys from the Kappa Chi fraternity. James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. 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. He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. 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. 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. Cole said a search of it revealed "suspicious activity.". They took in soil, I assume, for some kind of analysis. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. He said a backhoe had excavated a trench to dump soil that was removed to lay a nearby foundation. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. In his complaint, Murphy alleges, along with Ruben, there were two other unnamed individuals. Paul and Ruben Flores appear at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court for the first time, at which time Judge Craig van Rooyen denies Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelles request to add two rape charges against Paul, according to The Tribune of San Luis Obispo. Denise Smart, Kristins mother, has also praised the show. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. 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. They didn't look at the Flores family's vehicles. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill Kristin Smart? Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Cole in 2019. You can go." were in the room exactly where she had left them. They went on trial in July 2022 in Monterey County, Calif. On Oct. 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. 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. And there would be more disappointment in 2007, after the Smart's legal team searched a small portion of Susan Flores's backyard with ground penetrating radar and did not find any evidence. 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Chris Lambert: Paul worked with a number of women that he made incredibly uncomfortable girls who he tried to make a pass at sexually, girls that he tried to force to kiss him. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. Those were kind of unspoken things. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. The document presented summaries of why prosecutors didn't want either man to be released pending a trial that could be years away. Denise Pearce: To be almost there. She disappeared in 1996 after attending an off-campus party and while she was declared legally dead in 2002, her body has never been found. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. She disappeared in 1996 after attending an off-campus party and while she was declared legally dead in 2002, her body has never been found. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. And I was like, "nah, I have to study." Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images. Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated, and Flores had said he would walk her home after an off-campus party. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. 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. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. 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? I'm going to go back to the dorms. But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. She was never seen again and her body has not been located. Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. She had taken a job at a coffee shop to pay for a photography course at U.C. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. Testimony resumes at the Kristin Smart hearing after a week off. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. The judge rules that the DA cannot be disqualified for wearing purple clothing. 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. The investigation seemed to be hampered from the start by a series of missteps by campus police beginning with their assumption that Kristin was off having fun and ignoring worried friends who said she was missing. 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. What happens next? 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. 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: Was this case, given the evidence that was lost early on, doomed from the very beginning? Related Stories Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. 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. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. Chadwell answered no. He'd go anywhere. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. Anyone can read what you share. 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. 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. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. Chris Lambert: Kristin became incredibly intoxicated, whether she was drugged or whether she just had a lot to drink in a short amount of time She ends up passed out on the lawn next door. 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. The judge in the case has issued a gag order preventing lawyers, investigators, witnesses and others from speaking about the case or releasing documents. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. Maybe we cant. Ruben Flores, was arrested at his home on the same day and was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Helicopters were used to canvas the area. It worked. Cole said he has the admission on a digital tape recording. On July 21, Kristin Smarts parents and her brother, Matt, testified about how they had searched for her after her disappearance. 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.

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