Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? He called his father at 9:47 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 1996. But he entreated each woman who came forward to tell their story to The Daily Beast to reach out to his department. And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. So maybe he had a crush on me. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. That could have been me.. The Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores is being searched today for the remains of Kristin Smart. During opening statements of Flores murder trial this week, prosecutors played a video of Flores stumbling over questions from Cal Poly campus police detectives inside an interrogation room. Hes on top of me. DAN DOW [press conference]: It is alleged that Mr. Flores caused the death of Kristen Smart while in the commission of or attempted rape. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Flores attempted to kiss Anderson before she walked away around 2:30 a.m. She refused his advances because she was creeped out, Peuvrelle said. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. When they showed up, it was Paul Flores. He claimed he didnt even know her name, Peuvrelle said. The Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. Alicia Tejada is the field producer and Addison Briley is the associate producer. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? Once the dogs were let inside the room, they alerted to a corner of Flores bed mattress. As she told Chris Lambert, "In the master bedroom, I'm hearing this 'beep beep' every night at 4:20, or 4:20 in the morning." And she was growing as an individual. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. In one of Paul's police interviews he mentioned that he wanted to be let out of the interview because he needed to help clean up concrete at his mom's house So, what was being done in Susan Flores's backyard in the weeks after Kristin went missing? Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" James Murphy: I'd love to do anything to end their suffering. Chris Lambert: At that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person, a possibly murdered person. James Murphy: If it was, in fact, a piece of jewelry that matched Kristin's jewelry, it would have been blockbuster evidence. Four months later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande. One late night at a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted a 21-year-old student whom well call Laura. 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. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. I guess you can call it little white lies, Flores told detectives. Prosecutors Think Paul Flores Tried to Rape Kristin Smart in Dorm Room Before Killing Her On April 13, Paul's father, Ruben Flores, 80, was also arrested and charged with being an accessory. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. So now you've got three different stories about how he got that black eye. He grabbed me down there and while Im yelling at him my girlfriend threw a piece of gum at his face and he pushes her down., At this point every male at the party joined in to jump Flores, who fled, she said, adding, Boom, he disappeared., That same year, Sarah said, Flores pursued her again at a friends birthday party. Once Jane was admitted her story seemed to fall on deaf ears. She told him that shortly after moving in, she was washing her car in the driveway and found an earring next to the left front tire. James Murphy: They're interested in seeing Paul Flores get convicted and Ruben Flores get held accountable. Most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. Four months earlier, Kristin Smart, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly had gone to a party on Friday, May 24 the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Greg Fisher and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. View the profiles of people named Ermelinda Thomas. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. I have this PTSD fear of someone kicking the door in.. Produced by Lisa Freed. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. Ermelinda Flores' property in Washington state has been searched by investigators in February 2020. Flores said he suffered the black eye during a basketball game he played with friends in Arroyo Grande on Monday. Jonathan Vigliotti: Was this case, given the evidence that was lost early on, doomed from the very beginning? Ann-Marie Christian: She was who she was because of her parents, for sure. SALINAS, Calif. (KRON) In the wake of Kristin Smarts disappearance from Cal Polys campus, detectives knew Paul Flores was lying through his teeth, according to prosecutors. Join Facebook to connect with Ermelinda Thomas and others you may know. Chris Lambert: They're hopeful, but they've also been let down so many times before. Not at all. She told Lambert that after several months, the beeping stopped. She regretfully denounced them as cruel rumors at the time. The fact is, there is a lot of sort of evidence. I say that because you will see, when you actually listen to what comes out, its not what it seems to be, Sanger said. He lived in the dorm building across from Smart's room. 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. 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. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Investigators are currently digging under Rubin Flores' home in another apparent attempt to find the missing teen's body. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. The Smarts say they tried to file a missing person's report with the local police but were told it was too early, and the FBI told them Cal Poly police were in charge. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. Chris Lambert spoke with some women who knew Flores back then. Paul Flores lives in San Pedro, CA; previous city include Arroyo Grande CA. 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. I remember thinking he was right behind me in the doorway and I think he was trying to get to the door before I could shut it., Sarah said she was quickly manhandled by Flores. More than two decades after Kristin Smart vanished, Sheriff Ian Parkinson says that Paul Flores, left, remains the only suspect in her disappearance. Get off her.. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. That mother, Mary Lassiter, described it to Chris Lambert. They took off running, Jane said. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. I think they're just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be. 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. The Arroyo Grande cops, Jane said, favored Floress story that she willingly drank and had sex that night. James Murphy: To see them in custody was a feeling of great joy for me. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. Thats when everyone got involved, she said. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. What happened in the privacy of his room that night? Peuvrelle asked the jury. SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. She spotted an ad for a rental that a woman named Susan Flores had put in the local newspaper. But further investigation of the Flores's two trucks seemed impossible. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. Jonathan Vigliotti found Flores outside his home in Southern California and asked him a number of questions about Kristin's disappearance. By the end of the evening she was found passed out on the lawn next door and needed help to get back to the dorm. November 27, 2020 / 8:14 AM She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case. Murphy and Sinclair promised the Smarts the billboard will stay until their daughter is found. