Paul was charged with the murder of Kristin Smart while Ruben was charged with being an accessory after the fact. The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. He later changed his story to say he bumped his head while working on his car. 19, 2000. A judge moved the trial to Monterey County in April over concerns that unbiased jurors could not be found in the county. Paul's next Los Angeles County court appearance is scheduled for June 10 for his charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. For example, if Dosties dog makes a hit, he collects soil samples and sends them to a lab for Vass to later read the results for traces of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) referred to as odor mortis. Paul Flores talks to his attorneys Sara Sanger and Robert Sanger on during a court appearance in September 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, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Flores was then the only person left helping Smart stagger back from the party at around 2am. If you ask retired police detective turned cadaver dog specialist Paul Dostie, he will tell you without any doubt in his mind that Kristin Smarts remains are in the corner of Susan Floress backyard. The jury rejected that theory, acquitting Ruben on Tuesday. He was sued by Kristin's family as part of a civil wrongful death lawsuit, but wasn't charged until April 2021. Previous coverage: Prosecution, defense lay out case as Paul Flores trial opens in death of Kristin Smart. This is a case that should not go any further.. Yet, in this case, no body, no crime scene, its a 30 year old case and now lies by the investigators and DAs office this will cost all residents hundreds of millions of dollars. 'We like to watch shows, and you think, "I bet I know what happened." Here, DailyMail.com examines the mystery that's gripped the US for nearly three decades. Ruben Flores stares down the Google Street View car. Smart was formally declared dead in 2002, and her body has never been found. Grounds for a mistrial, grounds for a motion to dismiss with prejudice. From those searches, they claim to have found physical evidence of human remains and that those remains were moved. This search was done after FBI agent Jack Schafer gave the SLO police department a warrant to dig up Susan Floress backyard. No other information regarding the evidence has been made public, with the police citing the fact that it is an ongoing investigation. Ruben Flores lives at a home at 710 White Court, Arroyo Grande, California. What you have to decide is whether Paul Flores committed murder.'. The authorities stated that sometime in 2016, they had recovered evidence that had pointed towards Paul as being the prime suspect in Kristins missing case. RIGHT NOW: The Smart Family attorney, James Murphy, filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores and is suing Flores for emotional damages associated with Kristin Smarts 1996 disappearance. 'But just the 'let's lynch 'em, let's burn 'em, let's hang 'em, let's kill 'em,' I don't know where that came from in this country. Dostie turned around and got ready to obtain a soil sample. All three handlers testified that they knew Kristin disappeared but did not know any further details on the case. Ruben also answers to Ruben J Flores, and perhaps a couple of other names. Dosties sister, who lives in Atascadero, mailed her brother a copy of The California Register and mentioned he should consider looking into the case. With no new evidence in the case, Kristin was declared legally dead six years after she first went missing. After excavation, Noahs team realized they found the largest missing grave recovered since WWII. The evidence uncovered, if any, during the course of the search may be used both in any criminal prosecution of Paul Flores and in the wrongful death case against Paul Flores filed by my office. 'But you're here as jurors. 'You took an oath that you would follow the rule of law,' Paul's attorney pleaded with them in closing arguments. When Kristin Smart fell at the party, he helped her up. He told the court that there are no witnesses who can corroborate Flores' story of what happened in his dorm room on May 25, 1996. It was fascinating to be able to combine all the different levels of technology, including the dog alerts. He requested a complete review of all the evidence in relation to Kristin Smart's missing person case. You cant dispute it.. He posted bail and left the jail with his wife, Susan Flores, KSBY-TV reports. Paul Flores, her classmate who walked her home from the party, was the last person she was seen with. Then, in 2021 the SLO County Sheriffs searched Ruben Floress home on White Court. Good News Real News Your Hometown News, Atascadero News 'After 26 years, with today's split verdicts, we learned that our quest for justice for Kristin will continue,' Stan Smart told a press conference - during which a reporter fainted. Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com. Smart's family and friends plan to hold a celebration of her life at her memorial at Dinosaur Caves in Shell Beach at 6pm on Tuesday, with a music jam session celebrating the guilty verdict. However, he also said that he had never searched for human remains before and did not have the proper equipment. In a deposition with Attorney James Murphy, neighbors of Susan Flores said they noticed Paul and Ruben doing work in Susan's backyard not long after Kristin's disappearance. The last person seen with her was Paul Flores. Ruben Flores said he had . Thedocuments detail the competing argumentsbetween prosecutors and attorneys for defendant Paul Flores over whatevidence should be allowed for Flores's trial, which began on July 18 at Monterey County Superior Court, Salinas. Over the years, judges have allowed the lawsuit to move forward. 'We like to watch shows, and you think, 'I bet I know what happened'. They had a lead regarding Kristins burial which steered them to excavate part of the university campus, but this was to no avail. Paul Flores was identified as a person of interest early in the case. During a 1997 deposition for that lawsuit, Paul Flores repeatedly cited the Fifth Amendment when declining to comment. I ask you to render a truthful verdict that Paul Flores is guilty of first-degree murder.'. 'Paul Flores is guilty as sin. Stan Smarts statement following the verdicts in the murder trial of his daughter, #kristinsmart pic.twitter.com/biFgN0auBj. Central Coast TRVLR But the jury decided it was. There is always more than one side to a story, especially when it comes to an unsolved case. Atascadero News Magazine The following were arrested Thursday in Aurora: Tapia-Rubio and Mora-Sanchez; Selestino Hernandez-Mayo, 45; and . Sanger also told the jurors that they needed to question whether the expert witnesses who testified for the prosecution are actually experts. At the trial, several other women testified that Paul Flores spiked their drinks then sexually assaulted them in the years after Kristin's disappearance. Investigators conducted dozens of searches over two decades, but turned their attention in 2020 to Ruben Flores' home about 12 miles south of Cal Poly. Lambert previously told the Santa Maria Sun: 'They want to go through my emails, my text messages and it's just not going to happen. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said Paul Flores was. Then in March, detectives served a search warrant for his father's home. That lawsuit resulted in the 1997 deposition in which Paul pleads the 5th Amendment to all questions except for his name. Ruben Flores son Paul Flores is accused of murdering Kristin Smart during an attempted rape in 1996. On March 10, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, the maximum allowed. After, there were new latticework and planter boxes that had been cut out of existing cement. During Rubens' trial in October, Deputy DA Christopher Peuvrelle said during the closing statements: 'Only one spot in that entire backyard happened to have a surface disturbance showing it had been dug down into. As Kristin Smarts body was never found, it is reasonable to assume that Paul Flores received assistance in moving the body in the middle of the night. ', Mesick said he feels there is 'reasonable inference' Smart is still alive and that he thought Paul Flores' attorney will likely file for a new trial since 'there are plenty of grounds.'. The next month, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office took over from the Cal Poly police as the lead investigators. Over the years, he was considered the prime suspect in her disappearance and was arrested in April 2021, along with his father, Ruben Flores. If you have any information, please call Murphy Law Corporation at 805-489-8929 or San Luis Obispo Sheriff at 805-781-4500. and He faces a minimum of 25 years in jail. Episode 04: Son Of Susan. Vasss technology works similarly to cadaver dogs. This study sent seven . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The civil attorney for Kristin Smart's family is suing Ruben Flores for emotional damages in connection to the Cal Poly student's 1996 disappearance. Ruben Manuel Flores, 64. Paul Flores was the person who was last seen with her. By 2020, it had amassed thousands of listeners and, police suspect, spooked the Flores family. San Luis Obispo teen killed in Highway 101 crash, Comparing COVID-19 death rates in California, to other states, Pismo Beach traffic stop nets gun and two arrests, Most of California out of drought, find reservoir levels, Donations raised, but not delivered to Los Osos mudslide victims, Teen arrested for assault, robbery and shooting in SLO, UCSB student dies from fentanyl exposure at Deltopia, Santa Maria man accused of threatening to shoot people, Man airlifted to hospital after Lompoc shooting, Four takeaways from the Paso Robles school board race, Holocaust Remembrance Day, lest we forget, SLO County gas prices increasing, find the lowest prices. He condemned what he said was a rush to judgement. Professor Lawrence Conyers was able to search almost all of Susans backyard. His father Ruben Flores was taken into custody in the city of Arroyo Grande, accused of being an accessory, according to ABC 10. . His attorney, Harold Mesick, defended the decision by the court by saying Ruben