James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. Nearly a week after their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. After over 25 years, there is no evidence that Paul Flores committed the crimes for which there is no evidence.. Defense attorney Robert Sanger, in turn, tries to poke holes in Flemmings recollections. Prior to the arrests, in February 2020, Flores home, his parents home, and his sisters home were searched by police. 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. 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. Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. 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. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. All Rights reserved. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday. 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. Also taking the witness stand on Wednesday was Edward Chadwell. Chris Lambert: It's hard to take too much credit But I was one piece of the puzzle that helped to make this all come together when it did. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? His father was found not guilty of helping to hide her body. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Margarita Campos: I was expecting her to knock on my door and be, like, "Oh, Margarita, you missed a rager. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. Kristen Modafferi | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom October 22, 2022 / 10:10 PM What happened to Kristen Modafferi? One man's 20-year search for PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. Please enter valid email address to continue. to California to search for Kristen Modafferi. 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. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Kristin Smart: 25 Years Later - KSBY Authorities also uncovered fibers consistent with the color clothing Smart was last seen wearing. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Her parents, Denise and Stan were both educators who encouraged their kids' passions. 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. By the time they called the Cal Poly campus police, Kristin had been missing for more than 48 hours. 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. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. 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. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. A very close-knit family. The evidentiary hearing is underway and witnesses are testifying in front of Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen about Flores interactions with Smart. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. A lot of women felt uncomfortable around him, Flemming says. What happens next? He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Specifically, that they had Paul's white Nissan pickup in their possession. Podcaster Lambert will not be called to the stand during the Kristin Smart murder hearing. The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. A trailer was reportedly parked at Ruben's residence at odd hours and Paul's mother, Susan Flores, and her boyfriend were there. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. 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. The last person to see her alive,. Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? Sources tell us investigators discovered videos and photographs on Flores' computer showing him engaged in sexual activity with at least 10 different women, apparently in various states of consciousness. She and all who have worked so hard toward this day deserve nothing less.. Testimony resumes at the Kristin Smart hearing after a week off. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. 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. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images The. James Murphy: To see them in custody was a feeling of great joy for me. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder 20 photos. Dennis Mahon's Podcast 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. 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. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. Ruben's attorney, Harold Mesick, dismissed the evidence against his client as "so minimal as to shock the conscience.". 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. ", 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.". 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. The authorities removed items from Paul Floress home in Los Angeles in February 2020. A college student at North Carolina State University, ABC 7 writes that Modafferi had received a scholarship to work and live in a different city for the summer. Kristin Smart 19, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University had gone to a party on Friday, May 24 , 1996 -- and has not been seen since. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. But further investigation of the Flores's two trucks seemed impossible. Unsealed court documents in the Kristin Smart murder case include allegations of a discovery of human blood and witnesses who claim to have seen suspicious . 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. Kristin Smart Case Update: Where Is the Investigation Today? - Heavy.com Previously sealed documents related to the case become available to the public that explain the rape charges Peurelle attempted to add against Paul Flores. Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. Kristin Smart's body once buried in suspect's backyard - NBC News 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. Paul Flores is charged with the murder of Kristin Smart, who disappeared from Cal Poly in 1996. November 01, 2017. IE 11 is not supported. Kristin Denise Smart (born February 20, 1977 [1] [6] -declared legally dead May 25, 2002) was an American woman who was found to have been murdered by Paul Flores at the end of her freshman year on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). At the time of the April 13 arrests, the sheriff said he believed that had enough evidence to win convictions. 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. In the months after Kristin's disappearance, one truck was traded in and the other was reported stolen. Chris Lambert says they're cautiously optimistic. Kristen has never been found. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? I don't know if Kristin knew anybody there. When they reached the turnoff to Cheryl's dorm, she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her. He wouldn't answer a single thing. How 'Your Own Backyard' podcast led to arrests in Kristin Smart murder 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. 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. That's been our goal. 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. 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. Lambert began looking into what happened to Kristin, collecting articles and documents, chasing down leads and tracking down anyone with information. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. Paul Flores talks to his attorneys Sara Sanger and Robert Sanger on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. had been arrested in connection with her disappearance, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart, while in the commission of, or attempted, rape. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. The elder Flores is charged with accessory after the fact to the crime of murder for allegedly helping Paul conceal Smarts body. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. Authorities made clear that they plan to use Flores' alleged predatory behavior against him. I didnt understand why. He invoked the Fifth Amendment 27 times. And DNA evidence could not be found linking any other evidence to Kristin. Ruben Flores was acquitted by a separate jury. He never expected it would be a hit, but his podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in this decades-old unsolved case. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. Kristen Modafferi - Unsolved Mysteries But the investigation is ongoing. Paul Flores, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. No charges were filed, but Lambert discovered Flores's troubles started at a young age. "Up and Vanished" led a man to confess to killing a . Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. Griffin Cherry was her close friend: 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. Flores wasn't talking. or even her keys. 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. Any evidence that might have been there was long gone. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. The Disappearance of Kristin Smart: What Happened and What's Next The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. Kristin Smart case: Shy podcaster led cops to arrest in California cold About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. Nic Coury / AP. Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? It's just a motivator for me. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. They did an interview with the Cal Poly Mustang Daily and explained that they didn't think there was any evidence that a crime had taken place. He has not been charged in those incidents. James Murphy: That suggests that something bad happened in Paul Flores's dorm room. In one of Paul's police interviews he mentioned that he wanted to be let out of the interview because he needed to help clean up concrete at his mom's house So, what was being done in Susan Flores's backyard in the weeks after Kristin went missing? There's no question about it. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. 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. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. Kristen Modafferi. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. Mesick declined to comment Tuesday, citing the gag order. Police investigated whether Durst, 71, who lived in San Francisco at the time Modafferi went missing, was connected to her disappearance. 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.". JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Kristin Smart case: Suspects Paul and Ruben Flores arrested in the After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. Paul Flores pleads not guilty to the murder and attempted rape of Smart. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. 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. Her dorm entrance is right over here. Cole also talked about his interview with Jennifer Hudson in November 2019. Smart's body was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor said. Jonathan Vigliotti: They thought she was off possibly having fun. But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. 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. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant.