Since the trial started, Lambert said that the defense team have unsuccessfully requested to go through his emails, text messages, and gain access to his podcast notes. Murphy called it compelling evidence they had moved Kristin Smarts body to another location just a few days after deputies searched the home. and
After passing the tests, Noah and his team brought Buster and Dostie to some areas with known historical correlation to American graves, but no graves had been found yet. Paul was convicted of murdering her while trying to rape her after the pair attended a party at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. GPR detects anomalies in the groundin other words, it shows spots in the soil that have been disturbed. The publicity of the case is 'the elephant in the room,' Sanger said, adding that there were people 'inserting themselves' into the case along with extensive news coverage locally and nationally. That lawsuit resulted in the. 'We like to watch shows, and you think, "I bet I know what happened." They suggested that the pair moved the body years later. In April 2021, the Smart family lawyer James Murphy filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores alleging that 'under cover of darkness,' the father and unnamed accomplices moved the body four days after investigators searched his house in 2020. Peuvrelle asked the jury to find Paul Flores guilty of first-degree murder and summarized the evidence that had been presented during the trial that started on July 18. longtime person of interest in Smart's disappearance case, was named the prime suspect in the case. Speaking about his journey documenting aspects of the unsolved case, Lambert said: 'This didn't seem like it was ever going to happen. Additionally, Vass was Tennessee Scientist of the Year in 2004 and is an instructor at the National Forensic Academy. In recent years, canines have been used in archeological searches. The authorities have stated that Kristins remains have not yet been found. Paul Flores was charged with murder, and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. Remember, if it does not fit, you must acquit. That search yielded no new evidence in the criminal investigation. He posted bail and left the jail with his wife, Susan Flores, KSBY-TV reports. We have reached out to Mark Connely for comment but have not received a response. 18:05 BST 19 Oct 2022, The father of Kristin Smart's convicted killer said there was 'no evidence' tying his son to her murder, suggesting the court 'works on feelings instead of facts.'. He was updating his followers on the closing statements via his Twitter account. Born out of a desire to simply learn about what happened to the missing girl, Lambert embarked on the pet project without knowing the massive impact it would have for Smart's family. 'Paul Flores is guilty as sin. He was sued by Kristin's family as part of a civil wrongful death lawsuit, but wasn't charged until April 2021. While an expert said it was human blood, the test used did not rule out the possibility it was from a ferret or primate, though court records said no remains of either such animal were found there. The Flores' defense teams have argued throughout the trial that they are the scapegoats of a police department and prosecution that are more eager to satisfy the public appetite for a conviction than they are to find the true killer. In 1997, civil attorney James Murphy, Kristin Smarts family attorney, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores. He said the family's 'faith in the justice system has been renewed,' and thanked the jury and podcast maker Chris Lambert. The evidence uncovered, if any, during the course of the search may be used both in any criminal prosecution of Paul Flores and in the wrongful death case against Paul Flores filed by my office. Paul was charged with the murder of Kristin Smart while Ruben was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Flores also invoked the Fifth Amendment during a 1997 deposition, after Smart's family sued him for the wrongful death of Kristin. He started asking simple questions to people close to Kristin in 2019 - and soon garnered over 12 million downloads across the globe. She said that she and the other girls in the dorm grew uneasy when none of them heard from Smart as they decided to make their first call to police on Sunday, May 26. At the trial, several other women testified that Paul Flores spiked their drinks then sexually assaulted them in the years after Kristin's disappearance. Officials obtain four search warrants for Paul Flores. It was also believed that the first sample was taken at a shallower depth, which resulted in a weak positive due to vegetation drawing bio-marker chemicals through cracks in the wall of the footer. No remains have been found. During decomposition, humans release specific chemicals that essentially plume through the soil. The trailer was then pulled up along the side of the home near where prosecutors say Smart was buried. The Smarts filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in November 1996, alleging that Flores murdered Kristin on the Cal Poly campus . Be part of the news. Noah said, He [Buster] alerted within six inches of the biggest recovery of MIAs thats been done since WWII. Later, he said it was the result of bumping his head on his car. Kristin's cheerful call home was a weekly ritual, she said. Everything he found led him to Paul Flores being the prime suspect and Kristins remains at Susan Floress home. Paul and Ruben, they moved the dirt under their deck to hide her.'