She was never seen. He says Smart seemed uncomfortable but was too nice to ask the boy to leave. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. Meanwhile, the hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday, when the judge will rule if prosecutors have probable cause to go to trial. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. Flores defense team moves to recuse the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office from the Smart case because prosecutor Peuvrelle and others have been seen wearing purple clothing, Smarts favorite color. Judge van Rooyen announced in April that the trial would be moved to Monterey County, about 140 miles north of San Luis Obispo, after the defense team requested the change of venue because of extensive publicity around the case. There was early mistakes made that you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. In high school he was known as a loner. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. A college student at North Carolina State University, ABC 7 writes that Modafferi had received a scholarship to work and live in a different city for the summer. That mother, Mary Lassiter, described it to Chris Lambert. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. On Tuesday, Cole testified that Ruben clarified that he meant he was the only one of the three who had been arrested. The last person to see her alive,. Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. Some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him. When they reached the turnoff to Cheryl's dorm, she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. Onuma was evicted from a Kaneohe, Hawaii residence after his connection to the Kristen Modafferi . Kristen Modaferri Observer file Family and friends of a Charlotte woman who has been missing for nearly two decades are awaiting results after a possible break in the case came Thursday.. The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. Cole in 2019. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Also included is the result of a February 4th, 2020 search of Paul Flores San Pedro home, where San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs investigators seized electronic devices that featured videos showing Flores having sex with seemingly incapacitated women. Chris Lambert: I wish I knew why. Everyone knew Paul (Flores) was creepy. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. D.A. I need you to listen to everything they say so we can punch holes in it. They also did not focus on Paul Flores immediately, waiting six days to formally interview him. But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. Ann-Marie Christian: became friends with Kristin in elementary school. Chris Lambert: Paul worked with a number of women that he made incredibly uncomfortable girls who he tried to make a pass at sexually, girls that he tried to force to kiss him. JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? In March, the Oakland Police Department released a statement saying that it had worked with the FBI and found no evidence indicating Durst was involved. putting murder on the lawsuit was sending a message to Paul Flores and his family, that we believe that he killed Kristin and that we're coming for him. Kristen Deborah Modafferi (born June 1, 1979; disappeared June 23, 1997) is an American woman who, in the early summer of 1997, disappeared in mysterious circumstances after leaving her work at the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. Just very involved with their children. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes kicked out of CPAC, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Biden team readies new advisory panel ahead of expected reelection bid, At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, House Democrats unhappy with White House handling of D.C.'s new criminal code. Margarita Campos: I was a little bit more introverted and inhibited and she was like, "no, we have to go out and we have to go like live life." She was she was frantic I don't understand this, you know? Paul invoked the Fifth Amendment when the DAs office subpoenaed him to testify before a grand jury in 1996 and after the Smarts filed a $40 million wrongful-death lawsuit against him; during a 1997 deposition, he again pleaded the Fifth. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert told Rolling Stonelast year. But the Flores's have fought back, suing the Smarts for intentional infliction of emotional distress. After a lengthy hearing, San Luis Obispo County Judge Craig B. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. Kristen was in her first year at Cal Poly when she vanished in 1996. San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office personnel dig in an area in the backyard of the home of Ruben Flores, in Arroyo Grande, Calif., March 16, 2021. The two men made their first courtroom appearance on July 14 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, where Judge Craig B. van Rooyen denied the district attorneys motion to add two rape charges against Paul Flores, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I've got her. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. Instead, on Monday, May 27, Denise Pearce says the Smarts got a call from Cal Poly's campus police asking if Kristin was with them. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. Kristen Modafferi was last seen on the afternoon of June 23, 1997, at the coffee shop where she was working in the Crocker Galleria Mall in San Francisco, California. About 45 minutes after Kristen got off of work on the day she vanished, she was seen on the 2nd f. Paul Flores pleads not guilty to the murder and attempted rape of Smart. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. James Murphy: they let the dog in, the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. Related Stories Lindsey Smart Stewart: She had traveled the world before she even made it to college. Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. Chris Lambert: I personally think that wherever Kristin went, Paul was there with her. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. Ian Parkinson: Yes. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images The. 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. She didn't think that was OK. Ms. Smart, 19, was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared in 1996. Paul Flores is charged with first-degree murder and is accused of killing Smart while attempting to rape her. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. I don't know if Kristin knew anybody there. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. They didn't bring a forensics team. She was last seen in the Lands End area of San Francisco, close to where Laci and Connor washed up. That technology uncovered a soil disturbance under the deck as well as four soil samples that tested positive for human blood; an April evacuation also tested positive for blood. Despite the fact that law enforcement had collected substantial evidence that Kristin Smart may have had reason not to return to her dorm room after leaving (fellow party-goers) Cheryl (Manzer) Anderson and Paul Flores and despite the fact that they had collected substantial evidence that there were multiple potential suspects who stalked, harassed or otherwise had conflicts with Kristin Smart, law enforcement made an early choice to change their focus to murder and to Paul Flores as the only suspect, Sanger wrote in a defense motion. The authorities began to describe Paul Flores as a prime suspect in the case. Police investigated whether Durst, 71, who lived in San Francisco at the time Modafferi went missing, was connected to her disappearance. We want to hear it. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. I guess the answer is yes. She left around 2 a.m. and was accompanied by Paul Flores, who was also a student at Cal Poly. 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. He'd go anywhere. Eighteen-year-old Kristen Modafferi was a college honor student from North Carolina spending her summer in San Francisco. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. On Monday, June 23rd, 1997, she arrived for work at the Crocker Galleria mall. and I was like, "Noooo.". In addition, the documents include a phone tap from January 2020 in which Pauls mother, Susan, tells her son: The other thing I need you to do is to start listening to the podcast. "48 Hours" looks back to their arrests and how the saga began. 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. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. and offers to help. Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images. Her dorm entrance is right over here. But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. Kristen Modafferi, Kristin Smart & Kent Jacobs. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. Like his black eye, seen faintly in a mug shot taken by the Arroyo Grande Police just by chance two days after Kristin vanished. Please enter valid email address to continue. But to fully understand Chris Lambert's contribution, you have to go back to the beginning. She was never seen again and her body has not been located. We feel like the stars aligned when the podcast aired, she told Rolling Stone. PODCAST EPISODE 4: At 8 a.m. on June 19th, 2000, a team of sheriff's investigators knocks on the front door of Susan Flores's East Branch Street home. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. Margarita Campos: I was, like, "Kristin, I'm going to go back home. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Chris Lambert: As they describe it, Paul Flores just sort of appears out of nowhere. D.A. They're known for being a really safe school.". Flores, who had been seen with Smart earlier in the evening he attempted to flirt with her and apparently fell on her at one point, according to witnesses joined the group and allegedly accompanied Smart home. Chris Lambert: That's the upsetting part about it, isn't it? On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder. Twenty-five years after Smart went missing, a prime suspect is charged with murder. As they soon learned, she had ended up at a party at an off-campus house. The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. Ruben Flores, was arrested at his home on the same day and was charged with being an accessory after the fact. She disappeared in 1996 after attending an off-campus party and while she was declared legally dead in 2002, her body has never been found. And yes, we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes. Ruben Flores, 80, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for hiding Smart's body after his son allegedly killed her. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. It would be three more years before the property was searched again. They have not been able to proceed with the civil case while there was an ongoing criminal investigation, but that didn't stop them from following every lead and preparing for an eventual trial. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #1: I wasn't surprised, but there's also that shock value of kind of "oh my god, I knew it! Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Judge van Rooyen objects to this assertion, though: Just because (Lamberts) been served does not necessarily mean he should be excluded, he says. But further investigation of the Flores's two trucks seemed impossible. In fact, Cheryl Anderson, who trusted Flores to walk Kristin back to her dorm alone, told police that her friends called him "Chester the molester," because he was known for groping girls. The authorities removed items from Paul Floress home in Los Angeles in February 2020. or even her keys. So, she slowed down and walked with them. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. And while they did not rush to investigate Flores, Kristin's family says campus police were very quick to judge her. She feared for her life, so did not tell anyone at the time or for years after. A separate jury for Ruben Flores started deliberating on Oct. 5. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores.