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The Disappearance of Kristin Smart | Full Episode

October 26, 2022 / 43:24

This episode covers the disappearance of Kristen Smart, the trial of Paul Flores, and the impact on her family. Key discussions include the timeline of events leading to her disappearance, the investigation mishaps, and the role of Chris Lambert's podcast in reigniting interest in the case.

Kristen Smart, a Cal Poly student, vanished on Memorial Day weekend in 1996. The episode recounts the events of that night, including her last known interactions with Paul Flores, who was later arrested for her murder. Chris Lambert, the creator of the podcast "Your Own Backyard," shares how his work brought new attention to the case.

The episode highlights the initial investigation's failures, including the delayed response from campus police and the mishandling of evidence. It discusses the family's relentless search for answers and their efforts to keep Kristen's memory alive.

In October 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murder, while his father was acquitted of being an accessory. The episode emphasizes the emotional toll on Kristen's family and their ongoing quest for justice.

Overall, the episode serves as a poignant reminder of the impact of unsolved cases on families and communities, showcasing the importance of persistence in seeking justice.

TLDR

Kristen Smart's disappearance leads to Paul Flores' murder conviction after decades of investigation mishaps and family struggle for justice.

Episode

43:24
00:00:00
foreign -year-old Christian smart disappeared on Memorial Day weekend of 1996. for more
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than two decades her family friends and supporters searched for answers and for justice
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in October 2022 the man long suspected in her disappearance was found guilty of murder his father charged with being an
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accessory after the fact was found not guilty we take you back to their arrest and how
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The Saga began foreign it's a landmark day in this very high profile casual development of Kristen
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smart Los Obispo County Sheriff's Office is set to release details about the latest developments today is a day that
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many had hoped for wished for and prayed for this is where it all began on the campus of Cal Poly University
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the last place that Kristen smart was seen alive it's my hope that we're able to take the
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first step toward Justice for the smart family I grew up not far from where Kristen
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disappeared the billboard and Arroyo Grande is visible it's got Kristen's photo on it driving past that billboard
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was a periodic reminder that oh yeah they still haven't found that girl I'm Chris Lambert I created the podcast
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your own backyard which focused on The Disappearance of Kristen smart other students left the party that night
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and walked back to their on-campus dormitory buildings we're here surrounded by dorms and yet nobody saw
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anything it was a very dead holiday weekend A lot of people had gone home and the amount
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of time that they were alone and whatever happened that her life ended I think there was plenty of opportunity to
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hide her body without anybody noticing my sister turned 19 in February she disappeared in May
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when she disappeared I was about to graduate eighth grade but my parents did a really good job of shielding us Stan
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and Denise they're wonderful parents very large group of friends went down to Cal Poly to help search for her the Stan
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was there Denise stayed back and I stayed back with her in case Kristen came home never would have dreamed in a
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million years that she would not return and Cal Poly is a safe place you do not think of this happening
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it's one of my favorites of her with this great smile that she has I just love that it's just to me that's just
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that captures her remember her wanting to like travel the world and be an architect
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I really miss her she should be here [Music] originally when we first took the case I
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was determined I would be able to find her in six months if you've ever been on one of these searches you walk up a
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canyon here in San Luis Obispo County and then there's another Canyon off that you get to the end of that one there's
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another Canyon there's billions of places to hide a body it's important to explain here that
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Kristen's case has never been declared cold a case is only considered cold when law enforcement decides that they've
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exhausted all of their leads but what makes it interesting to me is that they've had a suspect since pretty
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much day one hi Paul good morning I'm Jonathan Vigliotti with CBS News were you involved in The Disappearance of
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Kristen smart Paul can you tell us what happened that night between you and Kristen
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it's important that there's an arrest made you gotta move and you've got to do it now I'm here this afternoon to
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announce the rest of Paul Flores for the murder of Kristen smart [Music] foreign
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after almost 25 years of Suspicion on April 13 2021 San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian
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Parkinson announced the arrest of Paul Flores in The Disappearance of Kristen smart it's been a puzzle and it's a very
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slow process to find each of those little pieces some of that information came to light
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through the podcast that many of you are familiar with in the crowd taking it all
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in was that podcaster Chris Lambert it's hard to take too much credit but I was one piece of the puzzle that helped to
