The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. 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. This 9-room home sits on 40,000 square feet of land, which was purchased by the Flores family in 1990. And she's like, "please come with me. 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. Just very involved with their children. Somos la comunidad inmobiliaria ms grande de Mxico que conecta de forma gratuita a quienes ofrecen y buscan cualquier tipo de propiedad. I called my mom. She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case. Jonathan Vigliotti [with Lambert outside of the the dorms]: Paul and Kristin then make their way here. Chris Lambert: I personally think that wherever Kristin went, Paul was there with her. First published on November 28, 2020 / 11:10 PM. and I was like, "Noooo.". Im fine. James Murphy: I'd love to do anything to end their suffering. It is believed she is deceased, but there is no evidence of what happened to her after Paul Flores left her. / CBS News. I was like Oh my God. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? My heart dropped, she said. Flores father is now charged with helping cover up the homicide by burying Smarts body in his Arroyo Grande homes backyard. And she was growing as an individual. were in the room exactly where she had left them. One day, Jane was congregating in front of the high school when a male friend approached and warned her about one particular junior. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. Ian Parkinson: Yes. Related to: Ruben R Flores, Ermelinda M Thomas, Paul R Flores, Rachel H Flores, Ruben Flores. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. One of Kristins closest college friends, Steve Fleming, noticed that Paul Flores would linger around Smarts dorm hall even though he didnt live there. What happened in the privacy of his room that night? Peuvrelle asked the jury. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. We would highly recommend that those people get in contact with us as soon as possible so we could investigate this further, he said. At the time, they did not know about a missing college student. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. James Murphy: That suggests that something bad happened in Paul Flores's dorm room. Lives in: Arroyo Grande CA. James Murphy: If it was, in fact, a piece of jewelry that matched Kristin's jewelry, it would have been blockbuster evidence. Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. I would turn around and he would be right there lurking, the woman, referred to here by a pseudonym, said. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. The living room had a TV and one sofa and the floor was white, she said. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. In the months after Kristin's disappearance, one truck was traded in and the other was reported stolen. The dogs were trained and certified to detect human remains. Its not a lie. I blacked out and didnt consent to anything.. 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. Flores attempted to kiss Anderson before she walked away around 2:30 a.m. She refused his advances because she was creeped out, Peuvrelle said. More critical evidence was seized when investigators used ground-penetratingly radar that found a grave where Smarts body was once buried in the Flores familys backyard, according to prosecutors. 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? After seizing an old car, digging in the back yard and taking evidence San Luis Obispo County sheriff deputies concluded a two search of an Arroyo Grande home related to the 1996. I got in his face, the ex-boyfriend, who requested anonymity, told The Daily Beast. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Lambert says Kristin could not stand on her own, so fellow student Cheryl Anderson who was also at the party began helping her back to campus. Sarah said shes still haunted by Flores. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. San Luis Obispo County sheriff's officials gather under a coroner's tent in the backyard of Ruben Flores' house in the 700 block of White Court in Arroyo Grande on April 13. So, she slowed down and walked with them. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. It sounded like a digital watch alarm, but Lassiter couldn't find a watch anywhere outside. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. 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. You wouldn't let any of your friends be drunk around him. Susan Flores's backyard has been the focus of widespread speculation. But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. His father Ruben Flores charged with being an accessory after the factwas found not guilty. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. Acerca; Prensa; Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. During opening statements of Flores murder trial this week, prosecutors played a video of Flores stumbling over questions from Cal Poly campus police detectives inside an interrogation room. Paul Flores escorted Smart back to her dorm after an off-campus party. Smarts body has never been found. When they showed up, it was Paul Flores. Flores and Smart were both 19-year-old freshmen Cal Poly students who attended the same party the night she vanished, on May 25, 1996. The Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. Murphy and his wife, Garin Sinclair, agreed to take the case pro bono promising to go after Paul Flores and put pressure on the sheriff's office. I had zero interest in her, according to prosecutors. She never saw accepting the rides as anything but wholesome. It wasnt like some older guy or anything.. The accusations didnt stop with classmates: Flores allegedly couldnt restrain himself around his own kin. Nearly a week after their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. My mom opened the door and she cries, Oh my God!. Lindsey Smart Stewart: She had traveled the world before she even made it to college. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. Instead, Flores and his family were sued in 2002 by the Smarts in civil court for intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the parents of Kristin Smart by taking the body of Kristin Smart and secreting and/or destroying the body in a hidden place in the County of San Luis Obispo. The Flores family countersued for emotional distress. Both suits were shelved by a judge until Smarts remains are found. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. I've got her. They had become close friends despite their differences. Flores defense attorney, Robert Sanger, told the jury, This obviously is a tragic situation in one sense or another. The family attorney refused to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. 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. Guardar . I guess you can call it little white lies, Flores told detectives. Still she stuck around until Flores allegedly laid his hands on her aggressively again. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. 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. If you use a windshield cover, you can at least forget about scrapping the ice off your windshield to save some time and hassle. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. 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. But he entreated each woman who came forward to tell their story to The Daily Beast to reach out to his department. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. Flores said he suffered the black eye during a basketball game he played with friends in Arroyo Grande on Monday. Witnesses said she didnt smell like alcohol, but she quickly became so incapacitated that she passed out face-down on the houses front lawn. Deputies seized a mattress cover from the bed with a blood stain. In the interrogation video played for the jury, detectives can be heard asking Flores, If anybody lies as much as you have, about something as serious as this is, what does that tell you?. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. And I was screaming. D.A. There's no question about it. 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. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. The dogs handler said one dog went screaming down the hallway, made a U-turn, and stopped right in front of (Flores) dorm room, the prosecutor said. San Luis Obispo County. In 1997 when Paul Flores was deposed for the civil suit, the only thing he would confirm on tape was his name. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. What happens next? Over the years, while Stan Smart hiked every trail around California's Central Coast in hopes of finding Kristin's remains, Denise relentlessly pushed law enforcement to do more. But I've seen it. He gets his arm around her torso and her arm around his neck, and he's helping her walk. But was there evidence possibly placing Kristin Smart at his mother's home? SALINAS, Calif. (KRON) In the wake of Kristin Smarts disappearance from Cal Polys campus, detectives knew Paul Flores was lying through his teeth, according to prosecutors. First published on November 27, 2020 / 8:14 AM. Critics called. Sanger said the backyard grave was not at grave at all, and no human blood, hair, or bones were found in it. 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. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. ), A sheriff offices spokesman said his agency couldnt say if investigators working Smarts cold case had been made aware or not of the new alleged victims, citing refusal to comment on an open and active investigation.. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. I told him, You never do this again! I remember being home watching the news about Kristin Smart and there goes Paul, she recalled. Im good. The detective noticed was Paul was nervous and his heart was beating out of his chest. I remember thinking: If my moms not home Im going to die right here.. every piece of evidence points directly at Paul Flores. She was the last person other than Paul Flores to see Kristin alive. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. A judge on March 30 ruled that the trial would be moved out of San Luis . In high school he was known as a loner. Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. Get off her.. Chris Lambert: They just have never given up and are never going to give up on their daughter. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Our roommate came in and yelled Leave her alone. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. He threw [my cousin] to the ground and got on top of her and putting his hands down her top even after he got his wallet. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. That's been our goal. That could have been me.. 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. Despite Flores sporting a black eye the next day (which he admitted to investigators he lied about) and despite police dogs picking up the scent of human decay in his dorm room, Flores was never charged. An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. Please enter valid email address to continue. But cadaver dogs told a different story. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. Prosecutors Think Paul Flores Tried to Rape Kristin Smart in Dorm Room Before Killing Her On April 13, Paul's father, Ruben Flores, 80, was also arrested and charged with being an accessory. Kristin did not have a purse, money, her I.D. Margarita Campos: I was expecting her to knock on my door and be, like, "Oh, Margarita, you missed a rager. 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. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. D.A. A woman nearby screamed at Flores to get off her and threatened to call the cops, she said. They were meant for Susan Flores asking her to cooperate with police and have her son come forward. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus police. 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. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. As she told Chris Lambert, "In the master bedroom, I'm hearing this 'beep beep' every night at 4:20, or 4:20 in the morning." I get into the bathroom and try to lock it and then the door gets kicked open., It was not more than five seconds before Sarah said Flores crashed opened the door and stood in the frame. In October 1996, Mary and her family moved in. According to multiple party-goers, Smart was incapacitated unable to walk or stand on her own because of something she drank at the party, DeputyDistrict AttorneyChristopherPeuvrelle told the jury. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. I was like It wasnt. Jane said she kept this secret for yearseven from her husband. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. Whatever happened in those early hours, one thing is indisputable: Kristin Smart has never been seen again. 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