CA KRISTIN SMART: Missing from San Luis Obispo, CA - 25 May 1996 - Age 19 *PAUL FLORES GUILTY*

Kristin was last seen on May 25, 1996. Her nickname is Roxy. FOUL PLAY IS SUSPECTED.
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Smart was a freshman architecture major at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California in 1996. She departed from an off-campus party and headed for her dormitory at approximately 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. on May 25, 1996. At the party, Smart was acting as if she was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. When she left the gathering, she was having trouble walking.

Smart was accompanied by a female acquaintance and another student from the university, Paul R. Flores, when she left the party. Her friend separated from Smart and Flores at the intersection of Perimeter Road and Grand Avenue on the college campus.

Flores allegedly told Smart's friend that he would see Smart to her home. She was last seen walking north on Grand Avenue with Flores, towards Muir Hall, her dormitory. Smart has never been heard from again. She was not carrying any identification, cash or personal belongings at the time she vanished.

NCMEC -

Have you seen this child? KRISTIN SMART

Missing From: SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA. Missing Date: May 25, 1996 12:00:00 AM. Kristin was last seen on May 25, 1996. Her nickname is Roxy. FOUL PLAY IS SUSPECTED.

www.missingkids.org

NamUs -

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Doe Network -

1652DFCA - Kristin Denise Smart

Although there's been an arrest in her case, KRISTIN SMART is still missing from San Luis Obispo, CA and has been since 5 May 1996 - Age 19

Three fellow students escorted Smart back to her hall of residence after an off-campus party. A fellow Cal Poly student, Paul Flores, was the last person known to have seen her alive.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Paul Flores, convicted killer of Kristin Smart, moved prisons after 2nd attack

The man convicted of killing California college student Kristin Smart has been transferred to a new prison after he was attacked twice.

www.kcra.com

Paul Flores, convicted killer of Kristin Smart, moved prisons after 2nd attack​

The man convicted of killing California college student Kristin Smart has been transferred to a new prison after he was attacked twice.

Paul Flores is now at the California State Prison Corcoran in Kings County, state records show.

He was previously at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga where he was attacked twice in eight months.

In August, he was slashed in the neck by another inmate in a prison yard. He returned to the prison after being hospitalized for two days. The second attack by another inmate happened in the recreation yard in April.

 

[Cousin Dupree]

I wonder why.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Because his a spoiled privileged brat who thinks the world should just give him what he wants or he will take it and dad will cover up for him to save him and helped him become such and most criminals in prison don't come from such a background. I'd like to think it is for her sake but I think more likely he doesn't know how to get along and never had had to learn, in all walks of life. Dad should be in prison too, jury was too soft there. Proof and evidence though I guess is another thing but note again another CA case. Just glad he is serving HIS time. I don't count on CA juries. Ever almost. Although a fair amount get it right. All this is jmo.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Smart family testifies during restitution hearing for convicted killer Paul Flores

Convicted killer Paul Flores appeared in Monterey County Superior Court via Zoom for his restitution hearing on Wednesday.

kion546.com

By Jeanette Bent
June 14, 2024 6:30 PM
Published June 14, 2024 5:22 PM

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY KATHERINE WORHAM FROM KSBY

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KSBY-TV) -- Convicted killer Paul Flores appeared in Monterey County Superior Court via Zoom for his restitution hearing on Wednesday.


In October 2022, Flores was found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Kristin Smart when the two were students at Cal Poly back in 1996.

The Smart family, including Kristin's mother, father, brother and sister, testified during Wednesday's hearing. They spoke about the financial impact they've faced since Kristin's disappearance, such as travel expenses for searches and court appearances, hiring a private investigator, putting up billboards, and other expenses.

The judge is expected to make a decision Monday morning regarding how much Flores will owe the family in restitution.

Flores is currently serving a sentence of 25 years-to-life at Corcoran State Prison in Kings County. He was moved there from Pleasant Valley State Prison on June 6 after being attacked by other inmates twice in less than a year.

Flores, 47, is eligible for parole in August 2037, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Smart family testifies during restitution hearing for convicted killer Paul Flores

Convicted killer Paul Flores appeared in Monterey County Superior Court via Zoom for his restitution hearing on Wednesday.

kion546.com

By Jeanette Bent
June 14, 2024 6:30 PM
Published June 14, 2024 5:22 PM

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY KATHERINE WORHAM FROM KSBY

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KSBY-TV) -- Convicted killer Paul Flores appeared in Monterey County Superior Court via Zoom for his restitution hearing on Wednesday.


