Paul Flores has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of California college student Kristen Smart, who disappeared 25 years ago. Flores’ father, Ruben, was found not guilty of helping to cover up the crime. The conflicting verdicts were read separately in the same courtroom. Smart disappeared from Cal Poly State University over Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Her remains were never found. Prosecutors believe Flores, 45, was a first-year student in an attempted rape on May 25, 1996, in his Caltech dorm room at the age of 19. He was the last one with Smart, and she was drunk when he dropped her home from an off-campus party. His father, now 81, is said to have helped bury the slain student at his home in the nearby Arroyo Grande community, before the remains were exhumed and moved. Son’s defence lawyer Robert Sanger had tried to blame others for the killing – noting that Scott Peterson was later convicted in a lurid trial of killing his pregnant wife and the fetus she was carrying – then also Caltech students. In his final argument, the son’s defense attorney, Robert Sanger, told jurors that there had been no attempted rape, and he questioned the testimony of witnesses, including a student in Smart’s dorm who testified that Flo was seen in Smart’s room. Reis. He also called the forensic evidence provided by the prosecution “junk science.” All these years, because there is no evidence,” Sanger said. “It’s a shame Kristen Smart is missing, she may have gone out on her own, but who knows? Paul Flores has long been considered a suspect in the homicide. When investigators interviewed him, his eyes were black. He told them he was playing basketball with friends, according to court records. Denied his claims. He later said he had hit his head while repairing his car, but the father and son were not arrested until the case was retrial in 2021. Investigators have conducted investigations into Smart’s body for the past two decades. dozens of fruitless searches, but for the past two years they have turned their attention to the home of Ruben Flores, about 12 miles south of Caltech. km) in the Arroyo Grande neighborhood. In March 2021, archaeologists working for the police found a coffin-sized soil disturbance and human blood in his large house on a cul-de-sac street, prosecutors said. The blood was too degraded for DNA samples to be taken. The trial was held in Salinas, 110 miles north of San Luis Obispo, after a judge granted a defense request to transfer it. The defense argued that Flores It is unlikely that a fair trial of this kind in a city of about 47,000 people will get such a notorious fair trial. Paul Flores will be sentenced in December. Smart’s father Stan speaks after the verdict, thanking “after your own Court” podcast, which investigators believe brought new attention and led to the case. “26 years later, with today’s divisive verdict, we understand that we will continue to serve Chris Ting to get justice,” Smart said. He said the commitment of jurors in the case “renewed our confidence in the justice system.”
Paul Flores has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of California college student Kristen Smart, who disappeared 25 years ago. Flores’ father, Ruben, was found not guilty of helping to cover up the crime.
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The conflicting verdicts were read separately in the same courtroom.
Smart disappeared from Cal Poly State University over Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Her remains were never found.
Prosecutors believe young Flores, 45, attempted rape and killed the 19-year-old, both first-year students, in his Caltech dorm room on May 25, 1996. He was the last one with Smart, and she was drunk when he dropped her home from an off-campus party.
His father, 81, allegedly helped bury the slain student behind his home in the nearby Arroyo Grande community, before the remains were exhumed and removed.
Son’s defence lawyer Robert Sanger has tried to blame others for the killings – pointing to Scott Peterson’s subsequent slaying of his pregnant wife and her husband in a sensational trial was convicted of carrying a fetus – also a student at Caltech. time.
During his final argument, the son’s defense attorney Robert Sanger told jurors that there had been no attempted rape and that he doubted the testimony of witnesses, including a student in Smart’s dorm who testified that he was in Smart’s dorm. Flores was seen in Te’s room.
He also called the forensic evidence provided by the prosecution “junk science.”
“This case has not been prosecuted for years because there is no evidence,” Sanger said. “It’s a shame Kristen Smart is missing, she may have gone out on her own, but who knows?”
Paul Flores has long been considered a homicide suspect. When investigators interviewed him, his eyes were black. According to court records, he told them he was playing basketball with a friend, but the friend denied his claims. He later changed his account, saying he hit his head while fixing his car.
However, the father and son will not be arrested until the case is retrial in 2021.
Investigators have conducted dozens of fruitless searches of Smart’s body over the past two decades, but for the past two years they have turned their attention to Ruben Flores, about 12 miles south of Caltech. mile (20 km) home to the Arroyo Grande community.
Behind a lattice under the deck of his large house in a cul-de-sac, archaeologists working for police in March 2021 discovered a coffin-sized soil disturbance and the presence of human blood, prosecutors said. Blood is too degraded to extract DNA samples.
The trial took place in Salinas, 110 miles north of San Luis Obispo, after a judge granted a plea for its transfer. The defense argues that Flores is unlikely to get such a notoriously fair trial in a city of about 47,000 people.
Paul Flores will be sentenced in December.
Speaking after the sentencing, Smart’s father Stan thanked Chris Lambert, creator of the “In Your Own Backyard” podcast, which investigators believe brought new attention and led to the case.
“26 years later, with today’s divisive verdict, we understand that we will continue to get justice for Christine,” Smart said.
The commitment of jurors in the case “renews our confidence in the justice system,” he said.
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