You can have the case stayed as to you, which means it doesn't dismiss the case. While an expert said it was human blood, the test used did not rule out the possibility it was from a ferret or primate, though court records said no remains of either such animal were found there. Ruben's personal network of family, friends, associates & neighbors include Valeria Valerio, Dustin Flores, Jessica Gomez, Sophi Flores and Rebecca Rifenburgh. A judge moved the trial to Monterey County in April over concerns that unbiased jurors could not be found in the county. Might have put the house up, just a guess. Chris podcast was, in part, responsible for bringing renewed attention to the case that eventually led to these arrests. 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. Lived In Denver CO, Dearborn Heights MI, Oscoda MI. Meanwhile, defense attorneys said theywould counter the prosecution's arguments about forensic findings surrounding Smart's disappearance. In March 2021, further searches of Rubens home led to more evidence and the eventual arrests of Paul and Ruben Flores. Paul Dostie retired in 2009 from Mammoth Lakes Police Department, where he worked as a detective sergeant on the narcotics task force. Constructive debate is good; mockery, taunting, and name calling is not. Ruben Flores Deposition Early this week the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department barricaded the road leading to the residence of Ruben Flores, the father of Paul Flores, the suspected killer of Kristin Smart. ', The breakthrough - Flores men are arrested. 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. Weve got you covered. In 1996, Cal-Poly student Kristin Smart vanished while walking home from an off-campus party. Paul Flores was living in a dorm at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on the date of Kristin Smarts disappearance; he did not have a motor vehicle on campus but his sister lived several blocks off campus and drove a VW Cabriolet. In total, over 100 American remains were found where Buster alerted. Shecan be reached [email protected] on Twitter@LeathleyAaron. During a 1997 deposition for that lawsuit, Paul Flores repeatedly cited the Fifth Amendment when declining to comment. 'Too much made up stuff, that's all I can say. ', He finished his closing arguments by telling jurors: 'You must decide the case for yourself. With no new evidence in the case, Kristin was declared legally dead six years after she first went missing. Evidence from previous search warrants led detectives to serve an additional warrant at Paul's home. During the call, the mother tells her son he needed to tell her where they can 'punch holes' in the 'Your Own Backyard' podcast because 'only you can.'. There will be a lot of people who will be unhappy if Paul Flores is not hung from the highest gallows.. Paul Flores sued by Kristin Smart's family. Central Coast TRVLR Another search is done with GPR but comes up inconclusive. Ruben Flores son Paul Flores is accused of murdering Kristin Smart during an attempted rape in 1996. 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. May 25, 1996: Kristin Smart attends an off-campus party with multiple friends, including Paul Flores, at Cal Poly. The trailer was then pulled up along the side of the home near where prosecutors say Smart was buried. Kristin's cheerful call home was a weekly ritual, she said. In addition, Morris said both her dogs, Cholla and Cirque, strongly alerted to the mattress and desk on the left side of the room. Paul was then named a person of interest in Kristins disappearance. That stunt resulted in a murderer going free. The only proper verdict, in this case, is not guilty.'. While several biofilm forming species, including Penicillium rubens, have been identified in spacecraft, the effect of microgravity on fungal biofilm formation is unknown. Paul is found guilty of first-degree murder. Paul Flores was charged with murder, and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. We will refer to this property as Lot 29. The two assisted on a search at the Barker Rancha ranch located in Death Valley, infamously known for its association with Charles Manson and his family.. 'A lot of this had an influence on testimony,' Sanger said. His father was found not guilty of helping to hide her body. Paul Flores is also facing a charge of felony in possession of a firearm in Los Angeles County. But the findings didnt stop there. Ruben Flores was arrested as an accessory at his Arroyo Grande home, where sheriff's investigators conducted another search. Former student Ross Ketchum recalled speaking to 19-year-old Smart about surfing and school at the Memorial Day weekend party, held at 135 Crandall Way. The last time Kristin was seen: College party, May 1996. Davis and Anderson walked with Flores and Smart, but parted ways before reaching their dorm buildings. The podcast first launched in 2019. After nearly three months of testimony, delays, closing statements begin in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas, California. Paul Flores was identified as a person of interest early in the case. During his deposition in November 1997, Paul had invoked the 5th Amendment in response to any questions regarding the case. Now, Murphy believes there is enough evidence to show Ruben, who has pleaded not guilty, was an accessory to the murder of Kristin Smart and is suing Ruben on behalf of the Smart family for emotional damages. Over the years, he was considered the prime suspect in her disappearance and was arrested in April 2021, along with his father, Ruben Flores. Prosecutors believed that Flores killed Smart in his dorm room after trying to rape her. The last person seen with her was Paul Flores. His defense lawyer, Harold. This search was done after FBI agent Jack Schafer gave the SLO police department a warrant to dig up Susan Floress backyard. There is always more than one side to a story, especially when it comes to an unsolved case. Susan Flores' house, when it was rented by Mary and Joe Lassiter, December 1996 (Photo by Joe Lassiter) . He posted bail and left the jail with his wife, Susan Flores, KSBY-TV reports. In a statement, the Smart family described a long wait for this bittersweet day.. 