The disappearance ofKristin Smartin 1996 shook San Luis Obispo County to its nitty-gritty . It was a grammatical case that stretched over two tenner — and even today , after a pop true - crime podcast , a high - visibility fount that ended in a execution conviction , questions remain about what on the nose find .

A Brief Overview of the Kristin Smart Case

Kristin Denise Smart was a scholar at California Polytechnic State University ( akaCal Poly ) . In 1996 , after a political party on Memorial Day weekend , she disappeared . ab initio , her friends were occupy and report Smart ’s disappearance to the campus police , but they did n’t straightaway involve the local authorities .

Soon later on , a fellow student named Paul Flores amount under suspicion as being involved with her disappearance and possibly her death . He was the last mortal to have seen her alive , claiming he helped walk her partway back to her dormitory . As grounds mount , Flores became a prime suspect , although the case stalled for many geezerhood .

eventually , after more than 20 years of delays , Paul Flores was agitate with the execution of Kristin Smart . His beginner , Ruben Flores , was charged as an accoutrement after the fact . While Paul was convict , Ruben was n’t .

Article image

To this mean solar day , Smart ’s consistency has n’t been recovered .

Kristin Smart’s Disappearance

Kristin Smart , a freshman at California Polytechnic Institute , San Luis Obispo , was last take in on Saturday , May 25 , 1996 . On Friday night she give ear an off campus party at a fraternity house . She arrived solo .

At 2 a.m. Saturday she was get word on a neighbour ’s lawn by two students , Tim Davis and Cheryl Anderson . She was go by out , but they renovate her and helped her to her feet , deciding to accompany Kristen back to her dormitory .

Paul Flores , another scholar who had recently leave the frat company , bring together the radical and offered to help . First Davis left , then Anderson , as they approached Smart ’s dorm . Flores ensure them he ’d see her the rest of the way home .

Flores later on told the police that he accompanied her as far as his own dormitory in Santa Lucia Hall , and Smart continued on to her own . This would make Flores the last person to have seen her alive .

The next day , when Smart did n’t show up for a planned study sitting , her alarmed admirer send word the campus police force that she wasmissing . However , they did n’t describe the disappearance until two daylight later , assuming she had either gone home or on an impromptu vacation ( despite not having any cash or quotation cards on her at the meter of her disappearance ) .

When the police began investigating , various leads were pursue , with the most hopeful being Paul Flores .

In his interview , his knee was scuffed and he had a fateful center , and he ease up dissimilar level as to how he ’d get them . He claimed that the last time he ’d seen Smart she had been take the air on the sidewalk back to her dorm , but police cadaver dogs reacted to Flores ' hall elbow room , suggesting she might have been there .

An across-the-board hunt was conducted , but nothing conclusive was found . intuition of Flores was widespread , but the law did n’t charge him , likely due to deficiency of grounds . At one point , an earring was find at Paul Flores ' mother ’s home ( Susan Flores ) , but it was lost by the police before being properly tag as potential evidence .

Susan Flores ' prop was also look , as well as the priming coat surrounding Smart ’s dormitory room , and while some evidence was apparently obtained , it was n’t used in the subsequent trial run . On May 25 , 2002 , six years after her disappearance , Kristin Smart was declared legally dead .

Attempts at Justice

The Smart Family , frustrated by the deficiency of advancement , filed a polite case of wrongful death against Paul Flores , although it did n’t result in a judgement . Over the years , the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff ’s Office kept the lawsuit open , as did research worker at theFBI .

In 2019 , an self-governing podcaster named Chris Lambert started apodcaston Smart ’s disappearance , which became a hit . It reignite interest in the case , and momentum begin to increase once more .

In early 2020 , two trucks belong to Flores were taken in as grounds . Later , four different hunt guarantee were serve in locations also connect to Flores .

In April of that year , a search warrant was issued for Paul Flores dwelling . The result grounds included what was described as a particular date rapine drug , as well as videos allegedly showing Flores raping young women .

An Arrest and a Trial

Finally , about a yr later , Paul Flores was apprehend and charge with the execution of Kristin Smart . His father Ruben Flores was also charged as an accessory , and the two had disjoined panel .

Prosecutors allege that Flores had either engage in rape or attempted rape of Kristin Smart , and then kill her . A search of Ruben Flores ’s home uncovered biologic evidence which led investigators to believe that Smart ’s body had been buried there temporarily , then moved .

After a motion by the denial for variety of venue , the murder trial take place in Monterey County superscript motor inn . Ruben Flores was assoil , but Paul Flores was institute guilty and doom to 25 years to life in prison . He is still serving out his sentence today .

Scholarships and Security Acts

With this kind of cases , it ’s born to hope that something positive has come from them . Sure , there was finally a strong belief , but how can we prevent such things from happening again ?

In the viewing of the case , the Smart family have correct up the Kristin Smart scholarship , which attend to young woman in the by-line of their academic dreams .

The Kristin Smart Campus Security Act was also signed into law in 1998 . This legal philosophy mandates all publicly funded college to have agreements with local law enforcement to hasten the communion of selective information about violence against students , as well as disappearance [ source : California Legislation Info ] .

The Kristin Smart case was widely cover , first in local and then in national medium . CBS intelligence and NBC News , among other outlets , did reporting on the disappearance and later trial , although it ’s noted that an self-governing journalist and podcaster might have had the most effect , from a medium point of view , on raise public sentience and putting insistency on the authorities .