And that's what I've been doing for a long, long time, along with a lot of other people. Susan Flores and her boyfriend were never charged in the case. or even her keys. 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? Chris Lambert: So, if you believe Paul's story, he goes into his dorm room here. 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. 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. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday. Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. But the investigation is ongoing. Paul Flores may have wanted a fresh start in Southern California, but Chris Lambert says, he could not seem to break old habits. And I was, like, "uh OK, fine.". Defense lawyers have criticized the evidence used to arrest both men last week. But Paul Flores remained behind bars help without bail. 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.. The defense argued that other skateboarders who were at the San Luis Obispo location said they never saw Paul there, and Hudson's boyfriend denied ever seeing Paul in Huasna or anywhere else. The sheriff's office seized the trailer and Det. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. In the late 1990s, the. The court document was filed before bail arguments Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court when the father and son were arraigned. 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. We just, "do you know anything about it". Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my parents. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. Devastating. Anyone would have been terrified if they heard it.. James Murphy: The question for decades was "Well, where did the body go?". And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. 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 two are charged in connection with the death of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. He invoked the Fifth Amendment 27 times. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. But as Chris Lambert learned, Flores's pattern of behavior with women didn't stop. 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. JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? 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. Please enter valid email address to continue. Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. D.A. Let's go." As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. And Murphy and Sinclair believe they can prove it. 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. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time She was never seen again and her body has not been located. By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. We want to especially thank the District Attorneys Office for their relentless efforts. Cole said investigators checked out the skateboard ramp location but did not find a body. Denise Pearce says that was a crushing blow for the Smart family. By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. Chris Lambert says they're cautiously optimistic. Helicopters were used to canvas the area. It also expounds on several other alleged rapes as well as unwanted sexual advances. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. Why? Lindsey Smart Stewart: She definitely, like, took advantage of life, seized the day she was super ambitious and was determined you know, to find the next adventure. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. D.A. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. 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. Other men cited by the defense either reportedly dated or pursued Smart. most importantly they wanna find their daughter. She was declared legally dead in 2002. Cole also testified that the Flores family was wiretapped for 30 days starting on January 5, 2020. From the start, investigators. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Those were kind of unspoken things. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. The authorities removed items from Paul Floress home in Los Angeles in February 2020. First published on November 28, 2020 / 11:10 PM. On Monday, he questioned why investigators needed to keep searching for evidence after making arrests. What Chris did was take a local story and turn it into an international story. 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. 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. Cole also testified that on March 9, 2020, a witness reported some suspicious activity at the property. Margarita Campos: I was expecting her to knock on my door and be, like, "Oh, Margarita, you missed a rager. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. But you have to understand, she was a really independent free spirit. She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. The unsealed documents include two claims from 2011 and 2017 that Flores raped two women while they were drunk in San Pedro. 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. He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. Cole testified that Hudson told him about Paul's statement and that she'd also seen Paul with his white pickup truck at the skateboard ramp in Huasna. Most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus. Cole went to his White Court home to collect it on May 19, 2021. In March 2021, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores. James Murphy: Paul Flores had a reputation amongst the girls that knew him at Cal Poly as being a creeper that he was always trying to hit on women. were in the room exactly where she had left them. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. 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. Kristin Smart: Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong calls the Smarts. The two men made their first courtroom appearance on July 14 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, where Judge Craig B. van Rooyen denied the district attorneys motion to add two rape charges against Paul Flores, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported. 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. Kristen has facial dimples. Chris Lambert: That's the upsetting part about it, isn't it? Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. Chris Lambert: Around the time Kristin disappeared, they cut out planter boxes in the backyard, so they cut out big chunks of concrete and filled it in with soil. PODCAST EPISODE 3 | MARY LASSITER: It was like a red thing and it was like a smudge-like fingerprinted look on the back, just red, like maroon, like old looking and the smudge that it was like half a fingerprint. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . Send us a tip using our anonymous form. James Murphy: The podcast is out. LOS ANGELES A California college student missing for nearly 25 years was once buried in the backyard of the home owned by the murder suspect's father, authorities said in a court document. It was updated on October 22, 2022.). "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. In a statement, the Smart family described a long wait for this bittersweet day.. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. 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. James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. He has not been charged in those incidents. "48 Hours" looks back to their arrests and how the saga began. Hudson previously testified during the preliminary hearing that while hanging out with a group of skateboarders in San Luis Obispo in 1996, she heard Paul Flores use a derogatory term to refer to Kristin Smart and say, "I'm done playing with her and I put her out underneath my ramp in Huasna.". 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. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. Eighteen-year-old Kristen Modafferi was a college honor student from North Carolina spending her summer in San Francisco. And I was like, "nah, I have to study." A single woman's earring. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. 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. That technology uncovered a soil disturbance under the deck as well as four soil samples that tested positive for human blood; an April evacuation also tested positive for blood. He never expected it would be a hit, but his podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in this decades-old unsolved case. The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old case. 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. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. It's just a motivator for me. But as Chris Lambert learned, campus police did not act right away. So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." There's no question about it. The jury hearing Paul Floress case began deliberations after closing arguments on Oct. 4. She and all who have worked so hard toward this day deserve nothing less.. People are watching Ruben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores. He discussed some of the evidence that was collected during searches of the property, including anomalies in the backyard and a 4-foot deep hole under the deck containing fibers and human blood. 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. JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Judge van Rooyen objects to this assertion, though: Just because (Lamberts) been served does not necessarily mean he should be excluded, he says. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office personnel dig in an area in the backyard of the home of Ruben Flores, in Arroyo Grande, Calif., March 16, 2021. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. How are we not all talking about this every day until shes found?, Editors picks After Paul and Rubens arrests, Sheriff Ian Parkinson revealed that Lamberts podcast helped move the investigation forward. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. He built the home on White Court for Ruben and Susan Flores in 1991. The two girls walked to an area off campus where there were fraternities, sororities and residential housing for students. Convicted killer Scott Peterson is expected to be called to the witness stand at a pre-trial hearing in California involving the 25-year-old disappearance of co-ed Kristin Smart. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. . ", 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.". On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press. We feel like the stars aligned when the podcast aired, she told Rolling Stone. The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. After apparently becoming intoxicated, Smart headed back to her dorm with fellow partiers Tim Davis and Cheryl Anderson. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. It did produce some information that I believe was valuable, he said. You can go." That young woman was Kristin Smart, and she hasn't been seen since. A trailer was reportedly parked at Ruben's residence at odd hours and Paul's mother, Susan Flores, and her boyfriend were there. I guess the answer is yes. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. Flores defense team moves to recuse the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office from the Smart case because prosecutor Peuvrelle and others have been seen wearing purple clothing, Smarts favorite color. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Chris Lambert's podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in the decades-old unsolved case of Kristin Smart. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. In addition, the documents include a phone tap from January 2020 in which Pauls mother, Susan, tells her son: The other thing I need you to do is to start listening to the podcast. putting murder on the lawsuit was sending a message to Paul Flores and his family, that we believe that he killed Kristin and that we're coming for him. Van Rooyen saying that his release could result in great bodily harm to the public. No charges were filed, but Lambert discovered Flores's troubles started at a young age. She said she didn't tell law enforcement about it until she talked to Det. Everyone knew Paul (Flores) was creepy. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. On Oct. 18, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. Ruben Flores was released on $50,000 bail to his ex-wife. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Chris Lambert: It's hard to take too much credit But I was one piece of the puzzle that helped to make this all come together when it did. https://www.nytimes.com/article/kristin-smart-case-timeline.html. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. Smart was declared dead in 2002. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? James Murphy: That suggests that something bad happened in Paul Flores's dorm room. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. every piece of evidence points directly at Paul Flores. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images The. Chris Lambert: And that's when they're told that earring has been misplaced. His father, Ruben, is charged as an accessory. He has denied any involvement. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. Real Name: Kristen Deborah Modafferi Nicknames: No known nicknames Location: San Francisco, California Date: June 23, 1997 Bio Occupation: Student Date of Birth: June 1, 1979 Height: 5' 8" Weight: 140 lbs. They have not been able to proceed with the civil case while there was an ongoing criminal investigation, but that didn't stop them from following every lead and preparing for an eventual trial. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. 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. 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. In his complaint, Murphy alleges, along with Ruben, there were two other unnamed individuals. On May 25, 1996, friends dropped her off at an off-campus party. Jonathan Vigliotti: Was this case, given the evidence that was lost early on, doomed from the very beginning? Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. He also said that law enforcement leaked information to "Your Own Backyard" podcaster Chris Lambert. Even worse they never sealed his dorm room. He later told investigators that he walked her as far as his dorm, where they parted ways. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. Meanwhile, the hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday, when the judge will rule if prosecutors have probable cause to go to trial. But I've seen it. Flores was also in possession of Tramadol and Flexeril, known as date rape drugs. After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. The judge rules that the DA cannot be disqualified for wearing purple clothing. And while they did not rush to investigate Flores, Kristin's family says campus police were very quick to judge her. In March, the Oakland Police Department released a statement saying that it had worked with the FBI and found no evidence indicating Durst was involved. Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.. About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. And for the first time clues about what may have happened to Kristin Smart. 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. (Pool photo by Dave Minsky/Santa Maria Times). PODCAST EPISODE 5: If you were making a film about a new law enforcer who's coming to a small town to save the day, you'd probably cast Parkinson. When they showed up, it was Paul Flores. According to a county probation bail report obtained by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "biological evidence" was found under Ruben's deck. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. 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. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Please come with me." The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. 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. Lindsey Smart Stewart: It just amazes me the amount of evidence that's available, yet nothing has happened. The then eighteen-year-old . Paul Flores and defense attorney Robert Sanger in court on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. 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. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. 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. 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. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. For the next 25 years, I did whatever I could and looked for answers wherever I could, Denise Smart told the court, according to CBS 13, a local television station. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. And yes, we believe it's linked to Kristin. But it was a local story and the thing that stood out to me is that nobody was talking about it anymore. Sheriff Ian Parkinson was able to confirm that forensic physical evidence that authorities believe is linked to Kristin was located at, at least two homes. An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. By herself, which is pretty amazing. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. The prosecution upholds the validity of these searches, including one of Flores dorm room that was done after he moved out. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. 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 I was like, "Noooo.". I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. They went on trial in July 2022 in Monterey County, Calif. On Oct. 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. Marital Status: Single Characteristics: Caucasian female with brown hair and eyes. JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Chris Lambert and it worked. DAN DOW [press conference]: We intend to use evidence of other sexual crimes in this prosecution to prove the facts necessary for the attempted rape in this case. Kristin Smart was a 19-year-old freshman at Cal Poly, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, when she disappeared after a walk home from an off-campus party early in the. Peterson. They did an interview with the Cal Poly Mustang Daily and explained that they didn't think there was any evidence that a crime had taken place. October 22, 2022 / 10:10 PM James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. Chris Lambert: A young couple moves into it with their kid. Kristen Modafferi was last seen on the afternoon of June 23, 1997, at the coffee shop where she was working in the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. Margarita Campos: I'll never forget her shadow against the building, this apartment complex, just standing like kind of cross-armed with the long leg And she was just kind of like looking at me like, [sighs] you're really walking away now, like you're really, you're leaving? Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. In April 2021, investigators finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and decided they had enough to charge the then-44-year-old Paul Flores with Kristin's murder, and his then-80-year-old father with being an accessory after the fact. budget long term accommodation sydney,
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