But as Chris Lambert learned, campus police did not act right away. Onuma was evicted from a Kaneohe, Hawaii residence after his connection to the Kristen Modafferi . On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. 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. Her parents, Denise and Stan were both educators who encouraged their kids' passions. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. 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. 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." So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." The defense also tells Lambert he will not be allowed back in the courtroom where he has been covering the hearing as he is now a potential witness. In March 2021, investigators used cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to search Ruben Floress property in Arroyo Grande, Calif. Paul Flores was taken into custody at his home in the San Pedro section of Los Angeles on April 13, 2021, and was charged with murder. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. Im not going to exclude a member of the media (for doing their job).. JAMES MURPHY: In May of 96 were you a student at Cal Poly? Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. Our family has always known that this was going to be a long, difficult, and emotional journey. 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. 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. Peterson may or may not have been at the party Smart disappeared after. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. Maybe we cant. After apparently becoming intoxicated, Smart headed back to her dorm with fellow partiers Tim Davis and Cheryl Anderson. Books from this author. Ms. Smarts acquaintances were interviewed. Anyone can read what you share. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus police. They're known for being a really safe school.". Any evidence that might have been there was long gone. 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. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. Book Author Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and true crime writer. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. Smart's body was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor said. Today, we make the first move toward bringing justice to Kristin, her family, and the people of San Luis Obispo County.. 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. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. There is no evidence of a murder and no evidence of a rape, Sanger added. All Rights reserved. She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. Man charged with 1996 murder of college student Kristin Smart. 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. 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. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. That warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard, but deputies chose not to excavate. 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. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. 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.. That turned out to be college. Billie Eilish Explains Her Complicated Relationship With Social Media: 'I Don't Look at It Anymore', Theres no evidence of a sex crime in the charged crime (the murder case) itself, van Rooyen says. 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. 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 19-year-old, who is also from Charlotte and a . Chris Lambert: As they describe it, Paul Flores just sort of appears out of nowhere. Paul Flores is charged with the murder of Kristin Smart, who disappeared from Cal Poly in 1996. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. Det. 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.. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. Kristen has facial dimples. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. The search for Smart did not begin until a week after her disappearance, as campus police refused to take a missing persons report from a dorm mate; the hunt only began in earnest after the student called the police and the Smart family. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. It's fine. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. As of 2021, Kristen Modafferi's case remains unsolved. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder 20 photos. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. They had become close friends despite their differences. were in the room exactly where she had left them. But the investigation is ongoing. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. The then eighteen-year-old . 7,781 days.. That is all it took. Van Rooyen rules that Flores will be tried for murder in the 1996 disappearance of Smart. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. I did have guilt about that. I've got her. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. After over 25 years, there is no evidence that Paul Flores committed the crimes for which there is no evidence.. The authorities removed items from Paul Floress home in Los Angeles in February 2020. And that's what I've been doing for a long, long time, along with a lot of other people. But as Chris Lambert learned, Flores's pattern of behavior with women didn't stop. A trailer was reportedly parked at Ruben's residence at odd hours and Paul's mother, Susan Flores, and her boyfriend were there. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. Then, in 2011, Ian Parkinson was elected sheriff. 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. 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. I don't know if Kristin knew anybody there. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. Chris Lambert's podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in the decades-old unsolved case of Kristin Smart. Jonathan Vigliotti [with Lambert outside of the the dorms]: Paul and Kristin then make their way here. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. And she's like, "please come with me. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. Classes were difficult, she was trying to fit in, and she missed her family. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. 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. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. 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 . Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. They seized digital devices during the search and, in April 2020, executed another search on Paul Flores property in San Pedro. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. Witnesses said Smart was intoxicated, and Flores had said he would walk her home after an off-campus party. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? 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. Cole said a search of it revealed "suspicious activity.". 1 of 47. They went on trial in July 2022 in Monterey County, Calif. On Oct. 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Ms. Smart. D.A. Also on the stand Tuesday were another cadaver dog handler, an expert in fiber evidence and a district attorney's office investigator. 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. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. 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.". Cole in 2019. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. "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. In June 1997, 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi arrived in San Francisco to take a photography class at UC Berkeley. Kristin did not have a purse, money, her I.D. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. 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.. Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. 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. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. On April 19, father and son each pleaded not guilty, according to The Associated Press. 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. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. 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. Paul Flores, lower left, remained in jail without bail while Ruben Flores, upper right, was able to post bail after a judge agreed to lower the bail amount from $250,000 to $50,000, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court/Zoom, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Five deaths with a connection to Alex Murdaugh's family investigated, Chilling details revealed in JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan deaths, Mother at center of international manhunt speaks out to "48 Hours".
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