. Ruben Flores was also arrested as an accessory, he is out on bail. The two alleged culprits are being held at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, awaiting arraignment. May 25, 1996: Kristin Smart attends an off-campus party with multiple friends, including Paul Flores, at Cal Poly. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press. Ruben also answers to Ruben J Flores, and perhaps a couple of other names. 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. During the deposition for the civil suit, he only spoke to confirm his name and invoke the Fifth Amendment 27 times. In addition, Dr. Vass has developed another category called odor mortis. Over the years, judges have allowed the lawsuit to move forward. There is huge defense money being paid here. He was handed his verdict on October 18. Anyone can read what you share. When Flores was first interviewed, he had a black eye. Stan Smart on Tuesday afternoon paid tribute to the sheriffs, detectives and prosecutors who secured Flores's conviction. In the criminal case, [Simpson] was found to be not guilty and yet the civil case was able to proceed," he said. Investigators only searched underneath the deck of his home in 2021. In the History Flight Search, Recovery and Identification Report 45 LT Alexander Bonnyman Jr. Betio, Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati 2006-2015, a map shows where Buster alerted and where remains were found. Shecan be reached ataleathley@recordnet.comor on Twitter@LeathleyAaron. Stan Smarts statement following the verdicts in the murder trial of his daughter, #kristinsmart pic.twitter.com/biFgN0auBj. Kristin Smarts family in 1999, three years after she was last seen walking home from a party in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Earthmovers were used in searches on and near the California Polytechnic State University campus in 2016. Flores' father, now 81, was alleged to have helped bury Kristin behind his home in Arroyo Grande, and later dug up the remains and moved them. His father was found not guilty of helping to hide her body. Anderson said Smart appeared 'very intoxicated' and her speech was slurred. ', Defense attorney Robert Sanger argued that the case is straightforward: 'There is no evidence of a murder, so that is really the end of it.'. During the prosecution's rebuttal,Peuvrelle asked the jury to find Paul Flores guilty of first-degree murder and summarized the evidence that had been presented during the trial that started on July 18. The authorities have stated that Kristin's remains have not yet been found. Ruben Flores stares down the Google Street View car, Susan Flores house, when it was rented by Mary and Joe Lassiter, December 1996 (Photo by Joe Lassiter), Mary Lassiters son stands in front of their rental house, December 1996 (Photo by Joe Lassiter), Joe Lassiter stands near garbage cans in the spot where his driveway meets the backyard, December 1996, Mary Lassiter stands in front of a planter box in her backyard, with her mother, Sharon, and stepfather, Richard, December 1996, Mary Lassiter holds up an earring similar to the one she found in her driveway in October of 1996, Kristin Smarts necklace in her senior photo, shown alongside an earring similar to the one Mary Lassiter found in her driveway in October of 1996, The paper that attorney Melvin Delamotte repeatedly pointed to during the deposition of his client, Paul Flores, on November 14, 1997, The Outback Steakhouse in Irvine, where Paul Flores worked from 1997-1998 (now closed). Despite over two decades without an answer, her heartbroken mother and father never gave up hope. "If that coordination occurs for him and that some lawyer does get authority to appear for him, then that case down there would just get continued, continued, continued until his case is solved up here.". Ruben Flores son Paul Flores is accused of murdering Kristin Smart during an attempted rape in 1996. Central Coast TRVLR Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Kristin was coming back home from a fraternity party when this happened, and she was reported missing by her roommate two days later. Ruben Flores was released from jail after posting bail at about 11 p.m. Wednesday night. Ruben Flores is 'relieved' after being acquitted of helping son Paul Flores bury Kristin Smart's body under decking in his backyard - but slams his son's murder conviction: 'It was about. Please enable javascript before you are allowed to see this page. The next morning when Holman left for work, the SUV and the trailer were still at Ruben Flores home, Holman testified. Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said Paul Flores was. Titled 'Your Own Backyard', the host was a local man who said he felt compelled to investigate the case. Ruben Manuel Flores, 64. He used the OJ Simpson trial as an example. Ian Parkinson became the San Luis Obispo County sheriff. The paper that attorney Melvin Delamotte repeatedly pointed to during the deposition of his client, Paul Flores, on November 14, 1997. He also tried to undercut the prosecution's idea of Smart as a young innocent, insisting she was wild. It also led to the 2007 dig of Susan Floress East Branch Street home. Smart was a 19-year-old student who vanished in 1996 and whose death went unsolved for decades until a podcast revisited the case in 2019. Prosecutors in July 2021 added that Paul Flores 'has a specific fetish for forcing himself upon women especially when they are drugged or inebriated, which is exactly the state of Kristin Smart in the early morning of March 25, 1996. Ruben Flores said he had . 