'We had talked about possible scenarios of why she would not have come back to the dorms,' Teschendorf said of the concerned students. They never found out what it was. Ruben and Paul Flores, the father and son arrested in connection with the disappearance of Kristin Smart, are facing lawsuits on top of their felony charges. Morro Bay Life Paso Robles Press Murphy called it compelling evidence they had moved Kristin Smarts body to another location just a few days after deputies searched the home. 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. They were moved out of the town where Kristin disappeared in the interest of giving the Flores men a fair trial. 19, 1996, he left early to finish concrete work at his mothers home on Branch Street. He later changed his story to say he bumped his head while working on his car. However, the two were prevented from returning to the backyard by the homes owner (it turned out permission was given by a roommate and not the owner of the home). We have reached out to Mark Connely for comment but have not received a response. Last month, Paul Flores was arrested on felony gun charges arising from a discovery of a firearm in his residence while on felony probation. Then, when Mary and Joe Lassiter signed papers to rent and move into the Branch Street home in June 1996, they were told they could not move in until July because a concrete project in the backyard was not finished yet. 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. The Sheriffs Office investigators and forensic specialists assigned to Ms. Smarts case executed 18 search warrants, submitted 37 items that were collected in the early days of the case for DNA testing, recovered 140 new items of evidence and conducted 91 interviews from 2011 to 2020, the office said. The East side of the home was not properly searched because of this. Refine Your Search Results. Peuvrelle asked the jury to find Paul Flores guilty of first-degree murder and summarized the evidence that had been presented during the trial that started on July 18. longtime person of interest in Smart's disappearance case, was named the prime suspect in the case. Javascript is required. Citing the podcast, Your Own Backyard, Parkinson said: 'In 2019, (we) interviewed several witnesses that had not been previously interviewed. RIGHT NOW: The Smart Family attorney, James Murphy, filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores and is suing Flores for emotional damages associated with Kristin Smarts 1996 disappearance. Sanger demeaned Hudsons reputation, calling the witness who said she heard Paul Flores admit to the crime a troubled person. Sanger said Hudson was only able to remember facts after reminders from Lambert. 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? We know when police interviewed Paul Flores on Jun. However, a jury did not find the evidence credible enough to convict Ruben Flores. During these searches, Dostie was not told whether they knew or not there were remains there. For years, Dostie has done work on the Barker Ranch and even spoke to Manson throughout his investigations there. Investigators conducted dozens of searches over two decades, but turned their attention in 2020 to Ruben Flores' home about 12 miles south of Cal Poly. It depends on all 12 of you to deliberate to show whether there's proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It was now about 11:00 p.m. Wonder who is paying the bill???????? Prosecutors had argued Paul killed Kristin then hid her body in his father's yard. An additional search did indeed take place - a year later. He also concludes they could not search the West side of the home because of too much stuff in the way. And again, Susans backyard was searched in March 2007 using GPR. "If that coordination occurs for him and that some lawyer does get authority to appear for him, then that case down there would just get continued, continued, continued until his case is solved up here.". 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). Flores was then the only person left helping Smart stagger back from the party at around 2am. The two alleged culprits are being held at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, awaiting arraignment. He told the court that there are no witnesses who can corroborate Flores' story of what happened in his dorm room on May 25, 1996. Cadaver dogs trained to detect human decomposition were deployed by the F.B.I. Ruben was fired from the Orange County Sheriffs Department for corruption. Dostie and Smallwood then proceeded back to the truck to get the glass vials and tools to obtain a soil sample for Dr. Arpad Vass to analyze later. Buster himself is accredited with finding over 200 human bodies. Dosties sister, who lives in Atascadero, mailed her brother a copy of The California Register and mentioned he should consider looking into the case. In April 2021, the Smart family lawyer James Murphy filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores alleging that 'under cover of darkness,' the father and unnamed accomplices moved the body four days after investigators searched his house in 2020. 