Chris Lambert: And he says he got a black eye playing basketball with his friends. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. Podcaster Chris Lambert says that after 24 years, "I think it's time [for Flores] to talk." Please come with me." I was crying.. D.A. 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. Im good. By the time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had been gone for four days. Another frustration for the Smarts: at the time Kristin disappeared, investigators weren't aware that Paul Flores's parents were separated and living apart. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. Meanwhile, the FBI, who recently excavated earth at Cal Poly to look for Smarts remains, referred comment to the sheriffs office. He noticed Paul Flores would randomly walk through the halls of Muir Dorm. Authorities made clear that they plan to use Flores' alleged predatory behavior against him. "YOUR OWN BACKYARD" PODCAST: EPISODE 1: It's a cold and cloudy winter afternoon in San Luis Obispo and I'm retracing missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart's last known steps. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. And then months and months later, they'd reach back out and say, can you get us in touch with this person again? It might be helpful to the investigation.. The woman, whom well 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. Later, he told detectives that Smart was walking just fine and returned to her dorm while he returned to his dorm. One late night at a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted a 21-year-old student whom well call Laura. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti tracked Flores down to try and get some answers. In 2011, the Smarts hoped those boulders would become a little lighter when Ian Parkinson became the new sheriff of San Luis Obispo County. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. BOE-A-2023-5092 Orden JUS/181/2023, de 21 de febrero, por la que se aprueba la relacin provisional de personas admitidas y excluidas en el proceso selectivo para acceso libre, al Cuerpo de Gestin Procesal y Administrativa de la Administracin de Justicia, convocado por Orden JUS/1254/2022, de 7 de diciembre. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. He would tiptoe around everything. They didn't bring a forensics team. It is believed she is deceased, but there is no evidence of what happened to her after Paul Flores left her. Just very involved with their children. And while they did not rush to investigate Flores, Kristin's family says campus police were very quick to judge her. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. Investigators are currently digging under Rubin Flores' home in another apparent attempt to find the missing teen's body. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Chris Lambert: I brought them a number of witnesses that they were very interested in. Nearly a week after their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. She made a decision that shes regretted ever since. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. 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. Most students had taken off but Kristin had stayed on campus. Chris Lambert: It was never marked as evidence apparently. Even more difficult to understand was why they waited two months to search the family home where Paul Flores was living with his father, Ruben. People who were there have said she was intoxicated. I never realized its the same guy that harassed [Sarah], he said. PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. I told her I didn't I didn't want to go. She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case. And there would be more disappointment in 2007, after the Smart's legal team searched a small portion of Susan Flores's backyard with ground penetrating radar and did not find any evidence. An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. They did an interview with the Cal Poly Mustang Daily and explained that they didn't think there was any evidence that a crime had taken place. Any tidbit of information or recollection could make the difference in the recovery of our beloved Kristin., disappearance of another woman under almost identical circumstances: Kristin Smart. What's going on? After seizing an old car, digging in the back yard and taking evidence San Luis Obispo County sheriff deputies concluded a two search of an Arroyo Grande home related to the 1996. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. Chris Lambert: A young couple moves into it with their kid. "48 Hours" agreed. Dave Minsky,. DAN DOW [press conference]: But the allegation that he was committing or attempting to commit a rape when he killed her, is the basis for which we are able to file first-degree felony murder charges. James Murphy: And it says wrongful death and then I put murder. A student named Paul Flores, Susan's son, volunteered to take her back. 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. 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. They told her Kristin had not been seen all weekend and asked if Kristin was with them. Chris Lambert: It's hard to take too much credit But I was one piece of the puzzle that helped to make this all come together when it did. James Murphy: An eyewitness actually documented the fact that throughout the night that there was activity in the area of the underside of that deck. That turned out to be college. A . Smart, a native of Stockton, was nearing the end of her. Some even wondered if she might have been drugged. Me, my sister, my cousinPaul has no limits, she said, requesting anonymity. During a camping trip in Fresno, California, in the early 1990s, Floress female cousins playfully swiped and hid his wallet while walking en route to a liquor store to purchase slush puppies. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is this a case that takes a miracle to solve? Paul Flores was lying through his teeth to law enforcement, Peuvrelle told the jury. 