For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. The next month, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office took over from the Cal Poly police as the lead investigators. Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" Please enter valid email address to continue. They asked him not to use their names: PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #1: Well his nickname was "Scary Paul.". The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. She and all who have worked so hard toward this day deserve nothing less.. Peterson may or may not have been at the party Smart disappeared after. Paul Flores killed Kristin Smart in dorm room during attempted rape, DA Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. The evidentiary hearing is underway and witnesses are testifying in front of Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen about Flores interactions with 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. She left around 2 a.m. and was accompanied by Paul Flores, who was also a student at Cal Poly. That's been our goal. JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. Garin Sinclair: He never once turned to the Smart family and said, hey, we have an earring, we'd like to show it to you to see if it matches any of your daughter's jewelry. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. I don't think she went back to her dorm at all. Judge van Rooyen objects to this assertion, though: Just because (Lamberts) been served does not necessarily mean he should be excluded, he says. She was never seen. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. What happens next? The authorities began to describe Paul Flores as a prime suspect in the case. The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old case. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. Kristen Modafferi. Detective in Kristin Smart case testifies human blood - KSBY The body of Kristin Smart, which has never been found, was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor said, according to a document filed Monday and posted on social media by a reporter for The Tribune of San Luis Obispo. PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. When Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Chris Lambert: They just have never given up and are never going to give up on their daughter. His is the latest in a line of true-crime podcasts to play a role in an arrest, a court appeal or even an exoneration. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. What happened to Kristen Modafferi? One man's 20-year search for Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son She was never seen again and her body has not been located. 7,781 days.. That is all it took. I was afraid Id end up missing or buried someplace, she says. The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. Maybe we cant. 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. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. 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. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. Dennis Mahon's Podcast The Tribune said it got the public documents from the courthouse in the city 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Other men cited by the defense either reportedly dated or pursued Smart. It's fine. It worked. 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. Scott Peterson set to testify in Kristin Smart slay case - New York Post 'Keep her memory alive': Organizer encourages community to spread There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. The Smarts say they tried to file a missing person's report with the local police but were told it was too early, and the FBI told them Cal Poly police were in charge. and offers to help. The hearing began August 2 and is expected to last into at least next week. Three more witnesses are expected to take the stand on Thursday, including two cadaver dog handlers.___. She feared for her life, so did not tell anyone at the time or for years after. The elder Flores is charged with accessory after the fact to the crime of murder for allegedly helping Paul conceal Smarts body. I didnt understand why. It's just a motivator for me. Paul Flores was charged with murder and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. (Pool photo by Dave Minsky/Santa Maria Times). Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. 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. What's going on? But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. 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. Cole also testified that the Flores family was wiretapped for 30 days starting on January 5, 2020. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. We want to hear it. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. The document presented summaries of why prosecutors didn't want either man to be released pending a trial that could be years away. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. Paul Flores was ordered held without bail Monday. 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. I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? And when they did . Also included is the result of a February 4th, 2020 search of Paul Flores San Pedro home, where San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs investigators seized electronic devices that featured videos showing Flores having sex with seemingly incapacitated women. The police searched her dorm room in Muir Hall, finding her wallet and reminders to turn in assignments. Margarita Campos: I was expecting her to knock on my door and be, like, "Oh, Margarita, you missed a rager. All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. 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. Paul Flores is charged with the murder of Kristin Smart, who disappeared from Cal Poly in 1996. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Cole said this was done so Lambert would include the information in his podcast during the time of the wiretap. 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. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Disappearance of Kristen Modafferi - Wikipedia PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? The day after the arrests, Dan Dow, the San Luis Obispo County district attorney, said that Paul Flores had caused the death of Ms. Smart while in the commission of, or attempted, rape. Ruben Flores helped to hide her remains, he said. We want to especially thank the District Attorneys Office for their relentless efforts. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. 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. Kristen Modafferi - Unsolved Mysteries [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. every piece of evidence points directly at Paul Flores. Paul Flores and defense attorney Robert Sanger in court on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? In high school he was known as a loner. I guess the answer is yes. D.A. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. Cole said he has the admission on a digital tape recording. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. 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. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. Prior to the arrests, in February 2020, Flores home, his parents home, and his sisters home were searched by police. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. Cadaver dogs were sent into Paul Floress dorm room. He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. At the time, they did not know about a missing college student. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. October 22, 2022 / 10:10 PM Produced by Lisa Freed. 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. But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. I need you to listen to everything they say so we can punch holes in it. And here's your key." On Oct. 18, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. Chris Lambert's podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in the decades-old unsolved case of Kristin Smart. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. Since Parkinson came on the scene, investigators have dug up hillsides; searched the homes and properties of all the Flores'; collected evidence; seized Paul Flores' computers; monitored his cell phone and text messages, and found new witnesses -- some with the help of Chris Lambert. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. Um, wherever we can punch holes. Chris Lambert: I think that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day. Kristen has never been found. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Van Rooyen saying that his release could result in great bodily harm to the public. Kristen Modafferi | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom "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. He said a backhoe had excavated a trench to dump soil that was removed to lay a nearby foundation. The last person to see her alive,. We are now one step closer to justice for Kristin. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? 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. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images. Twenty-five years after Smart went missing, a prime suspect is charged with murder. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. Marital Status: Single Characteristics: Caucasian female with brown hair and eyes. For the next 25 years, I did whatever I could and looked for answers wherever I could, Denise Smart told the court, according to CBS 13, a local television station. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. In a statement, the Smart family described a long wait for this bittersweet day.. KSBY will have more on what takes place in court on KSBY.com and KSBY News at 5 and 6 p.m. Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo), via Associated Press. Chris Lambert: At that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person, a possibly murdered person. 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. Van Rooyen rules that Flores will be tried for murder in the 1996 disappearance of Smart. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. Chris Lambert: Around the time Kristin disappeared, they cut out planter boxes in the backyard, so they cut out big chunks of concrete and filled it in with soil. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. In June 1997, 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi arrived in San Francisco to take a photography class at UC Berkeley. Kristin Smart: Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong calls the Smarts. . 3. 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. The unsealed documents include two claims from 2011 and 2017 that Flores raped two women while they were drunk in San Pedro. 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. 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. 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. I've got her. Im not going to exclude a member of the media (for doing their job).. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? The defense wants to suppress some of these searches, though, claiming that they were done illegally or without warrants. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. 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.
Sesame Street Funding Credits, Crawford County Kansas Police Scanner, Current Density Altitude, Lightning Jutsu List, Articles K