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make this all come together when it did Lambert was just eight years old when Christian smart vanished on her way home
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from a college party in San Luis Obispo California I remember seeing it on the news Chris
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freshman at Cal Poly hasn't been to class since before the Memorial Day weekend and Kristen smart left a party
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on the Cal Poly campus it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly but 22 years later when
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he couldn't find any recent stories about the case he decided to do something it's a cold and cloudy winter afternoon
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in San Luis Obispo and I'm retracing missing Cal Poly student Kristen Smart's last known steps
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even though he'd never investigated anything before Lambert quit his job to create a podcast at least once a day
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I asked myself what are you doing Lambert began looking into what happened to Kristen collecting articles and
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documents chasing down leads and tracking down anyone with information I didn't know
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the scale I didn't know how many people were going to listen but I knew that I could try to do a small part I Googled
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Kristen Smart's name every few years he never expected it would be a hit but his
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podcast caught the attention of millions of listeners and sparked new interest and this
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decades-old unsolved case back in May 1996 Christian smart was finishing her freshman year at
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California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly her younger sister Lindsay says their mother urged
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Kristen to go there you should go to Cal Poly they're known for being a really safe School
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and it was only 250 miles from Stockton California where she grew up with Lindsay and their brother Matt her
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parents Denise and Stan were both Educators who encouraged their kids Passions [Music]
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she was who she was because of her parents for sure Anne-Marie Christian became friends with Kristen in
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elementary school her parents reminded me of my parents just very involved with their children a very close-knit family
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Kristen loves swimming and skiing but Lindsay says her sister was happiest when she was traveling
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she had traveled the world before she even made it to College by herself which is pretty amazing she spent a summer in
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London was an exchange student in Venezuela and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii she definitely like took advantage of
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Life seized the day she was super ambitious and was determined you know to find the next adventure to find the next
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challenge that turned out to be College like so many freshmen Kristen struggled classes
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were difficult she was trying to fit in and she missed her family Kristen broke down begging her mother to
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let her drop out and go somewhere else but every Sunday when she called her parents they encouraged her to stick it
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out longtime family friend Denise Pierce things were going to get better and you
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know and and they did Friday May 24 1996 was the start of the Memorial Day weekend most students had
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taken off but Kristen had stayed on campus so had Margarita Campos who lived in the Next Room in your hall they had
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become close friends despite their differences I was a little bit more introverted and inhibited and she was
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like no we have to go out and we have to go like live life and she was growing as
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an individual she was pushing herself out of her comfort zone and I was like no so when they were invited to a party
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that Friday night Kristen was excited to go Kristen was like come on let's go let's go and I was like nah I have to
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study and so she pulled me into this sort of like oh come on let's socialize and these girls are inviting us out
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let's go and I was like but when we got to the house it was pretty dead she was a really it was like
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a couple roommates hanging out playing video games and Kristen was like oh gosh there has to be something better than
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this [Music] girls walked to an area off campus where there were fraternities sororities and
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residential housing for students Margarita soon decided she'd had enough you want to go home and you were trying
00:10:11
to find a way to break it to your friend that's exactly right a lot of this apartment complex
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I was like Kristen I'm gonna go back home I'm gonna go back to the dorms you can go and she's like please come with
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me please come with me I told her I didn't I didn't want to go Kristen did not have a purse money her
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ID or even her keys so before leaving Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall she was absolutely
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sober when I left her I'll never forget her Shadow against the building this apartment complex just standing like
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kind of cross arm with a long leg and she was just kind of like looking at me like you're really walking away now like
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you're really you're leaving foreign the next morning Margarita waited to hear from Kristen I was expecting her to
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knock on my door and be like Oh Margarita you missed a rager and here's your key
