Send us a tip using our anonymous form. 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's, like, she has nothing on her. Ann-Marie Christian: became friends with Kristin in elementary school. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. 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. PODCAST EPISODE 1: Kristin broke down begging her mother to let her drop out and go somewhere else. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? Berkeley. https://www.nytimes.com/article/kristin-smart-case-timeline.html. So had Margarita Campos, who lived in the next room in Muir Hall. But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. 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. James Murphy: It was just a sad phone call to have somebody say, our daughter disappeared and we think she's the victim of foul play and we'd like to pursue the guy that we think is responsible. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? 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.. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. A lot of women felt uncomfortable around him, Flemming says. Det. He gets his arm around her torso and her arm around his neck, and he's helping her walk. During Tuesday's hearing, San Luis Obispo County. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. 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. But the Flores's have fought back, suing the Smarts for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Even more difficult to understand was why they waited two months to search the family home where Paul Flores was living with his father, Ruben. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. As of 2021, Kristen Modafferi's case remains unsolved. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. In 2011, the Smarts hoped those boulders would become a little lighter when Ian Parkinson became the . 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 her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. Kristen has never been found. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. In 1997 when Paul Flores was deposed for the civil suit, the only thing he would confirm on tape was his name. He'd go anywhere. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. Nearly a week after their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. 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". He refused to answer questions during a deposition in November 1997, citing the Fifth Amendment. She was gone. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. My job was to hunt them. Margarita Campos: I mean, she was gone. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. Ruben Flores was released on $50,000 bail to his ex-wife. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. to find the next challenge. All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. 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. ORIGINAL STORY - Paul and Ruben Flores are back in court Wednesday for another day of their preliminary hearing. The next month, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office took over from the Cal Poly police as the lead investigators. Then, in 2011, Ian Parkinson was elected sheriff. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. 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. I was afraid Id end up missing or buried someplace, she says. Prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle asked him if he found the remains of any monkeys or ferrets or any human bodies on the property. 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. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. 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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. But further investigation of the Flores's two trucks seemed impossible. But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. And I was screaming. 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. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. 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 don't think she ever imagined that Kristin would end up dead by the end of the night. . Chris Lambert: I think that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day. 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. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill Kristin Smart? And Murphy and Sinclair believe they can prove it. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. Please come with me." JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. and offers to help. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. A very close-knit family. 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. 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. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. 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. 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. Kristin Smart, a bright, adventurous communication studies freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, went missing May 25, 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. He invoked the Fifth Amendment 27 times. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. She was she was frantic I don't understand this, you know? On Monday, June 23rd, 1997, she arrived for work at the Crocker Galleria mall. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. Chris Lambert: That's the upsetting part about it, isn't it? The prosecution upholds the validity of these searches, including one of Flores dorm room that was done after he moved out. Chris Lambert and it worked. The Sheriffs Office investigators and forensic specialists assigned to Ms. Smarts case executed 18 search warrants, submitted 37 items that were collected in the early days of the case for DNA testing, recovered 140 new items of evidence and conducted 91 interviews from 2011 to 2020, the office said. And yes, we believe it's linked to Kristin. Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. Ruben Flores, was arrested at his home on the same day and was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Her parents, Denise and Stan were both educators who encouraged their kids' passions. Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated, and Flores had said he would walk her home after an off-campus party. 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. His father, Ruben, is charged as an accessory. I've got her. Cole said this was done so Lambert would include the information in his podcast during the time of the wiretap. 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. His father, Ruben, will be tried as an accessory to the crime. IE 11 is not supported. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. They're known for being a really safe school.". Paul Flores, right, in court with his attorney Richard Hutton in 1996. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. He says they are Ruben's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. Ruben Flores, 80, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for hiding Smart's body after his son allegedly killed her. The defense wants to suppress some of these searches, though, claiming that they were done illegally or without warrants. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. Defense lawyers have criticized the evidence used to arrest both men last week. D.A. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. Cole in 2019. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. Cole also testified that the Flores family was wiretapped for 30 days starting on January 5, 2020. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. In March 2021, investigators used cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to search Ruben Floress property in Arroyo Grande, Calif. Paul Flores was taken into custody at his home in the San Pedro section of Los Angeles on April 13, 2021, and was charged with murder. Also taking the witness stand on Wednesday was Edward Chadwell. They went on trial in July 2022 in Monterey County, Calif. On Oct. 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. 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. Van Rooyen rules that Flores will be tried for murder in the 1996 disappearance of Smart. Dozens of community members on Saturday evening gathered for a vigil at Santa Rosa Park in San Luis Obispo to light candles in the memory of Kristin Smart, the Cal Meanwhile, the hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday, when the judge will rule if prosecutors have probable cause to go to trial. Devastating. The sheriff's office seized the trailer and Det. 7,781 days.. That is all it took. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. Denise Smart, Kristins mother, has also praised the show. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. He had a smirk when he said it, like it was a joke, she says. Flores was also in possession of Tramadol and Flexeril, known as date rape drugs. ", 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.". 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. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. Defense attorney Robert Sanger, in turn, tries to poke holes in Flemmings recollections. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. 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. By the time they called the Cal Poly campus police, Kristin had been missing for more than 48 hours. The defense argued that other skateboarders who were at the San Luis Obispo location said they never saw Paul there, and Hudson's boyfriend denied ever seeing Paul in Huasna or anywhere else. Marital Status: Single Characteristics: Caucasian female with brown hair and eyes. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Um, wherever we can punch holes. PODCAST EPISODE 3: Something shiny catches her eye next to the front driver side tire. An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. 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. From the start, investigators. He also said that law enforcement leaked information to "Your Own Backyard" podcaster Chris Lambert. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. 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. 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. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. What happens next? 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. Plans & Pricing . He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. She was declared legally dead in 2002. 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. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. Paul invoked the Fifth Amendment when the DAs office subpoenaed him to testify before a grand jury in 1996 and after the Smarts filed a $40 million wrongful-death lawsuit against him; during a 1997 deposition, he again pleaded the Fifth. Cole also talked about his interview with Jennifer Hudson in November 2019. 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. You can go." Chris Lambert: I personally think that wherever Kristin went, Paul was there with her. 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). Cole reportedly testified that Ruben asked why Susan Flores, who is Pauls mother, and her boyfriend were also being swabbed when he was the only one who committed a felony. On Monday, he questioned why investigators needed to keep searching for evidence after making arrests. Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25 years ago, and, this summer, her case is finally getting its day in court. KSBY will have more on what takes place in court on KSBY.com and KSBY News at 5 and 6 p.m. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. No remains have been found. 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. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Kristin Smart: Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong calls the Smarts. Cole said investigators checked out the skateboard ramp location but did not find a body. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. 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. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. The arrests of the father and son came after investigators using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs discovered evidence connected directly to Smarts death last month during a search at Ruben Flores home, authorities said. A missing-person report was filed with the campus police on May 28. 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.