In a chilling development concerning the decades-old murder of a 19-year-old college student, authorities have recently searched the California residence of the convicted murderer.
Paul Flores is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for killing Kristin Smart, whose body remains undiscovered despite his conviction.
This week, law enforcement officials conducted a search at a property in Arroyo Grande, which is linked to Flores and is currently occupied by his mother, Susan.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, responsible for the search, has stated their unwavering commitment to returning Kristin to her family but has not released further details.
The “Your Own Backyard” podcast, which first broke the news of the search, has been instrumental in the investigation, supplying authorities with new witnesses in hopes of locating Smart’s remains.
Kristin Smart vanished from California Polytechnic State University in 1996 and was pronounced legally deceased in 2002.
Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Flores, a fellow student.
Both Flores and his father Ruben were arrested in 2021, with prosecutors alleging that her body was buried on Ruben’s property before being moved.
Kristin Smart vanished in 1996 and her remains have never been found after she went missing from California Polytechnic State University
Authorities are seen here conducting a search of the garage of the property on Wednesday
Both Flores and his father Ruben were arrested in 2021, with prosecutors alleging that her body was buried on Ruben’s property before being moved
Ruben was acquitted of accessory charges and the property searched on Wednesday is different from the one he lived in at the time of her disappearance.
According to The Los Angeles Times, the search came about after scientists found volatile organic compounds in the soil in her neighbors’ backyard three years ago.
That find, the outlet reported, could be an indication that there is decomposing human remains nearby.
Podcaster Chris Lambert, who runs ‘Your Own Backyard’, was outside the home as the authorities carried out their search.
He told The Tribune: ‘The Flores family owned this house at the time that Kristin went missing, and it was never very thoroughly searched.
‘It’s definitely overlooked. Ruben’s property was the one searched in 2021, which led to the trials.
‘I would assume what they’re doing here is the same thing they did here, which is scanning the ground to look for anomalies underneath, where soil may have been disturbed, dug up, replaced or anything.
‘The clothing she was wearing that night was never found. The clothing that Paul wore that night was never recovered. And so those things could be here as well.’
Paul Flores is seen here in a 2006 file photo
Flores said he walked Smart home from a party on the night she was last seen alive before parting ways
Investigators long said that Flores was the last person to see Smart alive, he told police he walked her home from the party before they parted ways.
She was reported missing two days later by a friend but a search didn’t begin until days later due to the miscommunication between authorities.
During the investigation, four different search dogs trained to pick up the smell of human remains led police to Flores’ dorm room. No evidence was found in his room.
He had a black eye when investigators interviewed him. He told them he got it playing basketball with friends, who denied his account.
He later changed his story to say he bumped his head while working on his car, according to court records.
The jury heard evidence that a grave was located beneath the deck of the home of Ruben, believed to have previously held Smart’s body.
Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Flores
Additionally, the jury heard from two women that, in the years following the murder of Smart, Flores drugged them and engaged in sex acts with them against their will and while they were so intoxicated that they were incapable of giving legal consent.
Flores was unanimously found guilty of Smart’s first degree murder.
In 2024, a judge ruled that Paul Flores must pay just over $350,000 to Smart’s family for costs they incurred after her death.
The family has said it would forgo restitution if Flores would tell them where Smart’s body was.
Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said in 2024 that the defense did not know where her remains are. Flores maintains his innocence.
The county district attorney’s office said it was helping the sheriff’s office with the investigation.
District Attorney Dan Dow said: ‘While those responsible for Kristin’s death – and those with knowledge of her whereabouts – could provide answers at any time, we remain firmly committed to using every lawful tool available to locate Kristin’s remains and to support her family until she is brought home.’
