Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. They're known for being a really safe school.". On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria. Plans & Pricing . Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. and offers to help. Jonathan Vigliotti: They thought she was off possibly having fun. They asked him not to use their names: PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #1: Well his nickname was "Scary Paul.". Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. Mesick argued there were many innocent explanations why soil had previously been dug up in the yard. PODCAST EPISODE 4: At 8 a.m. on June 19th, 2000, a team of sheriff's investigators knocks on the front door of Susan Flores's East Branch Street home. 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. A missing-person report was filed with the campus police on May 28. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. Smarts remains have never been found, but authorities recently said they believe they know where she was buried, though they havent disclosed the location. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. The Smarts say they tried to file a missing person's report with the local police but were told it was too early, and the FBI told them Cal Poly police were in charge. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.. Even worse they never sealed his dorm room. They had become close friends despite their differences. 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. Devastating. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert told Rolling Stonelast year. His father, Ruben, will be tried as an accessory to the crime. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. September 15, 2017. 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. Despite the fact that law enforcement had collected substantial evidence that Kristin Smart may have had reason not to return to her dorm room after leaving (fellow party-goers) Cheryl (Manzer) Anderson and Paul Flores and despite the fact that they had collected substantial evidence that there were multiple potential suspects who stalked, harassed or otherwise had conflicts with Kristin Smart, law enforcement made an early choice to change their focus to murder and to Paul Flores as the only suspect, Sanger wrote in a defense motion. 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. During Tuesdays hearing, San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Detective Clint Cole testified about a conversation he had with Ruben Flores at his Arroyo Grande home when Cole was there to obtain a DNA swab. I did have guilt about that. 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." Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. Det. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. When Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart. He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. She was never seen again. Van Rooyen saying that his release could result in great bodily harm to the public. That young woman was Kristin Smart, and she hasn't been seen since. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. The next month, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office took over from the Cal Poly police as the lead investigators. I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever. Nearly a week after their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. Like the Smart's civil case, theirs also has been on hold. 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. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. DAN DOW [press conference]: It is alleged that Mr. Flores caused the death of Kristen Smart while in the commission of or attempted rape. JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? D.A. Paul Flores was identified as a person of interest early in the case. Proof of the L.A. charges cant act as a substitute for the SLO case.. Kristen Deborah Modafferi (born June 1, 1979; disappeared June 23, 1997) is an American woman who, at the age of 18, in the early summer of 1997, disappeared in mysterious circumstances after leaving her work at the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. 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. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. Berkeley. On Oct. 18, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. People are watching Ruben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores. 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.
Dennis Mahon's Podcast 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. 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". Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. The documents also include several people the defense believes investigators should have looked into in addition to Flores, including convicted murderer and fellow then-student Scott Peterson, who was previously ruled out. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. The county sheriffs office searched his room once more during the weekend of June 29th, when a team of cadaver dogs signaled the smell of human decay. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. Kristen has never been found.
How 'Your Own Backyard' podcast led to arrests in Kristin Smart murder On July 21, Kristin Smarts parents and her brother, Matt, testified about how they had searched for her after her disappearance. Peterson. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Please come with me."
Kristen Modafferi - Unsolved Mysteries Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. 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. Paul Flores and defense attorney Robert Sanger in court on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. Ruben Flores was acquitted by a separate jury. Murphy and his wife, Garin Sinclair, agreed to take the case pro bono promising to go after Paul Flores and put pressure on the sheriff's office. James Murphy: They're interested in seeing Paul Flores get convicted and Ruben Flores get held accountable. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. But as Chris Lambert learned, Flores's pattern of behavior with women didn't stop. 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. These charges mark a major milestone, Dow says in a statement. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. They didn't bring a forensics team. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images The. Lindsey Smart Stewart: She had traveled the world before she even made it to college. Cadaver dogs were sent into Paul Floress dorm room. The authorities began to describe Paul Flores as a prime suspect in the case. By herself, which is pretty amazing. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. IE 11 is not supported.
The Disappearance of Kristin Smart: What Happened and What's Next Chris Lambert: At that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person, a possibly murdered person. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . She was declared legally dead in 2002. When they showed up, it was Paul Flores. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? Flores, 44, was arrested Tuesday at his home, nearly 25 years after Smart left a party near the Cal Poly campus and vanished on the way back to her campus dormitory. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. I've got her. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. Margarita Campos: But when we got to the house it was pretty dead too, it was really -- it was like a couple of roommates hanging out playing video games And Kristin was, like oh gosh, there has to be something better than this. 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. On day two, August 3rd, a close friend of Smarts from college, Steven Flemming, tells the court that Flores had interacted with Smart before the party they both attended prior to her disappearance. He'd go through tunnels, under bridges, looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario. PODCAST EPISODE 3: Something shiny catches her eye next to the front driver side tire. And according to that probation report, "dozens of women have recounted Paul Flores' sexual assaults and predatory behavior that document his 25 years as a serial rapist." Today, we make the first move toward bringing justice to Kristin, her family, and the people of San Luis Obispo County.. The search for Ms. Smart, who was nicknamed Roxy, took many forms. 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. Billie Eilish Explains Her Complicated Relationship With Social Media: 'I Don't Look at It Anymore', Theres no evidence of a sex crime in the charged crime (the murder case) itself, van Rooyen says. 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.". Um, wherever we can punch holes. It's, like, she has nothing on her. The defense questions Hudson about her drug use, but she says she was not doing drugs at the time.
It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. His father Ruben Flores charged with being an accessory after the factwas found not guilty. On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press.