In October 2022, Flores was found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Kristin Smart when the two were students at Cal Poly back in 1996.

The Smart family, including Kristin's mother, father, brother and sister, testified during Wednesday's hearing. They spoke about the financial impact they've faced since Kristin's disappearance, such as travel expenses for searches and court appearances, hiring a private investigator, putting up billboards, and other expenses.

The judge is expected to make a decision Monday morning regarding how much Flores will owe the family in restitution.

Flores is currently serving a sentence of 25 years-to-life at Corcoran State Prison in Kings County. He was moved there from Pleasant Valley State Prison on June 6 after being attacked by other inmates twice in less than a year.

Flores, 47, is eligible for parole in August 2037, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

UNBELIEVABLE, 2037, eligible for parole. Well even so it will be a hard FEW years since he's been attacked twice in less than one year.

 

[Cousin Dupree]

UNBELIEVABLE, 2037, eligible for parole. Well even so it will be a hard FEW years since he's been attacked twice in less than one year.

"Eligible for parole" is just a saying. You have to apply and prove you're different. I think he'll serve his entire sentence.

 

[GrandmaBear]

"Eligible for parole" is just a saying. You have to apply and prove you're different. I think he'll serve his entire sentence.

I know that. Does mean I agree he should be or even have such a chance.

 

[Cousin Dupree]

I know that. Does mean I agree he should be or even have such a chance.

Unfortunately, the judge came down on him, hardly. <------- pun.

It sucks the family is going to have to fight this every so often.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Unfortunately, the judge came down on him, hardly. <------- pun.

It sucks the family is going to have to fight this every so often.

Yeah, Id call that a life where they never really get to relax as they prepare for each next parole hearing, etc.

At least there's some justice and he has been convicted call it perfect.

Yeah---hardly. Harshly would have been better....

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Convicted killer of California college student Kristin Smart ordered to pay $350k in restitution

A California judge ruled Monday that a man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996 must pay just over $350,000 to her family for costs they incurred after her death.

www.live5news.com

Convicted killer of California college student Kristin Smart ordered to pay $350k in restitution​

A California judge ruled Monday that a man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996 must pay just over $350,000 to her family for costs they incurred after her death.

Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe ordered Paul Flores to make the payments after a hearing last Wednesday, during which the family told the court how much they paid for travel, a private investigator, billboards seeking information, lost wages and a celebration of life gathering.

“It’s demeaning to Kristin’s memory to measure our loss in finances,” her mother Denise Smart told The Tribune of San Luis Obispo after Wednesday’s hearing. “Our loss is Kristin.”

The family had sought about $361,000 in restitution. O’Keefe told the family that they could seek additional restitution if they wish to submit other expenses.

California courts require those convicted of crimes to compensate victims for the expenses that were caused, regardless of a defendant’s ability to pay. The state corrections department collects 50% of prison wages and money deposited in convict’s trust account to pay restitution.


Denise Smart said last week that the family offered to forgo restitution if Flores would tell them where Kristin’s body was. Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said the defense did not know where her remains are. Flores maintains his innocence, Mesick said.

Denise Smart said Monday that the offer remains open.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Convicted killer of California college student Kristin Smart ordered to pay $350k in restitution

A California judge ruled Monday that a man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996 must pay just over $350,000 to her family for costs they incurred after her death.

www.live5news.com

Convicted killer of California college student Kristin Smart ordered to pay $350k in restitution​

A California judge ruled Monday that a man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996 must pay just over $350,000 to her family for costs they incurred after her death.

Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe ordered Paul Flores to make the payments after a hearing last Wednesday, during which the family told the court how much they paid for travel, a private investigator, billboards seeking information, lost wages and a celebration of life gathering.

“It’s demeaning to Kristin’s memory to measure our loss in finances,” her mother Denise Smart told The Tribune of San Luis Obispo after Wednesday’s hearing. “Our loss is Kristin.”

The family had sought about $361,000 in restitution. O’Keefe told the family that they could seek additional restitution if they wish to submit other expenses.

California courts require those convicted of crimes to compensate victims for the expenses that were caused, regardless of a defendant’s ability to pay. The state corrections department collects 50% of prison wages and money deposited in convict’s trust account to pay restitution.


