A man has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing a Central Coast college student more than a quarter of a century ago.
Paul Flores was accused of murdering Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student Kristin Smart. She disappeared in May of 1996, after Flores was seen walking her back to school from an off-campus party. Prosecutors say he killed her during a sexual assault. Her body was never recovered.
Flores was long considered to be a person of interest in the disappearance. But, it wasn’t until April of 2021 that San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s detectives and prosecutors thought they had enough evidence to arrest, and prosecute him.
He pled not guilty, with his lawyer contending what without a body, much of the evidence introduced in the case was circumstantial.
His father, Ruben Flores, was arrested on a charge of being an accessory to the killing. Prosecutors contended he helped deal with Smart's body. Investigators believe that for years, the student’s remains were buried beneath a deck of the family’s home in Arroyo Grande. But, a jury found him not guilty of the charge.
The two men were tried together, but had separate juries.