'Conspiracy theories can be fun. Paul Flores, 45, is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing Smart in his dorm room while he and the victim were students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She was never seen again. He told the court that there are no witnesses who can corroborate Flores' story of what happened in his dorm room on May 25, 1996. KSBY News reached out to Ruben Flores's attorney for comment and has not yet heard back. In 1996, Cal-Poly student Kristin Smart vanished while walking home from an off-campus party. Ruben's personal network of family, friends, associates & neighbors include Valeria Valerio, Dustin Flores, Jessica Gomez, Sophi Flores and Rebecca Rifenburgh. Fungi biofilms have been found growing on spacecraft surfaces such as windows, piping, cables, etc. Susan Flores' house, when it was rented by Mary and Joe Lassiter, December 1996 (Photo by Joe Lassiter) . 'Paul Flores was innocent, and his actions were helpful. Smart never returned to her dorm and was reported missing to the Cal Poly Police Department on May 28. 'We like to watch shows, and you think, 'I bet I know what happened'. In 1997, Murphy filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores on behalf of the Smart family. Vass is currently developing technology to locate clandestine graves by the use of odor mortis. Authorities also said that they linked two other attacks on women in Los Angeles to Paul Flores. Smart was declared legally dead. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Constructive debate is good; mockery, taunting, and name calling is not. At the time of his search in 2007, there was no technology that could read through the metal wiring. If Kristin Smart is dead, where did her body end up? 'After 26 years, with today's split verdicts, we learned that our quest for justice for Kristin will continue,' Stan Smart told a press conference - during which a reporter fainted. Search warrants for issued for the Arroyo Grande home of Paul Flores' father, Ruben Flores, 80. Judge van Rooyen announced in April that the trial would be moved to Monterey County, about 140 miles north of San Luis Obispo, after the defense team requested the change of venue because of extensive publicity around the case. Mesick said Ruben Flores now has to go home 'and rebuild the deck that was destroyed. The only proper verdict, in this case, is not guilty.'. Another search is done with GPR but comes up inconclusive. Within these discoveries, Buster alerted next to a building with a concrete slab. During his deposition in November 1997, Paul had invoked the 5th Amendment in response to any questions regarding the case. So are We, and Updating Weekly. Connely reportedly said he would take those results and findings to the sheriff. Civil cases often are stalled by criminal proceedings. The last witness on Monday, Jamilyn Holman testified she contacted Your Own Backyard podcast creator Chris Lambert after seeing Ruben Flores, Susan Flores and McConville having trouble backing a trailer down Ruben Flores driveway on Feb. 9, 2020. But, their most successful mission was in Tarawa, where Buster located over 35 WWII U.S. Marines lost after the Battle of Tarawa 72 years ago. and
Together with Paso Robles Magazine, mailing 30,000 monthly copies to our community, we are the best-read, most-trusted news source for our community. Ruben is found not guilty of helping his son hide Smart's body. The whole thing about the black eye doesnt prove anything, Sanger said. Documents in trial of the man accused of killingKristin Smart were unsealed by a judge on Wednesday.
As Paul's conviction was read aloud in court, Kristin's father smiled and placed an arm around her mother, who quietly wept, The Tribunereported. Paul Flores allegedly lied about how he got a black eye, not having any contact with Smart at the party, Smart not having trouble walking and not forcing a kiss on anyone the night Smart disappeared. San Luis Obispo County district attorney's officials interviewed Flores in June 1996, but he later invoked his Fifth Amendment right before a grand jury, and then again during a civil disposition. Vasss technology works similarly to cadaver dogs. There are typically seven stages of decay: pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, liver mortis, putrefaction, decomposition, and finally, skeletonization. Your Own Backyard is a podcast series hosted by Chris Lambert, a freelance journalist and podcaster from California. Ranch Life/Equine Enthusiast, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Twin Cities Community Hospital Receives Award for Maternity Care, Colony Days and the Worlds Greatest Margarita By Barbie Butz, SLO County Bids Fond Farewell to Longtime Chief Probation Officer, North County Wakes Up to Snow Saturday Morning, Open for Business? Cant wait until this is over and likely the flores will sue the County and how much will they be compensated for a DAs office and investigators that lied and falsified evidence. Flores' father, Ruben Ricardo Flores, 80, was also arrested and is accused. He also concludes they could not search the West side of the home because of too much stuff in the way. If you have any information, please call Murphy Law Corporation at 805-489-8929 or San Luis Obispo Sheriff at 805-781-4500. The podcast first launched in 2019. 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