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. He also noted concerns over broken cement pieces that he was told were leftover from Paul and Rubens work the summer before. California Kristin Smart case: Images from the investigation and arrest . San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said that Smart was killed during an attempted rape by Paul Flores in his dorm room and his father helped hide her body. Early this week the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Department barricaded the road leading to the residence of Ruben Flores, the father of Paul Flores, the suspected killer of Kristin Smart. Over the years, judges have allowed the lawsuit to move forward. You have been very attentive and conscientious throughout this case. 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. According to Smallwood, they were told the sheriffs office did not look further into the findings, stating the evidence was insufficient to obtain a search warrant. Other witnesses included students who were at the party. Connely reportedly said he would take those results and findings to the sheriff. In response, Lambeth said afterwards: 'I know that's just smear, that's their angle on it, but it couldn't be further from the truth. In February 2020, the authorities executed search warrants at four locations in California and Washington State and recovered what the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office described as items of interest. One location was the Los Angeles home of Paul Flores, KCAL-TV reported. Justice is coming. Then, in March 1997, Susan Floress backyard is searched using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Teschendorf said she and several other residents in the dorm contacted police two days after Smart failed to return to her room, and then, again, two days later when she didn't show up for class. According to her college friend Margarita Campos, Smart was 'not under the influence at all' when she last saw her at around 10pm on the intersection of California and Foothill Boulevards. Both Paul Flores and his father Ruben Flores were arrested in connection to Smart's murder. Ty Roush 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.. He was later praised by San Luis Obispo Sheriff Ian Parkinson for his help bringing attention to the case. 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'. Among the over 200 pagesofdocuments are appeals byFlores's attorney to exclude DNA-related evidence from the trial, including a stainedmattress cover from Flores's dorm room; its validity as proof that Smart had been in theroom is disputed by the two sides, the filings show. Recalling moments from 1996, Smart's heartbroken mother Denise said she contacted police shortly after Kristin failed to call home on Sunday, May 26. The Outback Steakhouse in Irvine, where Paul . He liked to play pool and he liked to drink. Previous coverage: Prosecution, defense lay out case as Paul Flores trial opens in death of Kristin Smart. He famously testified in the Casey Anthony case in Florida. Paul was charged with the murder of Kristin Smart while Ruben was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Schafer speculates that evidence was found at Rubens home because, after Kristins disappearance, the Flores family put her there, only to later move her to Susans home that summer when Paul and Ruben did the concrete work. This is a case that should not go any further.. By 2020, it had amassed thousands of listeners and, police suspect, spooked the Flores family. Ruben Flores lives at a home at 710 White Court, Arroyo Grande, California. They handed Paul Flores a guilty verdict. He was charged with murder, while his father was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Those same dogs ended up helping archeologists find 3,000-year-old graves in Croatia. Investigators said the warrants were for very specific items. If trained properly, dogs can detect these chemical plumes and only detect those human scentsnot mistaking them for other animal bones. Justice delayed does not have to be justice denied. Kristin Smart timeline: 24 years from the Cal Poly student's disappearance to a suspect's arrest. A San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's spokesman says investigators uncovered some 'items of interest'. Civil cases often are stalled by criminal proceedings. Smart's case was never closed, but momentum was revived in the last two years. They called him 'Chester the molester' and 'Psycho Paul', they said. Dostie reached out to Cadaver Dog: K9 Specialty Search Associates for cadaver trainers. The California Polytechnic State University freshman was last seen around 2 a.m. on May 25 when she walked back to her to her dorm room after an off-campus party in San Luis Obispo. 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. 