He said a backhoe had excavated a trench to dump soil that was removed to lay a nearby foundation. A California jury has found Paul Flores, the man accused of the 1996 murder of Kristin Smart, guilty of first-degree murder, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County District. But you have to understand, she was a really independent free spirit. Mesick argued there were many innocent explanations why soil had previously been dug up in the yard. It would be three more years before the property was searched again. And that's what I've been doing for a long, long time, along with a lot of other people. Anyone can read what you share. JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? The defense questions Hudson about her drug use, but she says she was not doing drugs at the time. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. Griffin Cherry was her close friend: An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. He was not welcome.. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. Other men cited by the defense either reportedly dated or pursued Smart. And yes, we believe it's linked to Kristin. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. How are we not all talking about this every day until shes found?, Editors picks September 15, 2017. 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. KSBY will have more on what takes place in court on KSBY.com and KSBY News at 5 and 6 p.m. 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. Kristin Smart: Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong calls the Smarts. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. Flores defense team serves Your Own Backyard podcaster Chris Lambert with a subpoena to serve as a witness in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on August 30th, as he has interviewed several witnesses before they spoke to law enforcement. Chris Lambert: So much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week. Ann-Marie Christian: She was who she was because of her parents, for sure. 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. Dennis Mahon's Podcast The hearing began August 2 and is expected to last into at least next week. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. Murphy has filed a new civil suit against Ruben Flores for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. When authorities later confronted him with the two stories, Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation. The Mysterious Disappearance Of Kristen Modafferi - Grunge.com It worked. Det. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. He has denied any involvement. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. Kristin Smart case: Shy podcaster led cops to arrest in California cold 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. Once, he says, Flores was lurking in the lobby of Smarts dorm at 1 a.m.; another time, he says he saw the man in Smarts dorm room. Chris Lambert was just 8 years old when Kristin Smart vanished on her way home from a college party in San Luis Obispo, California. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. A single woman's earring. What happens next? Cole said this was done so Lambert would include the information in his podcast during the time of the wiretap. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. 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. Lindsey Smart Stewart: She had traveled the world before she even made it to college. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. 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. 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. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Paul Flores was charged with murder and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. 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.". 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. Nikki Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the court, said the documents were not supposed to be public. Lindsey Smart Stewart: It just amazes me the amount of evidence that's available, yet nothing has happened. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. Denise Pearce says that was a crushing blow for the Smart family. D.A. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. Chris Lambert: I brought them a number of witnesses that they were very interested in. PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. Twenty-five years after Smart went missing, a prime suspect is charged with murder. every piece of evidence points directly at Paul Flores. Human Remains Possibly Found In Home Of Missing Woman Kristen Modafferi They took in soil, I assume, for some kind of analysis. Even worse they never sealed his dorm room. 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. 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. In June 1997, 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi arrived in San Francisco to take a photography class at UC Berkeley. "Up and Vanished" led a man to confess to killing a . Kristen has never been found. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. Defense lawyers have criticized the evidence used to arrest both men last week. Flores and his parents have always maintained that he had nothing to do with Smarts disappearance. These charges mark a major milestone, Dow says in a statement. No charges were filed, but Lambert discovered Flores's troubles started at a young age. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. So now you've got three different stories about how he got that black eye. And when they did . They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. There's no question about it. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. Cole testified that Hudson told him about Paul's statement and that she'd also seen Paul with his white pickup truck at the skateboard ramp in Huasna. They went on trial in July 2022 in Monterey County, Calif. On Oct. 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. Im not going to exclude a member of the media (for doing their job).. Smart was declared dead in 2002. Authorities also uncovered fibers consistent with the color clothing Smart was last seen wearing. Ruben Flores, was arrested at his home on the same day and was charged with being an accessory after the fact. The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old case. Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. The document presented summaries of why prosecutors didn't want either man to be released pending a trial that could be years away. 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. The last person to see her alive,. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. They also uncovered videos in a folder labeled practice that featured women wearing ball gags and in other fetish positions. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. The Smart family filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores in 1997, but he was not immediately charged criminally in the case. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. It's, like, she has nothing on her. She loved swimming and skiing. The authorities began to describe Paul Flores as a prime suspect in the case. Ian Parkinson: Yes. He says they are Ruben's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend. I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever. That young woman was Kristin Smart, and she hasn't been seen since. But I've seen it. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 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. That warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard, but deputies chose not to excavate. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. Peuvrelle, who said Ruben Flores has helped cover up the crime for nearly a quarter-century, would continue to do so if freed. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Flores, who had been seen with Smart earlier in the evening he attempted to flirt with her and apparently fell on her at one point, according to witnesses joined the group and allegedly accompanied Smart home. She and all who have worked so hard toward this day deserve nothing less.. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. Paul Flores pleads not guilty to the murder and attempted rape of Smart. I guess the answer is yes. The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. Missing-person posters and billboards offering rewards appeared along roads and in other public places. All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. Our family has always known that this was going to be a long, difficult, and emotional journey. His father Ruben Flores charged with being an accessory after the factwas found not guilty. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. The then eighteen-year-old . ", 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.". I was afraid Id end up missing or buried someplace, she says. Margarita Campos: I was expecting her to knock on my door and be, like, "Oh, Margarita, you missed a rager. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Kristin did not have a purse, money, her I.D. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. 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. Kristen Modafferi - Unsolved Mysteries Chris Lambert: They're hopeful, but they've also been let down so many times before. Disappearance of Kristen Modafferi - Wikipedia 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. "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. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. So had Margarita Campos, who lived in the next room in Muir Hall. The Kristen Modafferi Mystery: 20 years later, private investigators James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. Just very involved with their children. Detective in Kristin Smart case testifies human blood - KSBY and I was like, "Noooo.". Margarita Campos: I mean, she was gone. She was gone. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. 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. 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 The trial got underway with opening statements on July 18 in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. 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. 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. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. When asked about how he got the injury Flores told three different stories. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. Cole said a search of it revealed "suspicious activity.". It was updated on October 22, 2022.). But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. "Should he be allowed bail, it is a virtual certainty that he would use his freedom to continue his attempts to help Paul Flores thwart prosecution in this case and continue to hide her remains.. D.A. Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen rules that having the podcaster testify and release his records would have a chilling effect on the medias ability to do their job. Books from this author. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is this a case that takes a miracle to solve? 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. 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. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Chris Lambert: I don't think she ever imagined that Kristin would end up dead by the end of the night. Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. In April, Paul Flores, 44, was arrested on one count of murder in connection to the case, and his father, Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested as an accessory after the fact. She adds that Flores said he put Smart under a skateboard ramp in Arroyo Grande. Defense Attorney Sanger calls the move a stunning lack of objectivity.. Cadaver dogs were sent into Paul Floress dorm room. Three more witnesses are expected to take the stand on Thursday, including two cadaver dog handlers.___. Everyone knew Paul (Flores) was creepy. Ruben Flores was released on $50,000 bail to his ex-wife. Cole went to his White Court home to collect it on May 19, 2021. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. 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".
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