Ms. Smarts family declared her legally dead in 2002, but the search, and the investigation, continued. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. Kristin Smart case: Shy podcaster led cops to arrest in California cold Kristin Smart 19, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University had gone to a party on Friday, May 24 , 1996 -- and has not been seen since. Paul Flores was ordered held without bail Monday. Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department and FBI searched the grounds of Susan Flores's home in Arroyo Grande on June 19, 2000, for any evidence that might shed light on the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. What happens next? Let's go." In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Flores claimed after walking Kristin back from the party, he went to his room in Santa Lucia Hall while she walked alone to her dorm. It encouraged the previously reluctant to come forward. This obviously gave law enforcement new leads to follow and connect with what they already were holding close.. Paul Flores killed Kristin Smart in dorm room during attempted rape, DA Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. 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." and I was like, "Noooo.". 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. She was never seen again and her body has not been located. You can go." They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. DAN DOW [press conference]: But the allegation that he was committing or attempting to commit a rape when he killed her, is the basis for which we are able to file first-degree felony murder charges. Early on, a small group of volunteers also looked for Kristin. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [to reporters]: It's been a puzzle and it's a very slow process to find each of those little pieces some of that information came to light through the podcast many of you are familiar with. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. The search for Kristin Smart never ends for her family Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. 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. Specifically, that they had Paul's white Nissan pickup in their possession. "Up and Vanished" led a man to confess to killing a . The Mysterious Disappearance Of Kristen Modafferi - Grunge.com Cole also testified that the Flores family was wiretapped for 30 days starting on January 5, 2020. She was gone. Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. She and all who have worked so hard toward this day deserve nothing less.. It's, like, she has nothing on her. 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. Twenty-five years after Smart went missing, a prime suspect is charged with murder. Once, he says, Flores was lurking in the lobby of Smarts dorm at 1 a.m.; another time, he says he saw the man in Smarts dorm room. A trailer was reportedly parked at Ruben's residence at odd hours and Paul's mother, Susan Flores, and her boyfriend were there. Kristin Smart: California jury finds man guilty in the 1996 murder of James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. Witness Jennifer Hudson takes the stand, where she tells the court that, in 1996, when she was 17 years old, Flores laughingly told her he had taken care of Smart. The Strange Disappearance of Kristen Modafferi - Medium Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. 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. It would be three more years before the property was searched again. It's just a motivator for me. He was not welcome.. "YOUR OWN BACKYARD" PODCAST: EPISODE 1: It's a cold and cloudy winter afternoon in San Luis Obispo and I'm retracing missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart's last known steps. 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. Denise Pearce says that was a crushing blow for the Smart family. We are now one step closer to justice for Kristin. Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. Please enter valid email address to continue. About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. 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. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. In a statement, the Smart family described a long wait for this bittersweet day.. By the time they inspected Flores's room, Kristin had been gone for 16 days. 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: Was this case, given the evidence that was lost early on, doomed from the very beginning? 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. Margarita Campos: I mean, she was gone. 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. The judge in the case has issued a gag order preventing lawyers, investigators, witnesses and others from speaking about the case or releasing documents. By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. Griffin Cherry was her close friend: Peuvrelle, who said Ruben Flores has helped cover up the crime for nearly a quarter-century, would continue to do so if freed. He has not been charged in those incidents. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. She was she was frantic I don't understand this, you know? or even her keys. I think they're just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? 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. In October 2022,. Kristin Smart case: Suspects Paul and Ruben Flores arrested in the She was never seen. On July 21, Kristin Smarts parents and her brother, Matt, testified about how they had searched for her after her disappearance. It is every parent's worst nightmare. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. Chris Lambert: It's mostly frat guys from the Kappa Chi fraternity. Meanwhile, the hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday, when the judge will rule if prosecutors have probable cause to go to trial. Produced by Lisa Freed. On Oct. 18, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. I did have guilt about that. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. I guess the answer is yes. Cole said a search of it revealed "suspicious activity.". And here's your key." 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. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25. Jonathan Vigliotti: They thought she was off possibly having fun. Nic Coury / AP. When Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart. But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. He was required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet. During Tuesday's hearing, San Luis Obispo County. Chadwell answered no. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. His father, Ruben, is charged as an accessory. Just days after taking over the investigation, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office brought several dogs trained to detect human remains, to the Cal Poly dorms. Ann-Marie Christian: became friends with Kristin in elementary school. Even more difficult to understand was why they waited two months to search the family home where Paul Flores was living with his father, Ruben. November 01, 2017. 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. Chris Lambert: At that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person, a possibly murdered person. They had become close friends despite their differences. A college student at North Carolina State University, ABC 7 writes that Modafferi had received a scholarship to work and live in a different city for the summer. 1 of 47. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen rules that having the podcaster testify and release his records would have a chilling effect on the medias ability to do their job. All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." James Murphy: Every day. They took in soil, I assume, for some kind of analysis. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. From the start, investigators. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. By herself, which is pretty amazing. 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. The prosecution upholds the validity of these searches, including one of Flores dorm room that was done after he moved out. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. Why? She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. D.A. Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son A missing-person report was filed with the campus police on May 28. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. Van Rooyen rules that Flores will be tried for murder in the 1996 disappearance of Smart. 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? And I was screaming. 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Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. Just very involved with their children. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . But it was a local story and the thing that stood out to me is that nobody was talking about it anymore. Paul Flores isnt granted bail, with Judge Craig B. Smart was declared dead in 2002. It did produce some information that I believe was valuable, he said. ORIGINAL STORY - Paul and Ruben Flores are back in court Wednesday for another day of their preliminary hearing. And she's like, "please come with me. Van Rooyen saying that his release could result in great bodily harm to the public. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. Kristen Modafferi - Unsolved Mysteries Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The defense claims the prosecution is wearing said color as a result of a Facebook request on the site Justice for Kristin Smart' to wear purple during a Memorial Day celebration. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. Kristin Smart went missing on May 25, 1996 while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and has not been heard from since. 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. No remains have been found. 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. 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. When they reached the turnoff to Cheryl's dorm, she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. He had a smirk when he said it, like it was a joke, she says. The then eighteen-year-old . Police investigated whether Durst, 71, who lived in San Francisco at the time Modafferi went missing, was connected to her disappearance. Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. 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. JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill Kristin Smart? 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. 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. Detective in Kristin Smart case testifies human blood - KSBY PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? 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. 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. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. Peterson may or may not have been at the party Smart disappeared after. D.A. James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. Later, the sheriff's office obtained a warrant for Ruben's DNA and Det. Judge van Rooyen objects to this assertion, though: Just because (Lamberts) been served does not necessarily mean he should be excluded, he says. James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. He has denied any involvement. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. 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. JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? And the body's not there now. 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. It's fine. But now, 25 years later, a man sits in a San Luis Obispo County Jail cell, charged with her murder. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. By then, the semester was over and the room had been cleaned out. I need you to listen to everything they say so we can punch holes in it.
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