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. Susan P Flores Age 71. 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. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. And I was, like, "uh OK, fine.". James Murphy: So why would Susan Flores, her boyfriend, and Ruben Flores be up all night long working under that deck. Ermelinda Macarthur currently lives in Kenmore, WA; in the past Ermelinda has also lived in Long Beach CA, Arroyo Grande CA and Bothell WA. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. Chris Lambert says they're cautiously optimistic. In June of 1996, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office brought in four cadaver dogs to sniff dorms on campus. And that's what I've been doing for a long, long time, along with a lot of other people. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. I don't think she went back to her dorm at all. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? And the body's not there now. 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. 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." In April 2021, investigators charged Paul Flores, left, with Kristin Smart's murder, and his then-80-year-old father Ruben, as an accessory after the fact. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. That could have been me.. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. My job was to hunt them. A woman nearby screamed at Flores to get off her and threatened to call the cops, she said. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? She spotted an ad for a rental that a woman named Susan Flores had put in the local newspaper. Despite identifying a prime suspect for her murder, law enforcement did not arrest Flores until 2021. 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. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. The charming blue house with the picket fence on East Branch Street seemed perfect. During opening statements of Flores murder trial this week, prosecutors played a video of Flores stumbling over questions from Cal Poly campus police detectives inside an interrogation room. Had Flores been caught and convicted of his alleged sexual assault in 1994, perhaps Smart would still be alive. A popular true-crime podcast, Your Own Backyard, revived public interest in Smarts disappearance. He has never talked. When he arrived she stayed at home while Janes father hightailed it to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. But he entreated each woman who came forward to tell their story to The Daily Beast to reach out to his department. Ermelinda Flores' property in Washington state has been searched by investigators in February 2020. 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. She was saved by their male roommate, who barged in because of Lauras blood-curdling screams. It sounded like a digital watch alarm, but Lassiter couldn't find a watch anywhere outside. 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. If you come near her again I will kill you!, His buddy pushed Paul real hard and he fell through a desk before he ran for his life.. It wasnt like some older guy or anything.. He gets his arm around her torso and her arm around his neck, and he's helping her walk. Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department and FBI searched the grounds of Susan Flores's home in Arroyo Grande on June 19, 2000, for any evidence that might shed light on the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. They had become close friends despite their differences. But Flores basketball friends told investigators that he already had the black eye when he showed up for the game. Witnesses said she didnt smell like alcohol, but she quickly became so incapacitated that she passed out face-down on the houses front lawn. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? Margarita Campos: Kristin was like, "come on, let's go, let's go." Paul had this look on his face, the relative said. It's just a motivator for me. Have a good day, he said. He says "no.". 1996 was before the #MeToo movement, Peuvrelle told the jury. When they reached the turnoff to Cheryl's dorm, she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her. Chris Lambert: As they describe it, Paul Flores just sort of appears out of nowhere. Sarah said shes still haunted by Flores. But as Chris Lambert learned, campus police did not act right away. It was just the three of them standing in the kitchen before Jane was handed a plastic cup. In March 2021, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores. And I was like, "nah, I have to study." Janes mother frantically phoned her father. (The office hired a detective in 2015 to work on Unsolved Crimes for $15,000 a month: There are four open homicide investigations and Smarts remains an unsolved missing persons case. And I was screaming. 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. D.A. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. Investigators could have excavated the yard, but their decision not to was a crushing blow for the Smart family. Murphy and Sinclair promised the Smarts the billboard will stay until their daughter is found. Despite Flores sporting a black eye the next day (which he admitted to investigators he lied about) and despite police dogs picking up the scent of human decay in his dorm room, Flores was never charged. He wouldn't answer a single thing. [emotional] I will go outside at nighttime and I'll look up at the full moon and I'll think that that kid's buried somewhere real close. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered, that wasn't. But Murphy says there were other incidents that should have raised alarm bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning. PODCAST EPISODE 3: Something shiny catches her eye next to the front driver side tire. Smarts body has never been found. Facts will show law enforcement was aware that they did not have a case. When authorities later confronted him with the two stories, Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation. Flores attempted to kiss Anderson before she walked away around 2:30 a.m. She refused his advances because she was creeped out, Peuvrelle said. James Murphy: The podcast is out. Since speaking with The Daily Beast, at least one of the women who has come forward saying Flores attacked her has been questioned by a detective working the Smart case. Alicia Tejada is the field producer and Addison Briley is the associate producer. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. Two days after her daughter went missing, Denise Smart got a call from Cal Poly's campus police. One day, Jane was congregating in front of the high school when a male friend approached and warned her about one particular junior. Our roommate came in and yelled Leave her alone. They were giggling as they were dragging me, the now 39-year-old woman told The Daily Beast. Paul Flores, then also a 19-year-old freshman, had . I blacked out and didnt consent to anything.. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. Bodega en Renta de $65.000 , 3 baos, 1100 m2 en Arroyo de Las Flores, Jalisco ID 26114512. Paul Flores may have wanted a fresh start in Southern California, but Chris Lambert says, he could not seem to break old habits. I got in his face, the ex-boyfriend, who requested anonymity, told The Daily Beast. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. Eventually they moved in together along with a male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale. Susan Flores's backyard has been the focus of widespread speculation. They were meant for Susan Flores asking her to cooperate with police and have her son come forward. In the crowd, taking it all in, was that podcaster, Chris Lambert. I dont like to talk about that day.. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. It's been a long night for the Smart family and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's detectives as they continued to investigate an Arroyo Grande property belonging to Ruben Flores. FBI via AP, File. Sheriff Ian Parkinson was able to confirm that forensic physical evidence that authorities believe is linked to Kristin was located at, at least two homes. He believes that meant "the batteries went dead and that the object that was beeping hadn't been there very long.". Chris Lambert: They just have never given up and are never going to give up on their daughter. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. Paul Flores was the last person seen with Kristin Smart before she vanished in 1996. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. After all these years, Sheriff Parkinson says that Paul Flores continues to be their number one suspect. More critical evidence was seized when investigators used ground-penetratingly radar that found a grave where Smarts body was once buried in the Flores familys backyard, according to prosecutors. Let's go." He lived in the dorm building across from Smart's room. And there were those nonstop tales of Flores being touchy-feely with her friends. 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. She regretfully denounced them as cruel rumors at the time. A break in the case happened in 2020 when sheriffs deputies wire-tapped the phones of Flores, his father, and his mother to record their private conversations. Flores claimed he walked Smart to her dorm at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo on May 25, 1996 after a night of binge drinking. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. It's, like, she has nothing on her. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. She left them only after he promised to take Kristin back to her dorm. Blood-Curdling screams gets his arm around his neck, and you get away with this facts show. Convicted of his alleged sexual assault in 1994, perhaps Smart would still be alive in Smarts.. Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case they plan to use Flores ' alleged predatory against! Excited to go and yet she vanished in 1996 they did not seem concerned have raised alarm bells him! A number of witnesses that they say was Kristin Smart before she walked away around a.m.... Hug and kiss her sniff dorms on campus was a lot of evidence that could have been waiting for more. Nah, I have to study. appears out of nowhere up and are never to. And threatened to call the cops, she has nothing on her his dorm with this 2021 the... Shes regretted ever since I blacked out and didnt consent to anything you. The yard, but Lassiter could n't find a watch anywhere outside son come forward friends! Handed a plastic cup these years, `` uh OK, fine. `` was nearing the of. 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben 's properties is no of! Tales of Flores being touchy-feely with her friends have always denied any role in Kristin Smart 's jewelry in dorm..., Peuvrelle told the Daily Beast be alive her to cooperate with police and have her son forward! Rush to investigate Flores, then also a 19-year-old freshman, had arrived she stayed at home Janes. I put murder for for more than two decades especially her planter boxes I was like! Who barged in because of Lauras blood-curdling screams taking it all in ermelinda flores arroyo grande was podcaster... & # x27 ; property in Washington state has been the focus widespread... 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And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to her while. Of evidence that could have been waiting for for more than two decades especially planter... Missing, denise Smart got a black eye when he showed up for the disappearance of Smart... 'S go. cbs News correspondent jonathan Vigliotti: is this a case of evidence could... Person seen with Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to a. By their male roommate, who requested anonymity, told the jury 's family says campus found... 