'Happened to be the perfect size for a human burial site,' he said. Paul was found guilty of murder, whereas his father was acquitted of one count of being an accessory after the fact. Related . Ruben Flores, 81, is charged with accessory after the fact, accused of helping cover up the alleged crime. And it was during the announcement of the arrest thatSan Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson gave credit to the tireless work of podcast host Chris Lambert. It would be one of several home searches . It is also the same area where the Lassiters found an earring with what they believed to be blood on it. The blood was too degraded to extract a DNA sample. There were about 70 people at the gathering and everyone was 'shoulder-to-shoulder,' Ketchum said. For my friend @Dsjmnz thank you for the request :)I APOLOGIZE in advance for the really low volume on Flores' deposition. Paul Flores, 45, is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing Smart in his dorm room while he and the victim were students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Sanger argued the black eye, the cadaver dogs alerting at Paul Flores dorm and the blood found under Ruben Flores home were not evidence Paul Flores killed Kristin Smart. Helicopters were used to canvas the area. Over the years, judges have stayed the lawsuit. Tim Davis, a senior who helped host the party, told investigators that towards the end of the night he spotted Smart sprawled on the lawn, apparently passed out. It was fascinating to be able to combine all the different levels of technology, including the dog alerts. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said Paul Flores was. Buster alerted right on top of grave sights where two Marines were recovered the year before. That lawsuit resulted in the. In opening statements last month, the prosecutionpainted a picture of the now 45-year-old Paul Flores as having hovered around Smart in the run-up to her disappearance, andas having later engaged in a pattern of non-consensual encounters with women. By the end of the night, college kids who had seen Kristin arrive sober said she was drunk and passed out on the lawn. He said that during the trial, defense attorneys have said 'a number of times' that the podcast was 'designed to convict Paul Flores.'. 2. When you have a situation like this where you have dual court cases at each venue, if you cannot get him on a screen in front of a judge, then you are going to have a warrant of some kind in order for the court to obtain some kind of jurisdiction," Taylor said. In 1997, Murphy filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores on behalf of the Smart family. But Paul Flores, then 19, volunteered to help after appearing 'out of nowhere,' Anderson recalled. The authorities began to describe Paul Flores as a prime suspect in the case. Officials obtain four search warrants for Paul Flores. In recent years, canines have been used in archeological searches. She left around 2 a.m. and was accompanied by Paul Flores, who was also a student at Cal Poly. Buster returned to search Lot 27. . Dostie turned around and got ready to obtain a soil sample. Search warrants for issued for the Arroyo Grande home of Paul Flores' father, Ruben Flores, 80. Paul Flores (44) and Ruben Flores (80) were taken into custody on April 13, 2021. He told them he got it playing basketball with friends, who denied his account, according to court records. 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. Paul will be sentenced on December 9. On Aug. 2, local media reported that Denise Smart, Ms. Smarts mother, spoke at a preliminary hearing, where the judge was deciding whether prosecutors had established probable cause to proceed to trial. It was just, does anyone know what happened? Smart's family and friends plan to hold a celebration of her life at her memorial at Dinosaur Caves in Shell Beach at 6pm on Tuesday, with a music jam session celebrating the guilty verdict. Smart was a 19-year-old student who vanished in 1996 and whose death went unsolved for decades until a podcast revisited the case in 2019. Unlike most cadaver dogs, Buster was trained to detect clandestine gravesan unrecorded burial grave. and https://www.nytimes.com/article/kristin-smart-case-timeline.html. That 'good deed,' it now transpires, was the murder of 19-year-old Kristin Smart. When he was first questioned in 1996, Paul Flores told police that Kristin had walked all the way to her own dorm room after the party. Not a single day goes by where you aren't missed, remembered, loved and celebrated.'. Within these discoveries, Buster alerted next to a building with a concrete slab. denver county. Furthermore, the searches at the homes of Ruben, Susan, Paul, and his sister had led to enough evidence to warrant a second search of Pauls home. Flores downplayed his interactions with Smart when he first spoke with police in the days after she was declared missing, saying she walked to her dorm under her own power. The Barker Ranch investigations were how Dostie got in touch with Dr. Arpad Vass, a world-renowned research scientist and forensic anthropologist specializing in human decomposition. He later told investigators that he walked her as far as his dorm, where they parted ways. So Dostie contacted Smallwood, and soon a plan was set to search for Kristins remains. Schafer also speculates that Kristins remains are still in Susans backyard. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. After all, as carefully profiled in NBC's 'Dateline . Three dog handlers were brought in to testify during the preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores in August 2021. Ruben Flores: Where is Paul Flores' Dad Now? Peuvrelle said: 'Now you know where she was all along. Episode 04: Son Of Susan. 26 results - Ruben Flores may also have lived outside of Denver, such as Parachute, Englewood and 2 other cities in Colorado. The West side of the home is also where Paul Dosties cadaver dog Buster alerted to human remainstwice. Adela Morris, Gail LaRoque, Wayne Behrems, and their dogs participated in searching Paul Floress dorm room at Cal Poly in 1996. Comment Guidelines. When Kristin Smart fell at the party, he helped her up. Paul Flores deposition 1997 In June 2000, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office searched the Arroyo Grande backyard of Susan Flores, Paul's mother.
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