Below, Rolling Stone outlines where the Smart case is now: San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow announces chargesagainst Paul Flores and his father Ruben in connection with what he calls the 1996 homicide of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. Flores was also in possession of Tramadol and Flexeril, known as date rape drugs. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. Produced by Lisa Freed. 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. That technology uncovered a soil disturbance under the deck as well as four soil samples that tested positive for human blood; an April evacuation also tested positive for blood. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? to search on and near the Cal Poly campus. Maybe we cant. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" Cole said this was done so Lambert would include the information in his podcast during the time of the wiretap. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. November 01, 2017. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. Books from this author. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. Ruben's attorney, Harold Mesick, dismissed the evidence against his client as "so minimal as to shock the conscience.". The evidentiary hearing is underway and witnesses are testifying in front of Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen about Flores interactions with Smart. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. 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. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. 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. 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 spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. My job was to hunt them. A lot of women felt uncomfortable around him, Flemming says. Additionally, the documents include information about a March 15th, 2021 search by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office of Ruben Flores Arroyo Grande property that included ground-penetrating radar. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. Just very involved with their children. He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. 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". We feel like the stars aligned when the podcast aired, she told Rolling Stone. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. The two men made their first courtroom appearance on July 14 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, where Judge Craig B. van Rooyen denied the district attorneys motion to add two rape charges against Paul Flores, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported. On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press. 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. The investigation seemed to be hampered from the start by a series of missteps by campus police beginning with their assumption that Kristin was off having fun and ignoring worried friends who said she was missing. James Murphy: If it was, in fact, a piece of jewelry that matched Kristin's jewelry, it would have been blockbuster evidence. Missing-person posters and billboards offering rewards appeared along roads and in other public places. Kristin Smart, a bright, adventurous communication studies freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, went missing May 25, 1996. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. 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. After almost 25 years of suspicion, on April 13, 2021, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson announced the arrest ofPaul Flores in the disappearance of Kristin Smart. The court document was filed before bail arguments Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court when the father and son were arraigned. PODCAST EPISODE 3: Something shiny catches her eye next to the front driver side tire. How are we not all talking about this every day until shes found?, Editors picks And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. In March 2021, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores. The Tribune said it got the public documents from the courthouse in the city 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles. JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. 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. But it was a local story and the thing that stood out to me is that nobody was talking about it anymore. Mesick declined to comment Tuesday, citing the gag order. She was declared legally dead in 2002. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. 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. 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. James Murphy: The question for decades was "Well, where did the body go?". She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. Peuvrelle, who said Ruben Flores has helped cover up the crime for nearly a quarter-century, would continue to do so if freed. During Tuesday's hearing, San Luis Obispo County. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. But cadaver dogs told a different story. Cole reportedly testified that Ruben asked why Susan Flores, who is Pauls mother, and her boyfriend were also being swabbed when he was the only one who committed a felony. In 2011, the Smarts hoped those boulders would become a little lighter when Ian Parkinson became the . He refused to answer questions during a deposition in November 1997, citing the Fifth Amendment. Cole in 2019. That's been our goal. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. It worked. He said a chemical called Bluestar, which detects bodily fluids, was used on the trailer and that there was a reaction on the right side of the trailer showing a stain that could be similar to a human being lying on its side. 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. Kristen has facial dimples. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. 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. 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. D.A. Then, in 2011, Ian Parkinson was elected sheriff. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. Her books are available on Amazon. Authorities made clear that they plan to use Flores' alleged predatory behavior against him. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. In April 2021, investigators finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and decided they had enough to charge the then-44-year-old Paul Flores with Kristin's murder, and his then-80-year-old father with being an accessory after the fact. 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. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. On May 25, 1996, friends dropped her off at an off-campus party. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. 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. A college student at North Carolina State University, ABC 7 writes that Modafferi had received a scholarship to work and live in a different city for the summer. He says they are Ruben's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend. 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. 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 to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. He'd go through tunnels, under bridges, looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario. And these girls are inviting us out. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. Lambert began looking into what happened to Kristin, collecting articles and documents, chasing down leads and tracking down anyone with information. In the late 1990s, the. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. James Murphy: The podcast is out. and offers to help. Paul Flores was ordered held without bail Monday. When authorities later confronted him with the two stories, Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. putting murder on the lawsuit was sending a message to Paul Flores and his family, that we believe that he killed Kristin and that we're coming for him. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. I didnt understand why. Paul Flores, right, in court with his attorney Richard Hutton in 1996. 7,781 days.. That is all it took. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. Ruben will be released on bail that he can afford. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. The authorities began to describe Paul Flores as a prime suspect in the case. "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. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. Cole also testified that the Flores family was wiretapped for 30 days starting on January 5, 2020. Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. D.A. Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. The defense also tells Lambert he will not be allowed back in the courtroom where he has been covering the hearing as he is now a potential witness. Podcaster Lambert will not be called to the stand during the Kristin Smart murder hearing. Cole also talked about his interview with Jennifer Hudson in November 2019. The Smart family. 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. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. But on April 13, 2021, after an investigation that spanned nearly a quarter of a century, the authorities announced that two California men Paul Flores, now 45, and his father, Ruben Flores, 81 had been arrested in connection with her disappearance. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images The. Chris Lambert: I think that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day. Ruben Flores was acquitted by a separate jury. She didn't think that was OK. 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. Kristen Modafferi was last seen on the afternoon of June 23, 1997, at the coffee shop where she was working in the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. I'm going to go back to the dorms. So now you've got three different stories about how he got that black eye. 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? Back in San Luis Obispo, the Smarts, feeling ignored by the sheriff's office, continued a relentless campaign to get them to do more to find their daughter. Just days after taking over the investigation, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office brought several dogs trained to detect human remains, to the Cal Poly dorms. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. But as Chris Lambert learned, Flores's pattern of behavior with women didn't stop. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my parents. He has not been charged in those incidents. First published on November 28, 2020 / 11:10 PM. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. 1 of 47. 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! "Up and Vanished" led a man to confess to killing a . I did have guilt about that. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. No remains have been found. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. Also included is the result of a February 4th, 2020 search of Paul Flores San Pedro home, where San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs investigators seized electronic devices that featured videos showing Flores having sex with seemingly incapacitated women. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. Three more witnesses are expected to take the stand on Thursday, including two cadaver dog handlers.___.