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[Music] I knocked on her door and I thought she was just sleeping or she went out and
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about you know it wasn't until Christian's roommate returned to their dorm room that Margarita realized
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Kristen never came home how did you know she hadn't been back nothing had moved all of Christian's
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personal belongings including her purse her money her ID were in the room exactly where she had left them I mean
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she was gone she was gone by the time they called the Cal Poly campus police Kristen had been
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missing for more than 48 hours but Margarita says the police did not seem concerned the campus police they were
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like are you sure she didn't go out of town it's like she has nothing on her how
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could she have gone out of town they thought she was off possibly having fun oh yeah but they could not have been
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more wrong to this day like I was like why why did I just Let Her Go by herself I did have guilt about that but you have
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to understand she's a really independent free spirit [Music] [Music] Kristen's mother Denise smart spent
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Memorial Day weekend at his swimming with her two younger kids she was looking forward to hearing from Kristen
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that Sunday and that phone call never comes the phone call Never Comes instead on Monday May 27th Denise Pierce
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says the smarts got a call from Cal poly's campus police asking if Kristen was with them
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Kristen hasn't come home and we're not sure where she is we don't know anything that's when
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Denise smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend and all her belongings were still in her dorm room
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she was becoming more and more alarmed you know she was she was frantic I don't understand this you know what's going on
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it is every parent's worst nightmare the smarts say they tried to file a missing
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person's Report with the local police but we're told it was too early and the FBI told them Cal Poly police were in
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charge but as Chris Lambert learned that campus police did not act right away at
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that point I don't think they had ever dealt with a missing person a possibly murdered person
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by the time the Cal Poly police began investigating Kristen had been gone for four days
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as they soon learned she had ended up at a party at this house it's mostly frat guys from the Kappa Kai
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fraternity I don't know if Kristen knew anybody there Chris Lambert who worked as a CBS News consultant pieced together
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what he learned from people who were there that night Kristen became incredibly intoxicated
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whether she was drugged or whether she just had a lot to drink in a short amount of time
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she ends up passed out on the lawn next door Lambert says Christian could not stand
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on her own so fellow student Cheryl Anderson who was also at the party began helping her back to campus they were
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soon joined by another party goer Paul Flores as they describe it Paul Flores just
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sort of appears out of nowhere and offers to help he gets his arm around her torso and her arm around his neck
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and he's helping her walk Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know you can go
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on ahead I've got her it's fine she didn't think that was okay so she slowed down and walked with them when
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they reached the turn off to Cheryl's dorm she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her she left them only after he
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promised to take Kristen back to her dorm I don't think she ever imagined that Kristen would end up dead by the end of
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the night Paul and Kristen then make their way here what happens next so if you believe Paul's story he goes
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into his dorm room here and he leaves her to walk up this walkway her dorm entrance is right over here
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I personally think that wherever Kristen went Paul was there with her I don't think that she went back to her dorm at
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all whatever happened in those early hours one thing is indisputable Christian smart has never been seen again
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she had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished that's the upsetting part about it isn't it the
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investigation seemed to be hampered from the start by a series of missteps by campus police beginning with their
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assumption that Christian was off having fun and ignoring worried friends who said she was missing
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so much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was
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taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week they also did not focus on
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Paul Flores immediately waiting six days to formally interview him even worse they never sealed his dorm room there
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was a lot of evidence that could have been gathered that wasn't why I wish I knew why they did an interview with the
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Cal Poly Mustang daily and explained that they didn't think there was any evidence that a crime had taken place by
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the time they inspected flores's room Christian had been gone for 16 days school was over so campus police found
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an empty room that had been sanitized by the University's cleaning crew any evidence that might have been there was
