Jury Convicts Paul Flores of Murdering Kristin Smart in 1996 - The New York Times

More than a 4th period aft Kristin Smart, a California Polytechnic State University student, disappeared aft an off-campus party, Paul Flores, a chap student, was convicted of murdering her, a assemblage successful California announced connected Tuesday.

A abstracted assemblage recovered his father, Ruben Flores, 81, not blameworthy of helping to fell the body. Ms. Smart’s remains person ne'er been found.

The verdicts were announced successful Monterey County Superior Court successful Salinas, Calif., capping a long-running lawsuit that began connected May 25, 1996, erstwhile Ms. Smart near an off-campus enactment astir 2 a.m. accompanied by Paul Flores. He aboriginal told investigators that helium had walked her arsenic acold arsenic his dorm, wherever they parted ways.

Friends who spoke to investigators reported that she was intoxicated, and that Paul Flores repeatedly told them that helium could travel her to her dormitory alone, due to the fact that she needed enactment to walk, tribunal documents say.

Ms. Smart, a freshman who was 19, was ne'er seen again. A missing persons study was filed 3 days later.

The hunt for Ms. Smart ranged from distant areas of the field to her dorm country successful Muir Hall, wherever investigators recovered her wallet and reminders to crook successful people work. A billboard seeking assistance successful uncovering her was organized by her family. Paul Flores’s dorm country was searched and helium was interviewed by investigators.

Ms. Smart’s household had their girl declared legally dormant successful 2002.

Nearly 2 decades later, successful 2021, the authorities described Paul Flores arsenic a “prime suspect” and executed hunt warrants, including astatine his Los Angeles home. Investigators utilized dogs trained to observe quality remains and ground-penetrating radar to hunt Ruben Flores’s spot successful Arroyo Grande, Calif.

Paul Flores was taken into custody astatine his location successful Los Angeles connected April 13, 2021, and was charged with execution during a rape oregon attempted rape. Ruben Flores was arrested astatine his location and charged with being an accessory aft the fact.

Dan Dow, the San Luis Obispo County territory attorney, said Paul Flores had “caused the death” of Ms. Smart “while successful the committee of, oregon attempted, rape.” Ruben Flores helped to fell her remains, helium said.

Paul Flores, 45, faces 25 years to beingness successful prison, prosecutors said.

The trials of Paul and Ruben Flores were not live-streamed, but section media organizations covered them intensively implicit the past 3 months.

The trials had been moved astir 140 miles northbound of San Luis Obispo to Monterey County, astatine the petition of the defence team, due to the fact that of the extended publicity astir the case.

In his closing statement earlier this month, a San Luis Obispo County prosecutor, Christopher Peuvrelle, told the court that Ruben Flores had helped his lad by hiding Ms. Smart’s assemblage nether the backyard platform of his house.

Mr. Peuvrelle cited ungraded samples, a 6-foot-by-4-foot anomaly successful the ground, humor staining, fibers that matched Ms. Smart’s covering and alerts from cadaver dogs.

He besides said that Paul Flores had been “hunting” Ms. Smart and had called his begetter to inquire for assistance burying Ms. Smart’s body. Robert Sanger, Paul Flores’s lawyer, said determination was a “missing person” but nary grounds of a murder.

Harold Mesick, Ruben Flores’s lawyer, said determination was nary grounds that his lawsuit had tried to fell the body, KSBY reported.

On Oct. 13, 1 juror successful Ruben Flores’s lawsuit was dismissed for asking his clergyman for guidance due to the fact that of the accent helium said helium was enduring, and a caller juror was sworn in, resetting the deliberations from the beginning, KSBY reported.

In July, Ms. Smart’s parents and her brother, Matt, testified astir their hunt for Ms. Smart aft she disappeared.

“For the adjacent 25 years, I did immoderate I could and looked for answers wherever I could,” Denise Smart, Ms. Smart’s mother, told the court, according to the section CBS affiliate successful Sacramento.