'After 26 years, with today's split verdicts, we learned that our quest for justice for Kristin will continue,' Stan Smart told a press conference - during which a reporter fainted. Investigators used cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to search the home. Additionally, he alerted within three feet of 44 burials. During the trial, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle sensationally pointed at Ruben Flores and his ex-wife, Susan Flores, and said of Kristin: 'She was under their deck.'. He started asking simple questions to people close to Kristin in 2019 - and soon garnered over 12 million downloads across the globe. On the night she was last seen, Smart and her friends from California Polytechnic State University grabbed a ride in a truck and arrived at an unofficial fraternity house near campus. You have to decide whether or not a murder was committed, beyond a reasonable doubt,' Sanger told the jury. Everything he found led him to Paul Flores being the prime suspect and Kristins remains at Susan Floress home. Record reporterAaron Leathleycovers business, housing, and land use. During his deposition in November 1997, Paul had invoked the 5th Amendment in response to any questions regarding the case. He also concludes they could not search the West side of the home because of too much stuff in the way. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Human remains detection dogs (HRDDs) are canines specially trained to find human decomposition scent and alert their handler to its location.. The prosecution then rested its case and the defense decided not to call witnesses following Holmans testimony. Flores' father, Ruben Ricardo Flores, 80, was also arrested and is accused. When Flores was first interviewed, he had a black eye. After analyzing Busters reaction, Dostie said it was clear there was human decomposition there. Mesick said Ruben Flores now has to go home 'and rebuild the deck that was destroyed. During decomposition, humans release specific chemicals that essentially plume through the soil. Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com. 'And I wish the community who still feels that way would disabuse themselves of those feelings.' By 2020, it had amassed thousands of listeners and, police suspect, spooked the Flores family. California Kristin Smart case: Images from the investigation and arrest . That stunt resulted in a murderer going free. No remains have been found. It was fascinating to be able to combine all the different levels of technology, including the dog alerts. The documents also detail arguments by prosecutor Christopher Peuvrellethat evidence from an excavation of Ruben Flores's propertywhere the prosecution allegesSmart's body was once buried must be allowed at trial, over the defendants' objections. Ruben Flores is 37 years old and was born on 05/22/1984. Murphy told KSBY News he also filed a lawsuit against both Ruben and Susan Flores in 1997, but it was dropped when the Flores family filed for bankruptcy. Paul and Ruben Flores appear at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court for the first time, at which time Judge Craig van Rooyen denies Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle's request to. The trial got underway with opening statements on July 18 in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas. In addition, Dr. Vass has developed another category called odor mortis. From those searches, they claim to have found physical evidence of human remains and that those remains were moved. Smart was declared legally dead. Flores had been behind bars at the San Luis Obispo County Jail since the morning of April 13 when he and . They suggested that the pair moved the body years later. His father was found not guilty of helping to hide her body. Ranch Life/Equine Enthusiast, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Twin Cities Community Hospital Receives Award for Maternity Care, Colony Days and the Worlds Greatest Margarita By Barbie Butz, SLO County Bids Fond Farewell to Longtime Chief Probation Officer, North County Wakes Up to Snow Saturday Morning, Open for Business? Ty Roush Cant wait until this is over and likely the flores will sue the County and how much will they be compensated for a DAs office and investigators that lied and falsified evidence. In her deposition, with Stan and Denise Smart present in the room, Anderson tried to explain her decision to leave Kristin in Flores' care for the final leg home: . In March 2021, further searches of Rubens home led to more evidence and the eventual arrests of Paul and Ruben Flores. Paul Flores sued by Kristin Smart's family. With no new evidence in the case, Kristin was declared legally dead six years after she first went missing. Criminal attorney Scott Taylor said a defendant is required to appear in person for your first felony court hearing so you can waive time. Ruben is found not guilty of helping his son hide Smart's body. They were moved out of the town where Kristin disappeared in the interest of giving the Flores men a fair trial. Shortly after the April 13 arrests of Paul and Ruben Flores, Smart family attorney James Murphy filed an emotional distress lawsuit against Ruben Flores, and told the media that neighbors had witnessed Ruben Flores, Susan Flores and her boyfriend Mike McConville working under Ruben Flores home at 710 White Court in Arroyo Grande. We have reached out to Mark Connely for comment but have not received a response. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. He must have made a lot from the drug dealers. When Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student Kristin Smart suddenly vanished without a trace left behind on May 25, 1996, no one could've ever imagined her case would span nearly three decades. He posted bail and left the jail with his wife, Susan Flores, KSBY-TV reports. Be part of the news. Ruben Manuel Flores, 64. Smart was declared dead in 2002. Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 Paul Flores and Ruben Flores plead not guilty in connection with Smart's disappearance. 'Know that your spirit lives on in each and every one of us, every day. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. After reading the paper, Dostie said he was thoroughly impressed with the amount of detail put into the articles on Kristin Smart. - On Friday, August 14, 2015, Elmer Rice told Christopher Garland that Ruben Flores (Paul's father) told him that Kristin was rolled up in carpet and buried in concrete. His attorneys filed a 'Hail Mary' motion asking for a mistrial to be declared, claiming it was improper for a member of the victim's family to be seen by the jury hugging someone from the prosecution. The jury in Ruben's case reached a decision on Monday but were told they could not announce the decision until Paul's case was closed. Holman later met with Lambert and Murphy at Murphys office to tell her story, which did not include the later reports that she saw people under the home, she testified. , updated If trained properly, dogs can detect these chemical plumes and only detect those human scentsnot mistaking them for other animal bones. Smart added: 'To our Kristin: Almost three decades ago, our lives were irreparably changed on the night you disappeared. It has never been resolved. Ruben Flores was released Wednesday on $50,000 bail, CBS Los Angeles reported. Missing-person posters and billboards offering rewards appeared along roads and in other public places. Phone: (805) 489-8929 Professor Lawrence Conyers was able to search almost all of Susans backyard. The Smart family filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores in 1997, but he was not immediately charged criminally in the case. FAX: (805) 489-0663, If you have any information, please call Murphy Law Corporation at, James R. Murphy, Jr. And John D. Barron, A Law Corporation. They called him 'Chester the molester' and 'Psycho Paul', they said. Worried Denise had days earlier called the college president, but was redirected to a residential advisor who refused to give any information about Kristin on 'privacy' grounds. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. Born out of a desire to simply learn about what happened to the missing girl, Lambert embarked on the pet project without knowing the massive impact it would have for Smart's family. You cant dispute it.. But, unfortunately, Buster did not go with him so as not to wake the neighbors if he were to bark. But you're here as jurors. Grounds for a mistrial, grounds for a motion to dismiss with prejudice. The two men arrived at Branch Street around 1:45 p.m. Buster was brought to the backyard of Lot 29. The trials began in July this year in Monterey, California. Citing the podcast, Your Own Backyard, Parkinson said: 'In 2019, (we) interviewed several witnesses that had not been previously interviewed. He says, I put my heart and soul into that case, and I thought we were going to get the body. Ruben Flores stares down the Google Street View car, Susan Flores house, when it was rented by Mary and Joe Lassiter, December 1996 (Photo by Joe Lassiter), Mary Lassiters son stands in front of their rental house, December 1996 (Photo by Joe Lassiter), Joe Lassiter stands near garbage cans in the spot where his driveway meets the backyard, December 1996, Mary Lassiter stands in front of a planter box in her backyard, with her mother, Sharon, and stepfather, Richard, December 1996, Mary Lassiter holds up an earring similar to the one she found in her driveway in October of 1996, Kristin Smarts necklace in her senior photo, shown alongside an earring similar to the one Mary Lassiter found in her driveway in October of 1996, The paper that attorney Melvin Delamotte repeatedly pointed to during the deposition of his client, Paul Flores, on November 14, 1997, The Outback Steakhouse in Irvine, where Paul Flores worked from 1997-1998 (now closed). He later told investigators that he walked her as far as his dorm, where they parted ways. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. Over the years, he was considered the prime suspect in her disappearance and was arrested in April 2021, along with his father, Ruben Flores. Paul was then named a person of interest in Kristins disappearance. It is believed by Dostie and Dr. Vass that migration of bio-markers in the soil was being impeded by the block wall and/or concrete footer supporting the wall. He was handed his verdict on October 18. May 25, 1996: Kristin Smart attends an off-campus party with multiple friends, including Paul Flores, at Cal Poly. With no new evidence in the case, Kristin was declared legally dead six years after she first went missing. March 31, 2023. The East side of the home was not properly searched because of this. Titled 'Your Own Backyard', the host was a local man who said he felt compelled to investigate the case. 'We had talked about possible scenarios of why she would not have come back to the dorms,' Teschendorf said of the concerned students. In 1997, Murphy filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores on behalf of the Smart family. 'We like to watch shows, and you think, "I bet I know what happened." 'It is a great personal sacrifice to serve as a juror. This search was done after FBI agent Jack Schafer gave the SLO police department a warrant to dig up Susan Floress backyard. Now, partly thanks to the podcast and its hostChris Lambert, Smart's family have finally received some measure of the closure they have been seeking after their daughter's death. It would be one of several home searches . However, he also said that he had never searched for human remains before and did not have the proper equipment. Charged with accessory after the fact, Ruben Flores is suspected of helping his son dispose of Smarts body, which prosecutors believe was buried under a deck at his home. The Sheriff's office has also been surveying Paul Flores' phone calls and text messages for the last two years, which officials said helped uncover "helpful" evidence. ', Mesick said the case has been the one he is 'most invested in on a personal level.'. Kristin Smart timeline: 24 years from the Cal Poly student's disappearance to a suspect's arrest. The authorities have stated that Kristins remains have not yet been found. Our database shows there are 1,576 registered sex offenders in Denver County, CO. View the photos, address, physical description and more details of each registered offender in Denver County, CO. 1. Together with Paso Robles Magazine, mailing 30,000 monthly copies to our community, we are the best-read, most-trusted news source for our community. 2020: Neighbors report seeing Paul Flores bring a tractor to his backyard, April 13, 2021: Paul Flores is arrested on suspicion of murder and Ruben Flores is arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder, July 18, 2022: Trials for Paul and Ruben Flores begin in Monterey, California, after being moved out of San Luis Obispo, October 17: Jury reaches verdict in case of Ruben Flores, October 18:Jury reaches verdict in case of Paul Flores. His father Ruben Flores, 81, was charged with acting as an accessory after the fact. Davis and Anderson walked with Flores and Smart, but parted ways before reaching their dorm buildings. 'It's too bad that sometimes the system works on feelings instead of facts, but I am relieved about myself of course.'. Connely reportedly said he would take those results and findings to the sheriff. In another deposition with Murphys Office, Joe Lassiter said one of the planter boxes measured six feet long by three feet wide. During his deposition in November 1997, Paul had invoked the 5th Amendment in response to any questions regarding the case. The GPR search geologist said he found an anomaly under the cement but told police he thought it was likely naturally made. So, are we saying the investigators and DAs office put forth false allegations to secure an arrest warrant and the put forth lies at trial. When Teschendorf returned to their room, she noticed that Smart's keys and personal belongings that she normally took everywhere were still in the room, untouched, and her roommate was nowhere to be found. The Superior Court judge, Jennifer OKeefe, was blunt in her remarks, telling him that he had been a cancer to society who deserved to spend the rest of his life behind bars. 'Happened to be the perfect size for a human burial site,' he said. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press. We love to hear them,' said Sanger. A neighbor of Ruben Flores denied seeing anyone under his Arroyo Grande home on Feb. 9, 2020, calling the allegations she viewed digging, shovels and a wheelbarrow "untrue." Ruben Flores'. The following were arrested Thursday in Aurora: Tapia-Rubio and Mora-Sanchez; Selestino Hernandez-Mayo, 45; and . nor a 1997 deposition in which . The publicity of the case is 'the elephant in the room,' Sanger said, adding that there were people 'inserting themselves' into the case along with extensive news coverage locally and nationally. The search for Ms. Smart, who was nicknamed Roxy, took many forms. Atascadero News Magazine I couldn't increase the volume.Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYhttSiWdhYYPjs3v5PA0Jg/joinE-Mail: Twistedtruecindy@ gmail dot com 'Conspiracy theories can be fun. 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