An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. Our family has always known that this was going to be a long, difficult, and emotional journey. 1 of 47. They didn't look at the Flores family's vehicles. Ann-Marie Christian: She was who she was because of her parents, for sure. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. She was never seen again and her body has not been located. I need you to listen to everything they say so we can punch holes in it. 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. It's, like, she has nothing on her. 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. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. But the investigation is ongoing. 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! When asked about how he got the injury Flores told three different stories. The next month, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office took over from the Cal Poly police as the lead investigators. A missing-person report was filed with the campus police on May 28. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. D.A. Helicopters were used to canvas the area. And she's like, "please come with me. It's fine. On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria. The Smart family. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Cole said that Ruben then clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three to have been arrested. Please enter valid email address to continue. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. So, they did not immediately get a warrant to search Susan Flores's home. Kristin did not have a purse, money, her I.D. She had taken a job at a coffee shop to pay for a photography course at U.C. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. 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. And here's your key." She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. Today, we make the first move toward bringing justice to Kristin, her family, and the people of San Luis Obispo County.. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. It was first reported by The Tribune, and a reporter posted snippets of documents on Twitter. That's when Cole said Ruben asked why they would also be collecting DNA from Susan Flores and her boyfriend and Ruben told him, "They did not commit a felony, only I did.". Ruben Flores was acquitted by a separate jury. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. In March 2021, investigators used cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to search Ruben Floress property in Arroyo Grande, Calif. Paul Flores was taken into custody at his home in the San Pedro section of Los Angeles on April 13, 2021, and was charged with murder. The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. The two are charged in connection with the death of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart. PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. 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. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. 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. or even her keys. 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. Other men cited by the defense either reportedly dated or pursued Smart. And they told Lambert they weren't surprised when they heard about Flores's connection to Kristin's disappearance. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? to find the next challenge. Onuma was evicted from a Kaneohe, Hawaii residence after his connection to the Kristen Modafferi . Plans & Pricing . Kristen Modafferi was an 18-year-old college student who was about to start a summer photography course at UC Berkeley when she disappeared after leaving work at a San Francisco coffee shop. DAN DOW [press conference]: We have evidence that we do believe there are other people that are not yet identified that have had some kind of a criminal act perpetrated on them by Mr. Flores. They had become close friends despite their differences. Chris Lambert says they're cautiously optimistic. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. Everyone knew Paul (Flores) was creepy. The evidentiary hearing is underway and witnesses are testifying in front of Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen about Flores interactions with Smart. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. After over 25 years, there is no evidence that Paul Flores committed the crimes for which there is no evidence.. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. 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. Chris Lambert: As they describe it, Paul Flores just sort of appears out of nowhere. She was never seen. It did produce some information that I believe was valuable, he said. The arrests of the father and son came after investigators using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs discovered evidence connected directly to Smarts death last month during a search at Ruben Flores home, authorities said. In the months after Kristin's disappearance, one truck was traded in and the other was reported stolen. In April, Paul Flores, 44, was arrested on one count of murder in connection to the case, and his father, Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested as an accessory after the fact. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. D.A. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. PODCAST EPISODE 3: Something shiny catches her eye next to the front driver side tire. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. The document said investigators at the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department had biological evidence indicating Smart was once buried under Ruben Flores' deck behind his home in nearby Arroyo Grande. https://www.nytimes.com/article/kristin-smart-case-timeline.html. That's been our goal. 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. Unsealed court documents in the Kristin Smart murder case include allegations of a discovery of human blood and witnesses who claim to have seen suspicious . Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. James Murphy: To see them in custody was a feeling of great joy for me. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. Paul Flores, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. 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. On Aug. 2, local media reported that Denise Smart, Ms. Smarts mother, spoke at a preliminary hearing, where the judge was deciding whether prosecutors had established probable cause to proceed to trial. 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 reporter for The Tribune of San Luis Obispo. Twenty-five years after Smart went missing, a prime suspect is charged with murder. 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. Smart was declared dead in 2002. She feared for her life, so did not tell anyone at the time or for years after. 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". Cole said a search of it revealed "suspicious activity.". We just, "do you know anything about it". Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. 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. "48 Hours" looks back to their arrests and how the saga began. 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. Kristen has never been found. His father, Ruben, is charged as an accessory. Eighteen-year-old Kristen Modafferi was a college honor student from North Carolina spending her summer in San Francisco. Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated, and Flores had said he would walk her home after an off-campus party. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. Paul Flores was identified as a person of interest early in the case. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. His father was found not guilty of helping to hide her body. She left around 2 a.m. and was accompanied by Paul Flores, who was also a student at Cal Poly. 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. All Rights reserved. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. [emotional] I will go outside at nighttime and I'll look up at the full moon and I'll think that that kid's buried somewhere real close. Related Stories In 2011, the Smarts hoped those boulders would become a little lighter when Ian Parkinson became the . So had Margarita Campos, who lived in the next room in Muir Hall. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert told Rolling Stonelast year. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. They didn't bring a forensics team. But as Chris Lambert learned, campus police did not act right away. I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? She loved swimming and skiing. He'd go through tunnels, under bridges, looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario. 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. I don't know if Kristin knew anybody there. Police investigated whether Durst, 71, who lived in San Francisco at the time Modafferi went missing, was connected to her disappearance. Cole also testified that on March 9, 2020, a witness reported some suspicious activity at the property. 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. His father, Ruben, will be tried as an accessory to the crime. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. Chris Lambert: I brought them a number of witnesses that they were very interested in. 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. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. Cole said he has the admission on a digital tape recording. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. The trial got underway with opening statements on July 18 in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas. Jonathan Vigliotti: They thought she was off possibly having fun. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. Mesick argued there were many innocent explanations why soil had previously been dug up in the yard. Chris Lambert's podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in the decades-old unsolved case of Kristin Smart. It worked. 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. They havent revealed what was found but returned to the yard for additional digging after the arrests. James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. 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. Flores defense team serves Your Own Backyard podcaster Chris Lambert with a subpoena to serve as a witness in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on August 30th, as he has interviewed several witnesses before they spoke to law enforcement. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever. The court document was filed before bail arguments Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court when the father and son were arraigned. James Murphy: That suggests that something bad happened in Paul Flores's dorm room. 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. By the time they called the Cal Poly campus police, Kristin had been missing for more than 48 hours. D.A. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. It is every parent's worst nightmare. Chris Lambert: A young couple moves into it with their kid. JAMES MURPHY: In May of 96 were you a student at Cal Poly? Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. The Tribune said it got the public documents from the courthouse in the city 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles. 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. Plans & Pricing ; Podcast Statistics; PowerPress Plugin . You just don't talk, and you get away with it. Book Author Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and true crime writer. The defense wants to suppress some of these searches, though, claiming that they were done illegally or without warrants. But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. People are watching Ruben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores. They also uncovered videos in a folder labeled practice that featured women wearing ball gags and in other fetish positions.