Chris Lambert and it worked. By the time they called the Cal Poly campus police, Kristin had been missing for more than 48 hours. His father, Ruben Flores, pleads not guilty to being an accessory to the crime after the fact. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. What Chris did was take a local story and turn it into an international story. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. "Up and Vanished" led a man to confess to killing a . The evidentiary hearing is underway and witnesses are testifying in front of Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen about Flores interactions with Smart. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. But the Flores's have fought back, suing the Smarts for intentional infliction of emotional distress. 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. And when they did . 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. And DNA evidence could not be found linking any other evidence to Kristin. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. Smarts remains have never been found, but authorities recently said they believe they know where she was buried, though they havent disclosed the location. Anyone would have been terrified if they heard it.. Paul and Ruben Flores appear at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court for the first time, at which time Judge Craig van Rooyen denies Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelles request to add two rape charges against Paul, according to The Tribune of San Luis Obispo. Paul Flores is charged with the murder of Kristin Smart, who disappeared from Cal Poly in 1996. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? Additionally, the documents include information about a March 15th, 2021 search by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office of Ruben Flores Arroyo Grande property that included ground-penetrating radar. "Should he be allowed bail, it is a virtual certainty that he would use his freedom to continue his attempts to help Paul Flores thwart prosecution in this case and continue to hide her remains.. D.A. She was declared legally dead in 2002. On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press. Below, Rolling Stone outlines where the Smart case is now: San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow announces chargesagainst Paul Flores and his father Ruben in connection with what he calls the 1996 homicide of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. 1 of 47. Plans & Pricing ; Podcast Statistics; PowerPress Plugin . Cole testified about why investigators believe a crime was committed at Ruben's property on White Court in Arroyo Grande. Twenty-five years after Smart went missing, a prime suspect is charged with murder. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus police. They went on trial in July 2022 in Monterey County, Calif. On Oct. 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? Please come with me." James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. I guess the answer is yes. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. 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. According to a county probation bail report obtained by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "biological evidence" was found under Ruben's deck. Denise Pearce says that was a crushing blow for the Smart family. It was first reported by The Tribune, and a reporter posted snippets of documents on Twitter. Any evidence that might have been there was long gone. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. 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. That's been our goal. 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: 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. 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.". PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. But was there evidence possibly placing Kristin Smart at his mother's home? Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. Paul Flores was identified as a person of interest early in the case. Ian Parkinson: Yes. After over 25 years, there is no evidence that Paul Flores committed the crimes for which there is no evidence.. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. Cole in 2019. Lambert began looking into what happened to Kristin, collecting articles and documents, chasing down leads and tracking down anyone with information. most importantly they wanna find their daughter. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. On June 23, 1997, Kristen left the coffee shop where she worked, Spinelli's Coffee in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria. Anyone can read what you share. The document presented summaries of why prosecutors didn't want either man to be released pending a trial that could be years away. 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. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. 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. 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. 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. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. Why? But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. 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. James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. So, she slowed down and walked with them. 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. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. 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. He has not been charged in those incidents. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. Chris Lambert: It's mostly frat guys from the Kappa Chi fraternity. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. James Murphy: If it was, in fact, a piece of jewelry that matched Kristin's jewelry, it would have been blockbuster evidence. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. Also taking the witness stand on Wednesday was Edward Chadwell. Det. Berkeley. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert told Rolling Stonelast year. 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. 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 says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. When authorities later confronted him with the two stories, Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nineteen-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after a campus party 25. 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. They didn't look at the Flores family's vehicles. 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. It worked. All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. 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. 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. Prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle asked him if he found the remains of any monkeys or ferrets or any human bodies on the property. JAMES MURPHY: Your husband have information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? 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). A very close-knit family. 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. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. She had taken a job at a coffee shop to pay for a photography course at U.C. Kristen Modafferi: Onuma and the Briefcase. It was updated on October 22, 2022.). Um, wherever we can punch holes. A missing-person report was filed with the campus police on May 28. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Clockwise from left, Kristin, Denise, Stan, Matt and Lindsey. She left around 2 a.m. and was accompanied by Paul Flores, who was also a student at Cal Poly. He'd go anywhere. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Kristen has facial dimples. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. By then, the semester was over and the room had been cleaned out. As of 2021, Kristen Modafferi's case remains unsolved. An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. 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. The 19-year-old, who is also from Charlotte and a . Chris Lambert: Paul worked with a number of women that he made incredibly uncomfortable girls who he tried to make a pass at sexually, girls that he tried to force to kiss him. Flores and his parents have always maintained that he had nothing to do with Smarts disappearance. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. Ken Blum is the editor. I was afraid Id end up missing or buried someplace, she says. Margarita Campos: I was expecting her to knock on my door and be, like, "Oh, Margarita, you missed a rager. 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: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. Also on the stand Tuesday were another cadaver dog handler, an expert in fiber evidence and a district attorney's office investigator. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. They also uncovered videos in a folder labeled practice that featured women wearing ball gags and in other fetish positions. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. every piece of evidence points directly at Paul Flores. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. That's when the campus police finally handed the investigation over to The San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office but they did not find Kristin. 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. It's fine. September 15, 2017. So now you've got three different stories about how he got that black eye. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. He has denied any involvement. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. No charges were filed, but Lambert discovered Flores's troubles started at a young age. Book Author Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and true crime writer. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. On May 25, 1996, friends dropped her off at an off-campus party. Lambert says Kristin could not stand on her own, so fellow student Cheryl Anderson who was also at the party began helping her back to campus. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. During Tuesday's hearing, San Luis Obispo County. We want to especially thank the District Attorneys Office for their relentless efforts. Like the Smart's civil case, theirs also has been on hold. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. 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. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. 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. Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. 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. Plans & Pricing . Just very involved with their children. Chris Lambert: And he says he got a black eye playing basketball with his friends. 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. Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday. She adds that Flores said he put Smart under a skateboard ramp in Arroyo Grande. 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. Peterson. 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? He also said there was suspicious staining in the soil indicative of human remains. 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. He'd go through tunnels, under bridges, looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario. Testimony resumes at the Kristin Smart hearing after a week off. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. 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. Recently unsealed court documents show the extent to which law enforcement has looked into Flores over the years: 48 search warrants involving wiretaps and GPS tracking, and a search of Flores former Cal Poly dorm room. Investigators in Kristin Smart case serve search warrant at the home of the prime suspect's father Smart was last seen near her California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly) dorm, but she. . Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. Meanwhile, the hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday, when the judge will rule if prosecutors have probable cause to go to trial. Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. Onuma was evicted from a Kaneohe, Hawaii residence after his connection to the Kristen Modafferi . The unsealed documents include two claims from 2011 and 2017 that Flores raped two women while they were drunk in San Pedro. The two are charged in connection with the death of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart. But the investigation is ongoing. And here's your key." 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. Cole also talked about his interview with Jennifer Hudson in November 2019. The elder Flores is charged with accessory after the fact to the crime of murder for allegedly helping Paul conceal Smarts body. I need you to listen to everything they say so we can punch holes in it. Det. 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. They havent revealed what was found but returned to the yard for additional digging after the arrests. 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: An eyewitness actually documented the fact that throughout the night that there was activity in the area of the underside of that deck. UPDATE - San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Detective Clint Cole returned to the witness stand Wednesday in the preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores, testifying that searches of Ruben's home turned up evidence leading them to believe human remains had been buried there. 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. November 01, 2017. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. The court document was filed before bail arguments Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court when the father and son were arraigned. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. 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. How could she have gone out of town? 7,781 days.. That is all it took. Jonathan Vigliotti [with Lambert outside of the the dorms]: Paul and Kristin then make their way here. Kristin Smarts family in 1999, three years after she was last seen walking home from a party in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Earthmovers were used in searches on and near the California Polytechnic State University campus in 2016. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder 20 photos. JAMES MURPHY: Does your son have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" In April, Paul Flores, 44, was arrested on one count of murder in connection to the case, and his father, Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested as an accessory after the fact. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. 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. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. A lot of women felt uncomfortable around him, Flemming says. 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..