is 'not just not guilty, he is absolutely innocent, and today's verdict proved that. Former student Ross Ketchum recalled speaking to 19-year-old Smart about surfing and school at the Memorial Day weekend party, held at 135 Crandall Way. We love to hear them,' said Sanger. They will decide whether or not Paul Flores is guilty of killing Kristin Smart. Prosecutors suggested that this was how he seized on Kristin, a popular blonde who he'd admired but could never win over. In the lawsuit, Murphy alleges "Ruben Flores and Doe defendants 1 and 2 worked through the night, under the cover of darkness, to remove the remains of Kristin Smart to avoid having those remains at 710 White Ct. in the event of an additional search of the property.". The search for Ms. Smart, who was nicknamed Roxy, took many forms. Kristin Smarts family in 1999, three years after she was last seen walking home from a party in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Earthmovers were used in searches on and near the California Polytechnic State University campus in 2016. It also led to the 2007 dig of Susan Floress East Branch Street home. 'The community moved Heaven and Earth to try to find her. Citing the podcast, Your Own Backyard, Parkinson said: 'In 2019, (we) interviewed several witnesses that had not been previously interviewed. Curious to know more about this case? The trial got underway with opening statements on July 18 in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas. 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. Charged with accessory after the fact, Ruben Flores is suspected of helping his son dispose of Smarts body, which prosecutors believe was buried under a deck at his home. Ms. Smarts family said they had faith in the justice system, comforted in the knowledge that Kristin has been held in the hearts of so many and that she has not been forgotten.. Ruben Flores was arrested as an accessory at his Arroyo Grande home, where sheriff's investigators conducted another search. The Flores' defense teams have argued throughout the trial that they are the scapegoats of a police department and prosecution that are more eager to satisfy the public appetite for a conviction than they are to find the true killer. According to her college friend Margarita Campos, Smart was 'not under the influence at all' when she last saw her at around 10pm on the intersection of California and Foothill Boulevards. Prosecutors filed a first-degree murder charge against Paul Flores and an accessory after murder charge against his father, Ruben Flores, for helping him conceal Smart's body, which has never. The West side of the home is the same side, where the Lassiters heard the watch beeping and where the six feet by three feet cement planters are. The two alleged culprits are being held at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, awaiting arraignment. Before she vanished on May 25, Kristin sent her parents an excited voicemail claiming to have good news. He worked in law enforcement for 30 years. He used the OJ Simpson trial as an example. Paso Robles Press is the communitys top-ranked news source for Paso Robles, since 1889. On Jun. Over the years, the separate homes of Pauls parents, Susan and Ruben Flores, were, Furthermore, the searches at the homes of Ruben, Susan, Paul, and his sister had led to enough evidence to warrant a second search of Pauls home. 'It's too bad that sometimes the system works on feelings instead of facts, but I am relieved about myself of course.'. In the History Flight Search, Recovery and Identification Report 45 LT Alexander Bonnyman Jr. Betio, Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati 2006-2015, a map shows where Buster alerted and where remains were found. Within these discoveries, Buster alerted next to a building with a concrete slab. At the time of their arrest, the Smart family said in a statement: 'It is impossible to put into words what this day means for our family. Ruben Flores, 81, is charged with accessory after the fact, accused of helping cover up the alleged crime. Once again, Buster gave a strong alert to a spot along the fence bordering Susans backyard. Refine Your Search Results. May 25, 1996: Kristin Smart attends an off-campus party with multiple friends, including Paul Flores, at Cal Poly. He was doing a good deed.'. Then in April 2021, Flores was charged for her murder. Smart added: 'To our Kristin: Almost three decades ago, our lives were irreparably changed on the night you disappeared. After passing the tests, Noah and his team brought Buster and Dostie to some areas with known historical correlation to American graves, but no graves had been found yet. By the end of the night, college kids who had seen Kristin arrive sober said she was drunk and passed out on the lawn. And it was during the announcement of the arrest thatSan Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson gave credit to the tireless work of podcast host Chris Lambert. That lawsuit resulted in the. Professor Lawrence Conyers was able to combine all the different levels of technology, including Paul Flores committed.... 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