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. Like the rest of the family, Kristin was an athlete. Sanger said the backyard grave was not at grave at all, and no human blood, hair, or bones were found in it. I told her I didn't I didn't want to go. Still she stuck around until Flores allegedly laid his hands on her aggressively again. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. According to a county probation bail report obtained by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, "biological evidence" was found under Ruben's deck. But soon Flores took his shot with Jane after another drop-off at her moms house. Murphy has filed a new civil suit against Ruben Flores for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. She was saved by their male roommate, who barged in because of Lauras blood-curdling screams. Kristin Denise Smart (born February 20, 1977, legally presumed dead May 25, 2002) was an American woman who is presumed to have been abducted, raped, and killed at the end of her freshman year of college on the campus of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. / CBS News. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. In April 2021, investigators charged Paul Flores, left, with Kristin Smart's murder, and his then-80-year-old father Ruben, as an accessory after the fact. Margarita Campos: But when we got to the house it was pretty dead too, it was really -- it was like a couple of roommates hanging out playing video games And Kristin was, like oh gosh, there has to be something better than this. Ruben Flores defense attorney is slated to deliver his opening statements when the two trials resume on Thursday in a Monterey County courtroom. I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever. He slammed me and then pushed me up against the inside wall by the toilet, his hands were on my upper arms and he started telling me all these sick things he was going to do to me.. Instead, Flores and his family were sued in 2002 by the Smarts in civil court for intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the parents of Kristin Smart by taking the body of Kristin Smart and secreting and/or destroying the body in a hidden place in the County of San Luis Obispo. The Flores family countersued for emotional distress. Both suits were shelved by a judge until Smarts remains are found. You wouldn't let any of your friends be drunk around him. 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. Critics called. Me, my sister, my cousinPaul has no limits, she said, requesting anonymity. In the interrogation video played for the jury, detectives can be heard asking Flores, If anybody lies as much as you have, about something as serious as this is, what does that tell you?. The investigation seemed to be hampered from the start by a series of missteps by campus police beginning with their assumption that Kristin was off having fun and ignoring worried friends who said she was missing. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. The earring was turned over to the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office, but investigators will never know if it belonged to Kristin, because it was misplaced. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. But the investigation is ongoing. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. and I was like, "Noooo.". She was she was frantic I don't understand this, you know? Chris Lambert: And he says he got a black eye playing basketball with his friends. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. 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Chris Lambert: I think that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day. Ann-Marie Christian: became friends with Kristin in elementary school. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. 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. The dogs handler said one dog went screaming down the hallway, made a U-turn, and stopped right in front of (Flores) dorm room, the prosecutor said. Acerca; Prensa; Wednesday morning, KSBY crews witnessed sheriff's deputies and FBI investigators at the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores, the mother of the only person-of-interest in the case, Paul. And when they did . 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. And that's what I've been doing for a long, long time, along with a lot of other people. I was throwing up and they were saying Oh this bitch! and This bitch better not throw up on me.. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. Meanwhile, three other women told The Daily Beast that Flores sexually assaulted them after Janes assault and Smarts disappearance. Ken Blum is the editor. Facebook gives people the. PODCAST EPISODE 1: Kristin broke down begging her mother to let her drop out and go somewhere else. or even her keys. 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. Her dorm entrance is right over here. Includes Address (7) Phone (7) Email (2) See Results. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. Flores and Smart were both 19-year-old freshmen Cal Poly students who attended the same party the night she vanished, on May 25, 1996. Nearly a week after their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. He hired a detective to work full time on the case, and over the past nine years deputies have carried out searches, conducted new interviews, and gathered additional evidence. According to multiple party-goers, Smart was incapacitated unable to walk or stand on her own because of something she drank at the party, DeputyDistrict AttorneyChristopherPeuvrelle told the jury. If you come near her again I will kill you!, His buddy pushed Paul real hard and he fell through a desk before he ran for his life.. And she's like, "please come with me. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. Paul R Flores and Paul Raul Flores are some of the alias or nicknames that Paul has used. Empresa. In his complaint, Murphy alleges, along with Ruben, there were two other unnamed individuals. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? A woman nearby screamed at Flores to get off her and threatened to call the cops, she said. Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. When Lambert later told Kristin's mother, Denise, about those early morning beeping sounds in Susan Flores's backyard, he said her reaction was "shock we just kind of stared at each other for a good long time I think it took a while to settle in, that this could potentially be huge." In 1997 when Paul Flores was deposed for the civil suit, the only thing he would confirm on tape was his name. At least one, since The Daily Beast began reporting, said she has been interviewed by the San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office. After the four students had walked about halfway back to the dorms, Paul Flores told Davis and Anderson, Dont worry I got her, Ill take her from here, according to prosecutors. In high school he was known as a loner. The next thing I know is the cops telling me We cant do anything because [Paul] and his friend are saying she was drunk and it was consensual., But Jane said she fought to get them to reconsider. 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Game he played with friends in Arroyo Grande on Monday back to her dorm thing he would confirm tape... The case was trying to fit in, and then it does n't happen the way it 's to. He suffered the black eye playing basketball with his friends the billboard will stay until daughter. Weeks later, while attempting to reconcile, Susan rented out her house Arroyo! Told police Flores already had the black eye during a basketball game he played with friends in Grande... Would confirm on tape was his name, 1996 did n't go out town! With them is a lot of other people late night at a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted 21-year-old..., waiting six days to formally interview him | Longtime family friend Things!, described it to chris Lambert: I was like, ``,.
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