California man hears sentence in ’96 death
Killer, victim were students at time
Paul Flores, who was found guilty last year of murdering Kristin Smart in 1996 when they were both university students, was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe, sentenced Flores, 46, for the murder of Smart, 19, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo — where Flores was also a student.
After a three-month trial in October, a jury found Flores guilty of murdering Smart. A separate jury found his father, Ruben Flores, 81, innocent of helping to hide Smart’s body. Her remains have never been found.
Smart left an off-campus party at around 2 a.m. May 25, 1996, accompanied by Paul Flores. He later told investigators that he had walked her as far as his dorm, where they parted ways. Smart was never seen again. A missing persons report was filed three days later.
Friends told investigators that she was intoxicated and Flores repeatedly told them that he could accompany her to her dormitory alone, according to court documents.
Flores was identified as a “person of interest” early in the case. At the time of Smart’s disappearance, investigators searched his dorm room and interviewed him. He still denies any involvement.
In 2002, Smart’s family had their daughter declared legally dead, but the search and investigation continued. Authorities described Flores as a “prime suspect” in 2021 and searched his properties using ground-penetrating radar and dogs trained to detect human remains.
On April 13, 2021, authorities arrested Flores and charged him with murder during a rape or an attempted rape. Ruben Flores was arrested at his home and charged with being an accessory after the fact.
During the trial, the jury heard evidence that “a clandestine grave” had been found underneath the deck of the home of Ruben Flores, which was believed to have previously held Smart’s body, according to the district attorney’s office.
Because of the intense publicity surrounding the case, the trials were moved at the request of the defense team to Monterey County, more than 100 miles north of San Luis Obispo.