Please come with me." Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. It's fine. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family.
Kristin Smart case: Suspects Paul and Ruben Flores arrested in the Human Remains Possibly Found In Home Of Missing Woman Kristen Modafferi Marital Status: Single Characteristics: Caucasian female with brown hair and eyes. 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. Lindsey Smart Stewart: She had traveled the world before she even made it to college. Det. The defense wants to suppress some of these searches, though, claiming that they were done illegally or without warrants. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? The trial got underway with opening statements on July 18 in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas. 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. How could she have gone out of town? and offers to help. . Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. 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. 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. Susan Flores and her boyfriend were never charged in the case. A very close-knit family. 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. Ruben Flores, was arrested at his home on the same day and was charged with being an accessory after the fact. I told her I didn't I didn't want to go. Chris Lambert: I don't think she ever imagined that Kristin would end up dead by the end of the night. Paul invoked the Fifth Amendment when the DAs office subpoenaed him to testify before a grand jury in 1996 and after the Smarts filed a $40 million wrongful-death lawsuit against him; during a 1997 deposition, he again pleaded the Fifth. Authorities made clear that they plan to use Flores' alleged predatory behavior against him. He refused to answer questions during a deposition in November 1997, citing the Fifth Amendment. Kristin Denise Smart (born February 20, 1977 [1] [6] -declared legally dead May 25, 2002) was an American woman who was found to have been murdered by Paul Flores at the end of her freshman year on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder 20 photos. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. The unsealed documents include two claims from 2011 and 2017 that Flores raped two women while they were drunk in San Pedro. Kristen Modafferi. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar.
A Timeline of the Kristin Smart Case - The New York Times It also expounds on several other alleged rapes as well as unwanted sexual advances. Peuvrelle, who said Ruben Flores has helped cover up the crime for nearly a quarter-century, would continue to do so if freed. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. 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. In June 1997, 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi arrived in San Francisco to take a photography class at UC Berkeley. Smart's body was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor said. or even her keys. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. And for the first time clues about what may have happened to Kristin Smart. 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. 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. But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. His father, Ruben, will be tried as an accessory to the crime. From the start, investigators. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address?
By herself, which is pretty amazing.
Kristen Modafferi - Unsolved Mysteries 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. Instead, on Monday, May 27, Denise Pearce says the Smarts got a call from Cal Poly's campus police asking if Kristin was with them. Unsealed court documents in the Kristin Smart murder case include allegations of a discovery of human blood and witnesses who claim to have seen suspicious . 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. Flores was also in possession of Tramadol and Flexeril, known as date rape drugs. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. 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. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Podcaster Lambert will not be called to the stand during the Kristin Smart murder hearing. Why? Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. She was never seen. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? Ann-Marie Christian: She was who she was because of her parents, for sure. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. Due to the evidence gleaned from the excavation, it is reasonable to believe Ruben Flores currently knows the location of Kristin Smarts remains," Peuvrelle said. Proof of the L.A. charges cant act as a substitute for the SLO case.. Berkeley. 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. 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. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Ian Parkinson: Yes. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. What's going on? 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. I'm going to go back to the dorms. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. Denise Smart, Kristins mother, has also praised the show. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images. When Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart. 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. D.A. 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. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night.
Murder of Kristin Smart - Wikipedia Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. Dozens of community members on Saturday evening gathered for a vigil at Santa Rosa Park in San Luis Obispo to light candles in the memory of Kristin Smart, the Cal On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. 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. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. Book Author Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and true crime writer. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. They didn't bring a forensics team. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. to find the next challenge. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. 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. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. Chadwell answered no.
Kristin Smart: California jury finds man guilty in the 1996 murder of She left around 2 a.m. and was accompanied by Paul Flores, who was also a student at Cal Poly. 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. And here's your key." Ruben will be released on bail that he can afford. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. The Smart family. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996.
Detective in Kristin Smart case testifies human blood - KSBY Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated, and Flores had said he would walk her home after an off-campus party. Jonathan Vigliotti: Was this case, given the evidence that was lost early on, doomed from the very beginning? James Murphy: They're interested in seeing Paul Flores get convicted and Ruben Flores get held accountable. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. But cadaver dogs told a different story. Prior to the arrests, in February 2020, Flores home, his parents home, and his sisters home were searched by police. Cole said this was done so Lambert would include the information in his podcast during the time of the wiretap. Margarita Campos: I mean, she was gone. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. They havent revealed what was found but returned to the yard for additional digging after the arrests. The day after the arrests, Dan Dow, the San Luis Obispo County district attorney, said that Paul Flores had caused the death of Ms. Smart while in the commission of, or attempted, rape. Ruben Flores helped to hide her remains, he said. Our family has always known that this was going to be a long, difficult, and emotional journey.
Was the beeping in a backyard coming from Kristin Smart's watch Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus police. On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.. What happens next? Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. [emotional] I will go outside at nighttime and I'll look up at the full moon and I'll think that that kid's buried somewhere real close. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. Then, in 2011, Ian Parkinson was elected sheriff.
Scott Peterson set to testify in Kristin Smart slay case - New York Post Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo), via Associated Press. Flores and his parents have always maintained that he had nothing to do with Smarts disappearance. Paul Flores and defense attorney Robert Sanger in court on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. 1 of 47. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. 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. Griffin Cherry was her close friend: This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The younger Flores has long been the only person of interest in Smarts disappearance; she was last seen on May 25th, 1996, after attending a party near campus. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. Kristen Modaferri Observer file Family and friends of a Charlotte woman who has been missing for nearly two decades are awaiting results after a possible break in the case came Thursday.. The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. Chris Lambert: So much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week. She didn't think that was OK. 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. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. I think they're just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor.