In October 1996, Mary and her family moved in. November 27, 2020 / 8:14 AM Then, in 2011, Ian Parkinson was elected sheriff. San Luis Obispo County. When authorities later confronted him with the two stories, Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation. Stan and Denise Smart, Kristins parents, sent The Daily Beast a statement praising the women for coming forward to share their stories and hope it leads to a break in their missing daughters case. When Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart. And it was only 250 miles from Stockton, California, where she grew up with Lindsey and their brother Matt. The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. "48 Hours" contributor Jonathan Vigliotti takes viewers inside the popular podcast and haunting case in "The Disappearance of Kristin Smart.". PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney . Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. Podcaster Chris Lambert says that after 24 years, "I think it's time [for Flores] to talk." San Luis Obispo County sheriff's officials gather under a coroner's tent in the backyard of Ruben Flores' house in the 700 block of White Court in Arroyo Grande on April 13. Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. A single woman's earring. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. The woman, whom we'll call Jane, believes she was roofied, raped, and discarded by Paul Flores and his nameless friend when she was a 15-year-old high-school sophomore in 1994. He hired a detective to work full time on the case, and over the past nine years deputies have carried out searches, conducted new interviews, and gathered additional evidence. Laura said Flores worked a construction job while attending school but that he was very secretive and she suspected he was in college forever so that his mommy kept paying for his housing and classes.. Lives in: Arroyo Grande CA. D.A. I had zero interest in her, according to prosecutors. I did have guilt about that. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. Once Jane was admitted her story seemed to fall on deaf ears. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. He would tiptoe around everything. But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. I said, Stop it. What happens next? Ian Parkinson: Yes. D.A. Paul Flores was a constant presence during Sarahs time at Cal Poly, where she transferred in as a sophomore back in 1996, after Smarts disappearance shook the school and the community. He was seeing someone on the side who he called his friend, she said. Around 2 a.m., party-goer Tim Davis told Smart that she could not spend the night passed out on the party houses front lawn because it was too cold. Lambert says Kristin could not stand on her own, so fellow student Cheryl Anderson who was also at the party began helping her back to campus. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. Since Parkinson came on the scene, investigators have dug up hillsides; searched the homes and properties of all the Flores'; collected evidence; seized Paul Flores' computers; monitored his cell phone and text messages, and found new witnesses -- some with the help of Chris Lambert. In April 2021, investigators finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and decided they had enough to charge the then-44-year-old Paul Flores with Kristin's murder, and his then-80-year-old father with being an accessory after the fact. I guess the answer is yes. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus. Im good, he said in response to questions about Smarts disappearance. But was there evidence possibly placing Kristin Smart at his mother's home? Two years later Smart would go missing and when suspicion quickly fell on Flores, Jane decided then and there that she may have been one of the lucky ones. He gets his arm around her torso and her arm around his neck, and he's helping her walk. Personal details about Paul include: political affiliation is unknown; ethnicity is Hispanic American; and religious views are listed as Christian. Dave Minsky,. Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. They might have found evidence in those vehicles. He called his father at 9:47 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 1996. However hard she and her father fought back, there was no chance they were going to get beyond the he said, she said. I was drunk and he had a witness and I didnt, Jane said. That turned out to be college. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. But you have to understand, she was a really independent free spirit. Janes mother frantically phoned her father. Ermelinda Flores' property in Washington state has been searched by investigators in February 2020. They are aware that they had no eye witnesses, a body was not recovered, there is no physical evidence, and no forensic evidence, Sanger said. The Lassisters say soon after, strange postcards began showing up in their mailbox. She told Lambert that after several months, the beeping stopped. were in the room exactly where she had left them. Im good. She regretfully denounced them as cruel rumors at the time. I always said, He wouldnt do that., Sexually, Laura paints Paul Flores as very experienced and maintaining a very healthy appetite., It would get too aggressive and at times I had to say, Hey, calm down., Laura says that one time they were wrestling in bed and Flores got too aggressive and grabbed a butter knife and pushed it against my face., She says she kept pleading for him to settle down. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. Ermelinda Flores, 81. Multiple attempts to reach Flores and his parents to comment on the new accusations were unsuccessful. Ermelinda Flores After a wonderful life, Ermelinda Correa-Flores, 89, entered an eternal rest in her own home in Richland, MO on Sunday, June 19, 2022.<br>Ermelinda was born on June 29, 1932, in San Perlita, Texas to Rafela Posada. Those were kind of unspoken things. I was crying.. She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. (No video or audio). James Murphy: They brought in the first dog and they'd had the dog go through the dorms. Flores roommate was out of town that weekend, and Paul knew he had three full days in that room (alone), Peuvrelle told the jury. He threw [my cousin] to the ground and got on top of her and putting his hands down her top even after he got his wallet. Chris Lambert: At that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person, a possibly murdered person. This 9-room home sits on 40,000 square feet of land, which was purchased by the Flores family in 1990. Flores has never been charged in this case. Still to this day I am afraid to go to the bathroom by myself in public places, she said, admitting she still asks her husband every time to stand sentry at the door when she has to go. Once the dogs were let inside the room, they alerted to a corner of Flores bed mattress. Chris Lambert: I don't think she ever imagined that Kristin would end up dead by the end of the night. Kristin Smart 19, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University had gone to a party on Friday, May 24 , 1996 -- and has not been seen since. Despite identifying a prime suspect for her murder, law enforcement did not arrest Flores until 2021. Jonathan Vigliotti: How did you know she hadn't been back? I know I didnt have any pants on and he was in me and I could feel him, she said of the three seconds she managed to wake from the slumber that took hold of her. And I was screaming. Please enter valid email address to continue. Please come with me." The Smart family. There was no change in the soil consistent with that.. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. I got in his face, the ex-boyfriend, who requested anonymity, told The Daily Beast. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? SUSAN FLORES: [Long pause, grabs water bottle] Of course not. Eventually they moved in together along with a male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale. Chris Lambert: So much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. These new allegations against Paul Flores are very troubling and deserve to be thoroughly investigated. So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? The podcast, "Your Own Backyard,"has drawn millions of listeners and focused renewed attention on this decades old case. Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." James Murphy: That suggests that something bad happened in Paul Flores's dorm room. Bodega en Renta de $65.000 , 3 baos, 1100 m2 en Arroyo de Las Flores, Jalisco ID 26114512. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [to reporters]: It's been a puzzle and it's a very slow process to find each of those little pieces some of that information came to light through the podcast many of you are familiar with. She spotted an ad for a rental that a woman named Susan Flores had put in the local newspaper. Our roommate came in and yelled Leave her alone. Why? And so, she pulled me into this sort of like, "oh come on, let's socialize. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. PODCAST EPISODE 5: If you were making a film about a new law enforcer who's coming to a small town to save the day, you'd probably cast Parkinson. He slammed me and then pushed me up against the inside wall by the toilet, his hands were on my upper arms and he started telling me all these sick things he was going to do to me.. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. We are grateful to these brave women for having the courage to talk about their experiences and we ask anyone who may have information they think could be helpful to contact the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office. At a Halloween party back in 1995before Smart had gone missingFlores allegedly grabbed Sarahs crotch on the dance floor. I've got her. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. I think they're just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be. But Sarah kneed Flores in the groin and kicked him in the shin before dashing off into the party. Balloons wrap around the Kristin Smart billboard in Arroyo Grande after the arrest of Paul and Ruben Flores in April 2021. The duplex was located up the same street from where her mom resided. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. View Details. She made a decision that shes regretted ever since. Kristin did not have a purse, money, her I.D. And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. What's going on? I dont like to talk about it to even him, she said. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. Margarita soon decided she'd had enough. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. After the four students had walked about halfway back to the dorms, Paul Flores told Davis and Anderson, Dont worry I got her, Ill take her from here, according to prosecutors. Me, my sister, my cousinPaul has no limits, she said, requesting anonymity. AKA: Susan Flores, Sue P Flores. He lived in the dorm building across from Smart's room. The dogs handler said one dog went screaming down the hallway, made a U-turn, and stopped right in front of (Flores) dorm room, the prosecutor said. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. The only thing that she remembered next was being dragged in the barely lit street by her alleged rapist on one arm and his pal on the other. Chris Lambert's podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest in the decades-old unsolved case of Kristin Smart. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. She didn't think that was OK. When Lambert later told Kristin's mother, Denise, about those early morning beeping sounds in Susan Flores's backyard, he said her reaction was "shock we just kind of stared at each other for a good long time I think it took a while to settle in, that this could potentially be huge." And might have connected Kristin to Susan Flores's house, says James Murphy. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. Chris Lambert: They just have never given up and are never going to give up on their daughter. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. When approached about Janes rape claim, an Arroyo Grande Police Department administrator said in an email that their search revealed no such records exist; therefore, there are no responsive documents. Before their findings, another administrator told The Daily Beast on the phone that because the matter was a sexual assault case it fell under a non-disclosure category and therefore they wouldnt be providing any specific information about it. The Smart's attorney James Murphy, and his wife and office manager Garin Sinclair, have had Kristin's billboard in their front yard since late 1997. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. When they reached the turnoff to Cheryl's dorm, she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her. Now several women say they were victims before and after her, too. Just very involved with their children. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. It's, like, she has nothing on her. James Murphy: If it was, in fact, a piece of jewelry that matched Kristin's jewelry, it would have been blockbuster evidence. . Chris Lambert: Kristin became incredibly intoxicated, whether she was drugged or whether she just had a lot to drink in a short amount of time She ends up passed out on the lawn next door. I told him, You never do this again! Flores said he suffered the black eye during a basketball game he played with friends in Arroyo Grande on Monday. Paul Flores, lower left, remained in jail without bail while Ruben Flores, upper right, was able to post bail after a judge agreed to lower the bail amount from $250,000 to $50,000, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court/Zoom, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death, Five deaths with a connection to Alex Murdaugh's family investigated, Florida man tries to use COVID-19 as a cover for murder. Whatever happened in those early hours, one thing is indisputable: Kristin Smart has never been seen again. Prosecutors said Smart began falling down shortly after she was seen at the Tiki bar with Flores. Chris Lambert: I personally think that wherever Kristin went, Paul was there with her. Davis was helping Smart get up to her feet with Anderson when Flores suddenly appeared out from the darkness, Peuvrelle said. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. The murder trial began on Monday with opening statements from prosecutors and Flores defense attorney. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. When buying cowboy boots, there are a few aspects to consider, such as how far up they go on your legs and their design. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? 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