I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. When The Daily Beast tracked Flores down outside his home last month, he didnt mount much of a defense. But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. When approached about Janes rape claim, an Arroyo Grande Police Department administrator said in an email that their search revealed no such records exist; therefore, there are no responsive documents. Before their findings, another administrator told The Daily Beast on the phone that because the matter was a sexual assault case it fell under a non-disclosure category and therefore they wouldnt be providing any specific information about it. Its an ugly secret that made the Smart family unnecessarily agonize for nearly 25 years! Is this Susan posting? They didn't look at the Flores family's vehicles. "Me, my sister, my cousinPaul has no limits," she said, requesting anonymity. IF they knew he was out there murdering, raping etc. Back in May 1996, Kristin Smart was finishing her freshman year at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. The Arroyo Grande cops, Jane said, favored Floress story that she willingly drank and had sex that night. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. So, she slowed down and walked with them. Even worse they never sealed his dorm room. PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . 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. Flores was imprisoned at Santa Barbara County Jail for a time. I told her I didn't I didn't want to go. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Kristin Smart was declared legally dead in May 2002. James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. In his complaint, Murphy alleges, along with Ruben, there were two other unnamed individuals. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. Would you do the right thing? It's just a motivator for me. Ken Blum is the editor. It was just the three of them standing in the kitchen before Jane was handed a plastic cup. The documents include information about a January 2020 appearance from a San Luis Obispo County sheriffs detective at Thomas Washington home. Doesnt sound plausible. Any evidence that might have been there was long gone. And I was screaming. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. Chris Lambert: He told those friends he just woke up with the black eye. Why? He apparently would tag along with a sloshed friend, crashing off-campus parties together wherever she was. That would be Susan Flores, the owner of the home where Flores is suspected to have buried Smart. Arroyo Grande High School graduate Paul Flores was the last person to see Kristin Smart on the night she disappeared. The first alleged incident occurred in 1994 when a woman accused Flores, then a high school sophomore is accused of drugging a raping a fellow student. Many have assumed that Paul and Ruben Flores had something to do with her disappearance and most likely killed her. The Charley Project goes on to say that Flores would regularly drink heavily and that he was not popular among the student body. Lambert said in January 2019, I believe that Paul Flores is responsible for her death and I believe that he knows where she is currently located. Same for the rest of his family. Prior to that incident, Susan Flores and her boyfriend had filed a harassment lawsuit against Smarts family. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. I'm going to go back to the dorms. Any tidbit of information or recollection could make the difference in the recovery of our beloved Kristin., disappearance of another woman under almost identical circumstances: Kristin Smart. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. Deputies towed the car from Rubin Flores home. But soon Flores took his shot with Jane after another drop-off at her moms house. One late night at a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted a 21-year-old student whom well call Laura. Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. Ruben Flores, 80, will be facing trial in April 2022 alongside his son as he was charged with accessory to murder after the fact. 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. But I've seen it. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. Audio from Flores father, Ruben Flores, can be heard on an episode of the podcast in which Ruben says he never spoke to his son about the disappearance of Smart. Lambert said that Paul's sister, Ermelinda, moved to Amsterdam in the 2000s to admittedly get away from the attention on her family due to the Kristin Smart case. Flores sported the injury in his booking photo. Recently released court documents detail a one-time immunity deal previously offered to Paul Flores sister, Ermelinda Thomas. But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. But the Flores's have fought back, suing the Smarts for intentional infliction of emotional distress. For more information, please see our And it all came back to me. Our main goal is to bring Kristin Smart home to her family and end this madness for you and your family. Chris Lambert: They're hopeful, but they've also been let down so many times before. Paul Flores Nationality, Ethnicity. I remember being home watching the news about Kristin Smart and there goes Paul, she recalled. She didn't think that was OK. And the body's not there now. James Murphy: I'm not at liberty to describe how it was documented. 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. Her younger sister Lindsey says their mother urged Kristin to go there. It's fine. An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. Chris Lambert: And he says he got a black eye playing basketball with his friends. And I was, like, "uh OK, fine.". D.A. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is this a case that takes a miracle to solve? James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. But cadaver dogs told a different story. But was there evidence possibly placing Kristin Smart at his mother's home? I believe (Flores) took her life. The same day, investigators also served warrants at an undisclosed location in SLO County and at a location in Washington State. How could she have gone out of town? In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. She was last seen alive with Paul Flores, a classmate who offered to walk an inebriated Smart to her room. We just, "do you know anything about it". The family attorney refused to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. A post shared by Your Own Backyard (@yourownbackyardpodcast) on Mar 27, 2019 at 8:45am PDT. 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 Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. Paul Flores was the last person seen with Kristin Smart before she vanished in 1996. He was seeing someone on the side who he called his friend, she said. After they broke up, Laura did a little sleuthing and discovered her ex-boyfriend was accused in Smarts vanishing. That was discovered after Flores turned himself in on a DUI charge. It was only by pure luck that Paul was arrested for a different crime and the arresting agency (not Cal Poly PD) documented him having a black eye a fact that Cal Poly PD apparently never noticed. Margarita Campos: I was a little bit more introverted and inhibited and she was like, "no, we have to go out and we have to go like live life." However hard she and her father fought back, there was no chance they were going to get beyond the he said, she said. I was drunk and he had a witness and I didnt, Jane said. Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. D.A. / CBS News, (This story previously aired on May 8, 2021. and offers to help. Authorities made clear that they plan to use Flores' alleged predatory behavior against him. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that weighs on you. most importantly they wanna find their daughter. Thomas did not testify during the preliminary hearing nor has she been called yet as a witness during fer father and brothers murder trial currently underway in Salinas. Officers booked Flores into the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center. I forgot, theres more. In 1998, the San Francisco Examiner ran a feature on Flores that included a quote from his former lawyer, Greg Coates, who said that there were no facts to indicate that Paul had anything to do with the disappearance of Kristin Smart.. They state the detective was requesting an interview from Thomas while also giving her two letters: one urging her cooperation and another offering immunity from San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow in exchange for her cooperation. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. Ermelinda Macarthur currently lives in Kenmore, WA; in the past Ermelinda has also lived in Long Beach CA, Arroyo Grande CA and Bothell WA. 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. He has not been charged in those incidents. Flores was among those students and was the last to see Smart alive. Paul Flores was the key witness in the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. Despite Flores sporting a black eye the next day (which he admitted to investigators he lied about) and despite police dogs picking up the scent of human decay in his dorm room, Flores was never charged. Recently released court documents detail a one-time immunity deal previously offered to Paul Flores' sister, Ermelinda Thomas. 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. Flores said that the reason for changing his story was because he thought it would sound stupid if he said that he couldnt remember how he got the black-eye. I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. Could answers be coming in Kristin Smarts disappearance? The parents stopped renewing the tags in 2010 and parked the Volkswagen in Rubin Flores' garage. 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. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. Comment Guidelines. The Santa Maria Times reports that Flores has three DUI convictions on his record, as of 2007. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. People are watching Ruben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Cal Poly agreed that Kristens case would be incorporated as an educational tool into the freshmen Week of Welcome orientation. Flores removed most of his personal belongings from his dorm room before it was ever searched by the police. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. PODCAST | EPISODE 1: At least once a day I asked myself what are you doing? After Smarts disappearance, the car was transferred into their parents names. In Southern California, investigators served a search warrant at Paul Flores' San Pedro home. October 22, 2022 / 10:10 PM It is every parent's worst nightmare. The SLO County Sheriffs Office will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the case. But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. to find the next challenge. It might be helpful to the investigation.. Hey interns, so back when you did WOW, did they tell you all about the girl that was violently raped and murdered in the dorms?? At one point, Flores said that he woke up with a black eye. I have this PTSD fear of someone kicking the door in.. Alexandra Wallace July 6, 2021. After Smart's disappearance, the car was transferred into their parent's names. Stan and Denise Smart, Kristins parents, sent The Daily Beast a statement praising the women for coming forward to share their stories and hope it leads to a break in their missing daughters case. Then, in April 2021, Paul . D.A. By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. Chris Lambert: They did a significant amount of digging underneath the house. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. Brief explanation of how they screwed it up? Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The only thing that she remembered next was being dragged in the barely lit street by her alleged rapist on one arm and his pal on the other. It was never like Hey you want to go hookup? He never made advances and he would just say Hi at school.. James Murphy: I'd love to do anything to end their suffering. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. Smart disappeared on her Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus two decades ago and now the search there is back on. James Murphy: They're interested in seeing Paul Flores get convicted and Ruben Flores get held accountable. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. In the months after Kristin's disappearance, one truck was traded in and the other was reported stolen. In later years, the Examiner reports that the Smart family constantly harassed Flores and his family in order to get him to speak about what he knew about Smarts disappearance. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. That victim, named as Jane, told the website, 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.. He had pinned her down and had his hand down her bathing suit groping her.. 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