He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. 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. Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. Other witnesses included students who were at the party. He says "no.". Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Defense Attorney Sanger calls the move a stunning lack of objectivity.. to California to search for Kristen Modafferi. 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. November 01, 2017. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. 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. 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. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. The two are charged in connection with the death of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart. The case recently reentered the public eye with the 2019 launch of the popular true-crime podcast, Your Own Backyard, hosted by musician Chris Lambert, who has spent his life haunted by a missing persons billboard featuring Smarts face. A hundred percent that was happening. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. Plans & Pricing . But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. Kristen Modafferi. He says they are Ruben's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend. He discussed some of the evidence that was collected during searches of the property, including anomalies in the backyard and a 4-foot deep hole under the deck containing fibers and human blood. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. And that's what I've been doing for a long, long time, along with a lot of other people. The Smart family. On Monday, June 23rd, 1997, she arrived for work at the Crocker Galleria mall. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. And these girls are inviting us out. We want to especially thank the District Attorneys Office for their relentless efforts. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. And she was growing as an individual. Peuvrelle, who said Ruben Flores has helped cover up the crime for nearly a quarter-century, would continue to do so if freed. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. DAN DOW [press conference]: But the allegation that he was committing or attempting to commit a rape when he killed her, is the basis for which we are able to file first-degree felony murder charges. 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? LOS ANGELES A California college student missing for nearly 25 years was once buried in the backyard of the home owned by the murder suspect's father, authorities said in a court document. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. The evidentiary hearing is underway and witnesses are testifying in front of Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen about Flores interactions with Smart. 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. most importantly they wanna find their daughter. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. He was required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet. An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. 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. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images. 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. She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. D.A. James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. Whatever happened in those early hours, one thing is indisputable: Kristin Smart has never been seen again. Those were kind of unspoken things. 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. Flores and his parents have always maintained that he had nothing to do with Smarts disappearance. In 1997 when Paul Flores was deposed for the civil suit, the only thing he would confirm on tape was his name. After apparently becoming intoxicated, Smart headed back to her dorm with fellow partiers Tim Davis and Cheryl Anderson. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. She adds that Flores said he put Smart under a skateboard ramp in Arroyo Grande. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. 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. So, she slowed down and walked with them. Ruben will be released on bail that he can afford. 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. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert told Rolling Stonelast year. Paul Flores and defense attorney Robert Sanger in court on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. I think they're just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be. Paul Flores killed Kristin Smart in dorm room during attempted rape, DA 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. My job was to hunt them. 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. Shocking allegations in newly unsealed docs in Kristin Smart case Margarita Campos: I was a little bit more introverted and inhibited and she was like, "no, we have to go out and we have to go like live life." By herself, which is pretty amazing. 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. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. People are watching Ruben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores. They took in soil, I assume, for some kind of analysis. JAMES MURPHY: Does your son have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. I did have guilt about that. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. In addition, the documents include a phone tap from January 2020 in which Pauls mother, Susan, tells her son: The other thing I need you to do is to start listening to the podcast. 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. Chris Lambert's podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in the decades-old unsolved case of Kristin Smart. Murphy and his wife, Garin Sinclair, agreed to take the case pro bono promising to go after Paul Flores and put pressure on the sheriff's office. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. I'm going to go back to the dorms. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. Smart was declared dead in 2002. Cole said investigators checked out the skateboard ramp location but did not find a body. 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. What happened to Kristen Modafferi? One man's 20-year search for Dennis Mahon's Podcast 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. Podcaster Lambert will not be called to the stand during the Kristin Smart murder hearing. Kristin Smart went missing on May 25, 1996 while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and has not been heard from since. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. When asked about how he got the injury Flores told three different stories. In March 2021, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores. 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. 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. Chris Lambert: And he says he got a black eye playing basketball with his friends. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. Cole said he has the admission on a digital tape recording. These charges mark a major milestone, Dow says in a statement. to find the next challenge. 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. Police investigated whether Durst, 71, who lived in San Francisco at the time Modafferi went missing, was connected to her disappearance. Paul Flores was identified as a person of interest early in the case. JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Her younger sister Lindsey says their mother urged Kristin to go there. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. On Oct. 18, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. Denise Smart, Kristins mother, has also praised the show. The Mysterious Disappearance Of Kristen Modafferi - Grunge.com They had become close friends despite their differences. In June 1997, 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi arrived in San Francisco to take a photography class at UC Berkeley. The defense wants to suppress some of these searches, though, claiming that they were done illegally or without warrants. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. 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. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. What's going on? Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. 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. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press. Lambert began looking into what happened to Kristin, collecting articles and documents, chasing down leads and tracking down anyone with information. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus 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. . The judge rules that the DA cannot be disqualified for wearing purple clothing. PDF KRISTEN MODAFFERI - Federal Bureau of Investigation Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. 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. 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. Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. Kristen Deborah Modafferi (born June 1, 1979; disappeared June 23, 1997) is an American woman who, in the early summer of 1997, disappeared in mysterious circumstances after leaving her work at the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. 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. The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old 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. Defense lawyers have criticized the evidence used to arrest both men last week. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Cadaver dogs were sent into Paul Floress dorm room. 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. Cole said this was done so Lambert would include the information in his podcast during the time of the wiretap. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. A very close-knit family. He gets his arm around her torso and her arm around his neck, and he's helping her walk. Cole went to his White Court home to collect it on May 19, 2021. Im not going to exclude a member of the media (for doing their job).. Three other women missing: Did Lac's husband kill before? Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. Chris Lambert: Kristin became incredibly intoxicated, whether she was drugged or whether she just had a lot to drink in a short amount of time She ends up passed out on the lawn next door. He was not welcome.. That warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard, but deputies chose not to excavate. It also expounds on several other alleged rapes as well as unwanted sexual advances. Denise Pearce: To be almost there. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. In October 2022,. And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. Smart's body was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor said. 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. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. 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. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. Kristin Smart: 25 Years Later - KSBY Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. Kristin Smart: California jury finds man guilty in the 1996 murder of Murphy and Sinclair promised the Smarts the billboard will stay until their daughter is found. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. We feel like the stars aligned when the podcast aired, she told Rolling Stone. Margarita Campos: I mean, she was gone. 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. 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. I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. I don't think she went back to her dorm at all. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. 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
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