The documents include information about a January 2020 appearance from a San Luis Obispo County sheriffs detective at Thomas Washington home. Something may break soon in the case of Kristin Denise Smart, the former Stockton resident and student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, whose disappearance in 1996 remains unsolved. Authorities allege that Flores instead took Smart to his own dorm room and killed. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. I said, Stop it. D.A. Like the Smart's civil case, theirs also has been on hold. 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. I dont like to talk about it to even him, she said. Thew newspaper adds that the Navy refused to take Flores because of his connection to the Smart case. But cadaver dogs told a different story. After they broke up, Laura did a little sleuthing and discovered her ex-boyfriend was accused in Smarts vanishing. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. Most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus. It was just the three of them standing in the kitchen before Jane was handed a plastic cup. And for the first time clues about what may have happened to Kristin Smart. The accusations didnt stop with classmates: Flores allegedly couldnt restrain himself around his own kin. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. But the investigation is ongoing. 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. In 1997 when Paul Flores was deposed for the civil suit, the only thing he would confirm on tape was his name. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. I would turn around and he would be right there lurking, the woman, referred to here by a pseudonym, said. Lambert began looking into what happened to Kristin, collecting articles and documents, chasing down leads and tracking down anyone with information. Chris Lambert: I don't think she ever imagined that Kristin would end up dead by the end of the night. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? By herself, which is pretty amazing. Jane said she kept this secret for yearseven from her husband. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office. Still to this day I am afraid to go to the bathroom by myself in public places, she said, admitting she still asks her husband every time to stand sentry at the door when she has to go. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Paul Flores at a St. James classmate's birthday party, 1983. Please enter valid email address to continue. legal adult and dismissing her parents pleas, spreading rumors about her personal life and Spring quarter grades). By this point Sarahs ex-boyfriend arrived and he and his friends scared Flores and his pal, trying to make sure they never showed their faces again. I now know for sure he is, and Kristin is dead, and so do you.. Many have assumed that Paul and Ruben Flores had something to do with her disappearance and most likely killed her. I know I didnt have any pants on and he was in me and I could feel him, she said of the three seconds she managed to wake from the slumber that took hold of her. Well let me educate you. One day, Jane was congregating in front of the high school when a male friend approached and warned her about one particular junior. But Paul Flores remained behind bars help without bail. He tells Thomas that he has not attempted to contact her or anyone else from her family previously because it was obvious to me that former detectives harassed your family in the past and I do not operate that way., He states, When I started reviewing this case, I kept an open mind and assumed that Paul Flores was not involved in Kristins disappearance. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. Often, Sarah would be at one party or another and there was Flores. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. At the time of Smarts disappearance, Flores was a 19-year-old food science major at Cal-Poly. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. Unblurred are Paul Flores (top center) and Ermelinda Flores (top right). James Murphy: To see them in custody was a feeling of great joy for me. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. And it all came back to me. He had pinned her down and had his hand down her bathing suit groping her.. ", Although suspicion surrounded Flores almost from the beginning, any hopes for an arrest were dashed in May 1997 when then-Sheriff Ed Williams made an admission to the San Luis Obispo Telegraph: "We need Paul Flores to tell us what happened to Kristin Smart so absent something from Mr. Flores, I don't see us completing this case.". October 22, 2022 / 10:10 PM 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. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? I was crying.. He'd go anywhere. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. Early on, a small group of volunteers also looked for Kristin. I don't think she went back to her dorm at all. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . 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. In 2007, Flores had a DUI case dismissed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. I always said, He wouldnt do that., Sexually, Laura paints Paul Flores as very experienced and maintaining a very healthy appetite., It would get too aggressive and at times I had to say, Hey, calm down., Laura says that one time they were wrestling in bed and Flores got too aggressive and grabbed a butter knife and pushed it against my face., She says she kept pleading for him to settle down. most importantly they wanna find their daughter. They were giggling as they were dragging me, the now 39-year-old woman told The Daily Beast. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. Flores removed most of his personal belongings from his dorm room before it was ever searched by the police. Im fine. Paul had this look on his face, the relative said. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. 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. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. Paul Flores was the key witness in the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is this a case that takes a miracle to solve? A hundred percent that was happening. 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. Susan Flores, mother of Paul Flores, and her boyfriend are accused of relocating the remains of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in an amended lawsuit filed by Smart's family. Video by: Laura Dickinson READ MORE: sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article237462089.html More from The Tribune: Subscribe: bit.ly/2HrSD3v Twitter: twitter.com/SLOTribune Facebook: facebook.com/SLOTribune/ Website: sanluisobispo.com/ Digital news subscription: bit.ly/2HGn19E, Teenage Porn Star Controversy Rocks California High School. Ian Parkinson: I committed to them that I was going to go back to the beginning and re-examine every piece of evidence that we had. and I was like, "Noooo.". She regretfully denounced them as cruel rumors at the time. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. Flores was subpoenaed before a grand jury in relation to Smarts disappearance but left after just five minutes of questions. 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. or even her keys. 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. So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." No charges were filed, but Lambert discovered Flores's troubles started at a young age. Ken Blum is the editor. Chris Lambert: As they describe it, Paul Flores just sort of appears out of nowhere. But as Chris Lambert learned, campus police did not act right away. 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. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. Just two years later Flores was named as the sole suspect in the disappearance of another woman under almost identical circumstances: Kristin Smart. Meanwhile, the FBI, who recently excavated earth at Cal Poly to look for Smarts remains, referred comment to the sheriffs office. At the time of Smarts disappearance, the vehicle belonged to Paul Flores sister, Ermelinda Flores, who lived near Cal Poly. Approximately a dozen San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles county deputies descended Wednesday morning on the home of Paul Flores, a suspect in the 1996 disappearance of Cal Poly freshman Kristin. Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? When he arrived she stayed at home while Janes father hightailed it to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. The article added that Flores changed his story about how he got the black eye, first saying that he got it playing basketball and then later saying that he got it while fixing his car. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. They used cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar to search Ruben Flores property. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. Paul was not an experienced hardened criminal, if they investigated early and subjected him to a proper interrogation, they likely could have broken him and gotten him to confess, assisted by any circumstantial evidence they could have gathered. It's just a motivator for me. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #1: I wasn't surprised, but there's also that shock value of kind of "oh my god, I knew it! Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. 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