She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. It was updated on October 22, 2022.). 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. Over the years, Susan Flores's backyard has been the focus of widespread speculation because of stories like the ones Mary Lassiter told Chris Lambert. He was staring at my face looking at me and he was enjoying himself.. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. The accusations didnt stop with classmates: Flores allegedly couldnt restrain himself around his own kin. Jonathan Vigliotti found Flores outside his home in Southern California and asked him a number of questions about Kristin's disappearance. Around 2 a.m., party-goer Tim Davis told Smart that she could not spend the night passed out on the party houses front lawn because it was too cold. Paul owns a home in San Pedro, CA . Paul had this look on his face, the relative said. Investigators could have excavated the yard, but their decision not to was a crushing blow for the Smart family. Me, my sister, my cousinPaul has no limits, she said, requesting anonymity. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. We both were kids at the same school and so I felt comfortable. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. Its a fib. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. "48 Hours" contributor Jonathan Vigliotti takes viewers inside the popular podcast and haunting case in "The Disappearance of Kristin Smart.". Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. I was throwing up and they were saying Oh this bitch! and This bitch better not throw up on me.. She told Lambert that after several months, the beeping stopped. Paul R Flores and Paul Raul Flores are some of the alias or nicknames that Paul has used. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. (No video or audio). 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. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. He returned later that Friday night and they drove to his friends home which Jane described as sparely furnished. The detective noticed was Paul was nervous and his heart was beating out of his chest. So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." One day, Jane was congregating in front of the high school when a male friend approached and warned her about one particular junior. The murder trial began on Monday with opening statements from prosecutors and Flores defense attorney. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. A judge on March 30 ruled that the trial would be moved out of San Luis . Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. Ken Blum is the editor. 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. Back then, Jane remembered Flores pulling up to her on multiple occasions behind the wheel of a green pickup truck. A single woman's earring. Ermelinda Flores' property in Washington state has been searched by investigators in February 2020. I remember being home watching the news about Kristin Smart and there goes Paul, she recalled. I called my mom. I never realized its the same guy that harassed [Sarah], he said. Susan Flores's backyard has been the focus of widespread speculation. I said, Stop it. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. Its not a lie. But Flores basketball friends told investigators that he already had the black eye when he showed up for the game. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. They are aware that they had no eye witnesses, a body was not recovered, there is no physical evidence, and no forensic evidence, Sanger said. That's been our goal. When The Daily Beast tracked Flores down outside his home last month, he didnt mount much of a defense. He says "no.". Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. Flores only made one phone call the weekend Smart disappeared, according to prosecutors. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #1: I wasn't surprised, but there's also that shock value of kind of "oh my god, I knew it! Kristin Denise Smart (born February 20, 1977, legally presumed dead May 25, 2002) was an American woman who is presumed to have been abducted, raped, and killed at the end of her freshman year of college on the campus of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Deputies seized a mattress cover from the bed with a blood stain. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. Related to: Ruben R Flores, Ermelinda M Thomas, Paul R Flores, Rachel H Flores, Ruben Flores. After they broke up, Laura did a little sleuthing and discovered her ex-boyfriend was accused in Smarts vanishing. View the profiles of people named Ermelinda Thomas. A student named Paul Flores, Susan's son, volunteered to take her back. But cadaver dogs told a different story. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. At the time, they did not know about a missing college student. I've got her. The woman, whom well call Jane, believes she was roofied, raped, and discarded by Paul Flores and his nameless friend when she was a 15-year-old high-school sophomore in 1994. San Luis Obispo County. The living room had a TV and one sofa and the floor was white, she said. There's no question about it. It sounded like a digital watch alarm, but Lassiter couldn't find a watch anywhere outside. Prosecutors Think Paul Flores Tried to Rape Kristin Smart in Dorm Room Before Killing Her On April 13, Paul's father, Ruben Flores, 80, was also arrested and charged with being an accessory. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. And they told Lambert they weren't surprised when they heard about Flores's connection to Kristin's disappearance. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. Despite identifying a prime suspect for her murder, law enforcement did not arrest Flores until 2021. They didn't bring a forensics team. More than two decades after Kristin Smart vanished, Sheriff Ian Parkinson says that Paul Flores, left, remains the only suspect in her disappearance. This boy walked up to me and said Oh hey, you need to be careful of that Paul Flores, I think hes stalking you. I had zero interest in her, according to prosecutors. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. Ruben Flores defense attorney is slated to deliver his opening statements when the two trials resume on Thursday in a Monterey County courtroom. Any tidbit of information or recollection could make the difference in the recovery of our beloved Kristin., disappearance of another woman under almost identical circumstances: Kristin Smart. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. . So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. 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: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. By herself, which is pretty amazing. After the four students had walked about halfway back to the dorms, Paul Flores told Davis and Anderson, Dont worry I got her, Ill take her from here, according to prosecutors. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. I dont like to talk about it to even him, she said. It would be three more years before the property was searched again. Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, Sneak peek: The Disappearance of Kristin Smart. She regretfully denounced them as cruel rumors at the time. "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. We just, "do you know anything about it". So, she slowed down and walked with them. He says they are Ruben's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. Those were kind of unspoken things. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. Flores roommate was out of town that weekend, and Paul knew he had three full days in that room (alone), Peuvrelle told the jury. A now-retired FBI agent believes those remains were once buried at the home of Floress mother. An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. / CBS News. I get into the bathroom and try to lock it and then the door gets kicked open., It was not more than five seconds before Sarah said Flores crashed opened the door and stood in the frame. By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. Susan P Flores Age 71. or even her keys. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. Susan Flores and her boyfriend were never charged in the case. He noticed Paul Flores would randomly walk through the halls of Muir Dorm. (The office hired a detective in 2015 to work on Unsolved Crimes for $15,000 a month: There are four open homicide investigations and Smarts remains an unsolved missing persons case. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. He grabbed me down there and while Im yelling at him my girlfriend threw a piece of gum at his face and he pushes her down., At this point every male at the party joined in to jump Flores, who fled, she said, adding, Boom, he disappeared., That same year, Sarah said, Flores pursued her again at a friends birthday party. First, he told detectives that Smart was having difficulty walking on her own. Meanwhile, three other women told The Daily Beast that Flores sexually assaulted them after Janes assault and Smarts disappearance. And these girls are inviting us out. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. James Murphy: The podcast is out. San Luis Obispo County sheriff's officials gather under a coroner's tent in the backyard of Ruben Flores' house in the 700 block of White Court in Arroyo Grande on April 13. How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death, Five deaths with a connection to Alex Murdaugh's family investigated, Florida man tries to use COVID-19 as a cover for murder. Flores wasn't talking. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. I have this PTSD fear of someone kicking the door in.. Instead, Flores and his family were sued in 2002 by the Smarts in civil court for intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the parents of Kristin Smart by taking the body of Kristin Smart and secreting and/or destroying the body in a hidden place in the County of San Luis Obispo. The Flores family countersued for emotional distress. Both suits were shelved by a judge until Smarts remains are found. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. He apparently would tag along with a sloshed friend, crashing off-campus parties together wherever she was. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. Even when law enforcement let them down, they refused to give up. He was required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet. 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. I dont like to talk about that day.. But I've seen it. Often, Sarah would be at one party or another and there was Flores. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. Kristin Smart has been missing since 1996 and the San Luis County Obispo District Attorney allege she was killed during a rape. BOE-A-2023-5092 Orden JUS/181/2023, de 21 de febrero, por la que se aprueba la relacin provisional de personas admitidas y excluidas en el proceso selectivo para acceso libre, al Cuerpo de Gestin Procesal y Administrativa de la Administracin de Justicia, convocado por Orden JUS/1254/2022, de 7 de diciembre. 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. That's when the campus police finally handed the investigation over to The San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office but they did not find Kristin. She was too kind-hearted. He was seeing someone on the side who he called his friend, she said. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. The interrogation was recorded just days after Smarts college friends alerted police that she was missing. "48 Hours" agreed. And yes, we believe it's linked to Kristin. So now you've got three different stories about how he got that black eye. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. When Anderson looked back one last time at Flores and Smart, she saw that he was leading Smart toward his dorm, Santa Lucia Hall, not Muir Hall, the prosecutor told the jury. I was like, Who the hell do you think you are?. After all these years, Sheriff Parkinson says that Paul Flores continues to be their number one suspect. JAMES MURPHY: Does your son have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? I wasnt freaked out.. Devastating. The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. Flores attempted to kiss Anderson before she walked away around 2:30 a.m. She refused his advances because she was creeped out, Peuvrelle said. The charming blue house with the picket fence on East Branch Street seemed perfect. Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my parents. His podcast, "Your Own Backyard," has become a big hit attracting millions of listeners eager to hear every detail surrounding this unsolved case. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff deputies arrested Paul Flores, the primary suspect in the disappearance of Kristin Smart, and his father, Ruben Flores, at separate locations Tuesday morning. One of them was Paul Flores, who, to this day, Kristin's family believes abducted and likely killed her. 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