A date has been set for the start of a murder trial for the man accused of killing a Central Coast college student more than a quarter of a century ago.
Pretrial hearings have been set for next week, with opening arguments in the trial of Paul Flores set for July 6.
Flores was a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student in May of 1996. Prosecutors say he walked Kristen Smart back to the dorms from an off-campus party. But, the say he attacked, and killed her in his room. Her remains have not been recovered. His father, Ruben Flores, is accused of being an accessory to the killing, helping to deal with Smart’s body.
A judge moved the trial from San Luis Obispo to Monterey County because of pretrial publicity. There was concern that the high-profile murder case would make it hard to find an impartial jury. Flores and his father pled not guilty to the charges.