Denise Smart said last week that the family offered to forgo restitution if Flores would tell them where Kristin’s body was. Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said the defense did not know where her remains are. Flores maintains his innocence, Mesick said.

Denise Smart said Monday that the offer remains open.

GOOD. He'll never give up the location. And I'd go document and double that amount. He'll never pay it with half his prison wages anyhow. Too bad dad was not found guilty and doesn't have to help pay.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Appeal asks court to reverse Paul Flores' conviction for murder of Kristin Smart

Two years after being convicted of killing Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart more than 25 years earlier, Paul Flores has filed an appeal in his case.

www.ksby.com

Appeal asks court to reverse Paul Flores' conviction for murder of Kristin Smart​

Two years after being convicted of killing Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart more than 25 years earlier, Paul Flores has filed an appeal, asking the court to reverse or reduce his conviction and seek a retrial.

The 105-page brief was filed Monday with the Second District of the Court of Appeal in Ventura.

It states “a series of errors marred” Flores’ trial, citing each one individually.

The brief, filed by Pleasant Hill attorney Solomon Wollack, argues requests to discharge juror No. 237 during trial were dismissed, leading to Flores not receiving a fair and impartial trial by all 12 jurors.

The brief states the juror “had an emotional midtrial outburst during key prosecution,” “had two other midtrial anxiety attacks which she specifically blamed on defense counsel,” “discussed the case with the bailiff and friends” while also revealing “to the bailiff that her neutrality had begun to waver.”

The document goes on to explain the juror's alleged courtroom behavior. On Sept. 1, 2022, archaeologist Cindy Arrington was sworn in to speak on the findings from a 2021 dig investigation in Flores' backyard. The brief says Arrington was describing the scientific process of human decomposition in soil when juror No. 273 "interrupted to say, 'Your Honor, I need a break'.'" The juror's comment prompted the court to take an immediate recess and was marked by the defense counsel as a "major, major disruption." Flores' lawyer's request for juror No. 273 to be discharged was denied by the trial court after it deemed the juror as capable of keeping an "open mind."

Additionally, the brief says juror No. 273 admitted she knew people who listened to a viral podcast detailing the case, but that she discouraged discussion with those people about the matter. The defense counsel claimed the juror's comment indicated that she had discussed her involvement in Flores' trial and requested her removal for a fourth time. However, the brief states the trial court denied the request, saying that "it would be strange if no one knew why" juror No. 273 had missed an extensive amount of work due to the trial.


The brief goes on to claim the prosecution did not present any evidence showing the murder was premeditated and alleges that the prosecutor used an “especially inflammatory photograph to portray appellant as a sexual predator – though the court did not admit the photograph for character purposes.”

A final argument states “the trial court gave two erroneous instructions on attempted rape of an intoxicated person – used by the prosecutor as a target crime for his (Flores’) first degree felony-murder theory. The misinstructions had the effect of removing the specific intent element of attempt and allowing jurors to find an attempted rape of an intoxicated person so long as a reasonable person would have known Smart was too intoxicated to resist.”

While asking the court to reverse Flores’ murder conviction, Wollock states an alternative request is to reduce the crime to second-degree murder.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I'm going to wisely reserve comment on this. Other than to say it's an appeal and the b.s. in it is pretty apparent. Also admittedly not going to read the entire link or go into it.

The intoxicated person and rape thing takes the cake.

By the juror too many have needed an immediate break for countless reasons. I haven't read the link but I'd have my thoughts as to why.

I'll leave it at that.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Paul Flores' murder conviction appeal called ‘meritless’ by state attorney general

The California Attorney General’s Office on Monday urged a state appellate court to reject a bid to overturn a jury verdict finding Paul Flores guilty of murdering Cal Poly student

lompocrecord.com

Paul Flores' murder conviction appeal called ‘meritless’ by state attorney general​

The California Attorney General’s Office on Monday urged a state appellate court to reject a bid to overturn a jury verdict finding Paul Flores guilty of murdering Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, saying all claims he makes in his appeal are “meritless.”

In his brief filed in the California Second Appellate District, Deputy Attorney General Michael C. Keller said that Flores received a fair trial and urged the court to uphold his first-degree murder conviction following a jury trial in 2022.

“Convicted by a jury of first degree murder, appellant raises seven meritless claims,” Keller stated in his brief. “To the extent that appellant has demonstrated more than one type of error in this case, their cumulative effect did not infringe on any of his state or federal constitutional, statutory, or other legal rights.”


“Combined with the other evidence, their testimony left no doubt that appellant killed Smart during a rape or attempted rape,” Keller said.

Keller and counsel for Flores did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Flores has until May 5 to file a reply brief.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Hopefully all stays in place but it is Cali.

There has always been imo little doubt in this case as to the who.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Kristin Smart murder: 4 ways the trial went wrong, according to Paul Flores’ appeal

The convicted killer of California college freshman Kristin Smart is arguing that errors in the trial warrant the reversal or reduction of his guilty verdict.

www.mercurynews.com

Kristin Smart murder: 4 ways the trial went wrong, according to Paul Flores’ appeal​

The convicted killer of California college freshman Kristin Smart is arguing that errors in the trial warrant the reversal or reduction of his guilty verdict.

An appeal filed Monday, July 7, takes issue with four factors from Paul Flores’ 2022 trial, which resulted in a sentence of 25 years to life for murder.

• A biased juror. Juror No. 273 was allowed to remain on the panel despite the defense’s complaints about her “loud and tearful breakdown” during testimony about stains found at Flores’ father’s house.

• Testimony about alleged rapes. Two women were allowed to testify that they believed Flores had drugged and raped them. That, the appeal says, enabled the prosecutor “to argue that appellant had done the same to Smart, though no independent evidence supported this theory” and “to fashion a motive for an otherwise inexplicable crime.” Flores was convicted of first-degree murder in the commission of a rape or attempted rape.

• A statement about Smart being “roofied.” Though he had no expertise on the subject, Trevor Boelter, who had been at the party with Smart, was allowed to testify that she was behaving as if she had ingested a so-called “date rape drug.”

• Misuse of a photograph. During the closing arguments, the prosecutor displayed a photo that had been taken from Flores’ home computer: a woman with a ball gag in her mouth. The appeal claims the photo was used “for character purposes and to inflame the jurors’ passions.”

Taken together, the four alleged trial errors “caused appellant cumulative prejudice and require reversal of his conviction or reduction to second-degree murder,” the appeal argues.

The new document is a response to the state attorney general’s argument against Flores’ initial appeal, filed last year. The next step would be oral arguments.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/crime/article313213732.html

Appeals court denies Paul Flores new hearing on Kristin Smart murder conviction
The convicted killer of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart, Paul Flores, will not have a new hearing in his appellate case, the California Court of Appeal ruled last week.


The Court of Appeal denied the second petition on Nov. 21, court records show. It did not offer an explanation for its denial, according to the publicly available court docket.

Flores has ten days from Dec. 8, when the Court of Appeal’s decision becomes final, to submit a petition to the California Supreme Court regarding his appeal.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

California Supreme Court denies Paul Flores’ petition for review • Atascadero News

The Atascadero News is your daily online news source and the only printed newspaper dedicated to Atascadero, since 1916.

atascaderonews.com

California Supreme Court denies Paul Flores’ petition for review​

The California Supreme Court has denied Paul Flores’ petition for review of his conviction for the 1996 murder of Kristin Smart, according to an announcement from District Attorney Dan Dow.

“While we are very pleased that this decision brings a stronger sense of finality for all involved, we will always remember Kristin Smart and will continue to do all we can to honor the memory of her vibrant life,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “Our hearts go out to Mr. and Mrs. Smart and their entire family for all that they have endured for the last 30 years.”

 

[GrandmaBear]

California Supreme Court denies Paul Flores’ petition for review • Atascadero News

The Atascadero News is your daily online news source and the only printed newspaper dedicated to Atascadero, since 1916.

atascaderonews.com

California Supreme Court denies Paul Flores’ petition for review​

The California Supreme Court has denied Paul Flores’ petition for review of his conviction for the 1996 murder of Kristin Smart, according to an announcement from District Attorney Dan Dow.

“While we are very pleased that this decision brings a stronger sense of finality for all involved, we will always remember Kristin Smart and will continue to do all we can to honor the memory of her vibrant life,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “Our hearts go out to Mr. and Mrs. Smart and their entire family for all that they have endured for the last 30 years.”

GOOD NEWS.