Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes kicked out of CPAC, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Biden team readies new advisory panel ahead of expected reelection bid, At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, House Democrats unhappy with White House handling of D.C.'s new criminal code. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. Paul Flores talks to his attorneys Sara Sanger and Robert Sanger on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. had been arrested in connection with her disappearance, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart, while in the commission of, or attempted, rape. JAMES MURPHY: In May of 96 were you a student at Cal Poly? In fact, Cheryl Anderson, who trusted Flores to walk Kristin back to her dorm alone, told police that her friends called him "Chester the molester," because he was known for groping girls. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. The 18- year old coed from North Carolina was taking a summer photography class at the University of Califorina Berkeley when she vanished June 23rd, 1997. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. Cole testified about why investigators believe a crime was committed at Ruben's property on White Court in Arroyo Grande. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. At the time, they did not know about a missing college student. But I've seen it. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25 years ago, and, this summer, her case is finally getting its day in court. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. 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. 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. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. 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. 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. Paul Flores, a fellow freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, was the last person seen with Smart on May 25, 1996. Paul invoked the Fifth Amendment when the DAs office subpoenaed him to testify before a grand jury in 1996 and after the Smarts filed a $40 million wrongful-death lawsuit against him; during a 1997 deposition, he again pleaded the Fifth. Margarita Campos: I mean, she was gone. Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. Chris Lambert: It's mostly frat guys from the Kappa Chi fraternity. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. The unsealed documents include two claims from 2011 and 2017 that Flores raped two women while they were drunk in San Pedro. A missing-person report was filed with the campus police on May 28. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25. 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. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. 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. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert told Rolling Stonelast year. Van Rooyen saying that his release could result in great bodily harm to the public. 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. Also taking the witness stand on Wednesday was Edward Chadwell. Berkeley. Prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle asked him if he found the remains of any monkeys or ferrets or any human bodies on the property. He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. She was she was frantic I don't understand this, you know? So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. You can go." were in the room exactly where she had left them. The search for Ms. Smart, who was nicknamed Roxy, took many forms. There's no question about it. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Mesick declined to comment Tuesday, citing the gag order. The Sheriffs Office investigators and forensic specialists assigned to Ms. Smarts case executed 18 search warrants, submitted 37 items that were collected in the early days of the case for DNA testing, recovered 140 new items of evidence and conducted 91 interviews from 2011 to 2020, the office said. Chris Lambert: That's the upsetting part about it, isn't it? It was updated on October 22, 2022.). JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill Kristin Smart? About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. What Chris did was take a local story and turn it into an international story. They didn't bring a forensics team. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . D.A. She loved swimming and skiing. Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. A trailer was reportedly parked at Ruben's residence at odd hours and Paul's mother, Susan Flores, and her boyfriend were there. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. 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. Other witnesses included students who were at the party. 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. Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? 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. She was gone. The next month, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office took over from the Cal Poly police as the lead investigators. "Should he be allowed bail, it is a virtual certainty that he would use his freedom to continue his attempts to help Paul Flores thwart prosecution in this case and continue to hide her remains.. I guess the answer is yes. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder 20 photos. Authorities also uncovered fibers consistent with the color clothing Smart was last seen wearing. It worked. 3. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. 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." 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. Flores was also in possession of Tramadol and Flexeril, known as date rape drugs. The 19-year-old, who is also from Charlotte and a . Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated, and Flores had said he would walk her home after an off-campus party. So, they did not immediately get a warrant to search Susan Flores's home. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. Most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus. Since Parkinson came on the scene, investigators have dug up hillsides; searched the homes and properties of all the Flores'; collected evidence; seized Paul Flores' computers; monitored his cell phone and text messages, and found new witnesses -- some with the help of Chris Lambert. His father Ruben Flores charged with being an accessory after the factwas found not guilty. The defense wants to suppress some of these searches, though, claiming that they were done illegally or without warrants. 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. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. She withdrew money from the bank, a surveillance camera capturing what are . Chris Lambert: And that's when they're told that earring has been misplaced. ", 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.". Proof of the L.A. charges cant act as a substitute for the SLO case.. He has not been charged in those incidents. 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. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. Cole said investigators checked out the skateboard ramp location but did not find a body. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? He'd go anywhere. Early on, a small group of volunteers also looked for Kristin. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. D.A. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. She had taken a job at a coffee shop to pay for a photography course at U.C. 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. Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.. The police searched her dorm room in Muir Hall, finding her wallet and reminders to turn in assignments. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. The excavation below his deck showed damning evidence that a body had been buried in that location and then recently moved, prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle said. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. But the judge indicated he would set a reasonable bail amount Wednesday for the father, who has health problems is currently in the San Luis Obispo jail on $250,000 bail. 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. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. His is the latest in a line of true-crime podcasts to play a role in an arrest, a court appeal or even an exoneration. Case They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. All Rights reserved. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores.
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