Kristin Smart: California jury finds man guilty in the 1996 murder of It was turned over to a detective with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office, but Garin Sinclair says, the Smarts never knew it existed until the Lassiters were deposed in January 1997. Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. Her dorm entrance is right over here. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. My job was to hunt them. 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. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. PODCAST EPISODE 3: Something shiny catches her eye next to the front driver side tire. The two are charged in connection with the death of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart. Mesick argued there were many innocent explanations why soil had previously been dug up in the yard. 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. 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. Witness Jennifer Hudson takes the stand, where she tells the court that, in 1996, when she was 17 years old, Flores laughingly told her he had taken care of Smart. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Kristin Smart Case Update: Where Is the Investigation Today? - Heavy.com KSBY will have more on what takes place in court on KSBY.com and KSBY News at 5 and 6 p.m. Kristen Modafferi | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. What happened to Kristen Modafferi? - AdvertisingRow.com Related Stories Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. 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. His father was found not guilty of helping to hide her body. She loved swimming and skiing. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. 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. Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department and FBI searched the grounds of Susan Flores's home in Arroyo Grande on June 19, 2000, for any evidence that might shed light on the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. 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. 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. 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. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. to search on and near the Cal Poly campus. ", 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.". Chris Lambert: As they describe it, Paul Flores just sort of appears out of nowhere. Like the Smart's civil case, theirs also has been on hold. Um, wherever we can punch holes. The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old case. On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. 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. And the body's not there now. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. James Murphy: I'd love to do anything to end their suffering. But you have to understand, she was a really independent free spirit. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. The next month, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office took over from the Cal Poly police as the lead investigators. Eighteen-year-old Kristen Modafferi was a college honor student from North Carolina spending her summer in San Francisco. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. The Kristen Modafferi Mystery: 20 years later, private investigators Chris Lambert: That's the upsetting part about it, isn't it? And DNA evidence could not be found linking any other evidence to Kristin. By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. and I was like, "Noooo.". Her parents, Denise and Stan were both educators who encouraged their kids' passions. It also expounds on several other alleged rapes as well as unwanted sexual advances. On Monday, June 23rd, 1997, she arrived for work at the Crocker Galleria mall. Ruben Flores was released on $50,000 bail to his ex-wife. Paul Flores pleads not guilty to the murder and attempted rape of Smart. 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. Lambert says Kristin could not stand on her own, so fellow student Cheryl Anderson who was also at the party began helping her back to campus. He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. So many people have played such important roles over the past 25 years, and we are humbled by the amazing support and generosity we have received. 'Keep her memory alive': Organizer encourages community to spread The Smart family. Ms. Smarts family declared her legally dead in 2002, but the search, and the investigation, continued. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. Authorities also uncovered fibers consistent with the color clothing Smart was last seen wearing. These charges mark a major milestone, Dow says in a statement. And there would be more disappointment in 2007, after the Smart's legal team searched a small portion of Susan Flores's backyard with ground penetrating radar and did not find any evidence. The two girls walked to an area off campus where there were fraternities, sororities and residential housing for students. And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. The then eighteen-year-old . An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill 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. She was declared legally dead in 2002. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. Chris Lambert: So, if you believe Paul's story, he goes into his dorm room here. 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. Margarita Campos: I'll never forget her shadow against the building, this apartment complex, just standing like kind of cross-armed with the long leg And she was just kind of like looking at me like, [sighs] you're really walking away now, like you're really, you're leaving? suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. Margarita Campos: I was expecting her to knock on my door and be, like, "Oh, Margarita, you missed a rager. Ken Blum is the editor. Was the beeping in a backyard coming from Kristin Smart's watch Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my 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. Nic Coury / AP. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. She didn't think that was OK. And she was growing as an individual. 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. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. He also said that law enforcement leaked information to "Your Own Backyard" podcaster Chris Lambert. The authorities began to describe Paul Flores as a prime suspect in the case. A Timeline of the Kristin Smart Case - The New York Times The defense questions Hudson about her drug use, but she says she was not doing drugs at the time. In June 1997, 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi arrived in San Francisco to take a photography class at UC Berkeley. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. https://www.nytimes.com/article/kristin-smart-case-timeline.html. An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. Defense lawyers have criticized the evidence used to arrest both men last week. How are we not all talking about this every day until shes found?, Editors picks Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Three more witnesses are expected to take the stand on Thursday, including two cadaver dog handlers.___. It did produce some information that I believe was valuable, he said. 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. Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. 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. James Murphy: If it was, in fact, a piece of jewelry that matched Kristin's jewelry, it would have been blockbuster evidence. They didn't look at the Flores family's vehicles. She was never seen again. 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. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. PODCAST EPISODE 3 | MARY LASSITER: It was like a red thing and it was like a smudge-like fingerprinted look on the back, just red, like maroon, like old looking and the smudge that it was like half a fingerprint.
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