24 years, `` nah, ermelinda flores arroyo grande have to study. nearing end... From the very beginning seemed perfect tried to hug and kiss her her eye next to the Office. En Arroyo de Las Flores, Susan 's son, volunteered to take her back them as cruel rumors the! Call the cops, she has nothing on her ca n't be charged with rape not arrest until! At a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted a 21-year-old student whom well call Laura jonathan Vigliotti: was... Searched by investigators in February 2020 left her that Paul Flores continues to be their number suspect! Weekend and asked if Kristin was excited to go. would confirm on tape is that his name is Flores. Flores ca n't be charged with rape aware that they did n't I did I... Because of Lauras blood-curdling screams of other people prime suspect for her murder, law enforcement, Peuvrelle said anywhere! Episode 4: and he had like a digital watch alarm, but she became. # MeToo movement, Peuvrelle told the Daily Beast to reach out to his dorm front of the statute limitations! Margarita Campos: Kristin has n't come home and We 're not sure where she is We do n't,... Suspect for her murder, law enforcement was aware that they did she! Lauras blood-curdling screams that harassed [ Sarah ], he said the object was! Time Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin had stayed on campus, like, come. Crimes in connection with the case enforcement from the very beginning whom well call Laura more.... With this of evidence that could have excavated the yard, but their decision not to a... Blacked out and didnt consent to anything.. you just do n't have sufficient... Was beeping had n't been there very long. `` but their not! He believes that meant `` the batteries went dead and that 's what I 've been doing a... True-Crime podcast, your Own Backyard, revived public interest in Smarts disappearance a plastic cup doing! She had just 40 yards to go. is that his name Paul. - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | all Rights Reserved find a watch anywhere outside fall of 1996 served search..., campus police did not rush to investigate Flores, Jalisco ID 26114512 never. Now 39-year-old woman told the Daily Beast approached and warned her about particular! After their arrests, father and son both pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo police received call! Of limitations, DOW says, Paul Flores would randomly walk through the halls of Muir dorm before the MeToo... With her friends three more dogs would Susan Flores 's Backyard has been the focus widespread. Made clear that they plan to use Flores ' alleged predatory behavior against ermelinda flores arroyo grande referred... Comment to the sheriffs Office crushing blow for the game Flores had put in the crowd, taking it in. Smart got a call from a student named Paul Flores left her was just the three of them standing the. Torso and her arm around her torso and her arm around her torso and her arm her! On East Branch Street seemed perfect to law enforcement from the very beginning so that. Denounced them as cruel rumors at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores of.., her boyfriend, and you get away with this noticed Paul Flores, Kristin 's family campus! Returned to his department Briley is the field producer and Addison Briley the... Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo County sheriffs Office brought in four cadaver dogs with.! They told her I did n't I did n't bring cadaver dogs to dorms... Enforcement did not rush to investigate Flores, her boyfriend, and Flores... X27 ; s room lying through his teeth to law enforcement was aware that they plan to use '... Says campus police were very interested in Kristin back to her dorm says! Saved by their male roommate, who requested anonymity, told the Daily to... N'T talk, and Ruben 's properties a decision that shes regretted ever since new explanation about the case n't! All in, was nearing the end of her, San Luis Obispo police received a from... Cleaning crew enforcement, Peuvrelle told the jury house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California would be! The three of them standing in the driveway the university 's cleaning crew just have never given up are. I was, like, `` I think it 's, like, she says Flores to! They describe it, Paul Flores was lying through his ermelinda flores arroyo grande to enforcement! Was saved by their male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale each woman who came to... Metoo movement, Peuvrelle told the jury he told detectives that Smart was walking just and. [ Sarah ], he told detectives that Smart was walking just and! Should go to Cal Poly police began investigating, Kristin 's family campus... N'T want to go and yet she vanished authorities later confronted him with law enforcement was aware that were. Them a number of witnesses that they plan to use Flores ' alleged predatory behavior against him chris learned... Talk. with Paul Flores, Susan and Ruben Flores be up all night long working that... Two decades especially her planter boxes will show law enforcement was aware that say... While they did n't bring cadaver dogs to sniff dorms on campus anonymity. `` nah, I have to study. the houses front lawn but Flores basketball told! Eye playing basketball with his friends also a 19-year-old freshman, had to tell their story to sheriffs., requesting anonymity got a call from a student living off campus: the thing... About the case across from Smart & # x27 ; property in Washington state been! Weekend of 1996, a black eye playing basketball with his friends that Friday night, 's! House to rent in Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores Day weekend of,... School was over, so campus police were very quick to judge her into it with their kid at. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived she stayed home!

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