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long gone the investigation was completely botched by the campus police there's no question about it and while
00:17:14
they did not rush to investigate Flores Christian's family says campus police were very quick to judge her just days
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after she disappeared an incident report seemed to imply that Kristen's Behavior
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contributed to her disappearance there was a lot of focus on how Christian was drinking
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what sounded a lot like victim shaming right a hundred percent that was happening the report said smart does not
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have any close friends at Cal Poly smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night smart was
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talking with and socializing with several different males at the party but while campus police weren't doing
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much Kristen's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter Kristen's father would come
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down and Hike every Trail he could find on the Central Coast he'd go anywhere he'd go through tunnels under bridges
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looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario he's going to find her body which is awful for a parent
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early on a small group of volunteers also looked for Christian but a massive search did not happen until she'd been
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gone for more than a month that's when the campus police finally handed the investigation over to the San Luis
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Obispo Sheriff's Office but they did not find Kristin [Music] four months after that feudal surge Paul
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Flores was brought before a grand jury little is known since the proceedings are kept secret but no charges were ever
00:18:50
filed just Weeks Later Christian's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy a local civil attorney it was
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just a sad phone call to have somebody say our daughter disappear and we think she's the victim of Foul Play and we'd
00:19:05
like to pursue the guy that we think is responsible Murphy and his wife Garen Sinclair
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agreed to take the case pro bono promising to go after Paul Flores and put pressure on the Sheriff's Office
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Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court and it says wrongful death and not
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a good murder putting murder on the lawsuit was sending a message to Paul Flores and his
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family that we believe that he killed Kristen and that were coming for him but trying
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to get him hasn't been easy it just amazes me the amount of evidence that's available yet nothing has happened
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the day after my sister disappeared Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on
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him [Music] [Music] you look at Kristen smart every day every day the Smart's Attorney James
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Murphy and his wife and office manager Garen Sinclair have had Kristen's billboard in their front yard since late
00:20:29
1997. it's just a motivator for me I will go outside at night time and I'll look up at the full moon and I'll think
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that that kid's buried somewhere real close Murphy and Sinclair promised the smarts the billboard will stay until
00:20:48
their daughter is found I'd love to do anything to end their suffering and that weighs on you
00:20:58
yep is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for The Disappearance of Kristen smart no no and
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Murphy and Sinclair believe they can prove it they were not able to proceed with this civil case while there was an
00:21:14
ongoing criminal investigation but that did not stop them from following every lead and preparing for an eventual trial
00:21:24
there has been no other suspect every piece of evidence points directly at Paul Flores
00:21:35
taken by the Arroyo Grande police just by chance two days after Kristen vanished at the time they did not know
00:21:43
about a missing college student they were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant having a black
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eye doesn't make you guilty of anything but if the person you were with disappeared from the planet that's
00:21:57
physical evidence Chris Lambert says two days after that when Flores was interviewed by campus police they asked
00:22:05
how he got his black eye as well as scratches on his hands and knees he says he got a black eye playing basketball
00:22:12
with his friends but one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived he told
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those friends he just woke up with the black eye when authorities later confronted him
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with the two stories Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation he actually hit his eye on his steering
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wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo so now you've got three different stories about how he got
00:22:39
that black eye he lied to the police about everything Flores claimed after walking Christian back from the party he
00:22:46
went to his room in Santa Lucia Hall while she walked alone to her dorm but cadaver dogs told a different story
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just days after taking over the investigation the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office brought several dogs
00:23:02
like these trained to detect human remains to the Cal Poly dorms they brought in the first dog
00:23:10
and they had the dog go through the dorms there was no reaction until the dog reached Paul flores's room they let the
00:23:20
dog in the dog makes a beeline to the bed of Paul Flores remember flores's room had been emptied
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and thoroughly cleaned but remarkably the same thing happened with three more dogs
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[Music] that suggests that something bad happened in Paul flores's dorm room the Sheriff's Office still wasn't
00:23:46
convinced they had enough evidence against Flores but Murphy says there were other incidents that should have
00:23:53
raised alarm Bells about him with law enforcement from the very beginning Paul Flores had a reputation amongst the
00:24:02
girls that knew him at Cal Poly as being a creeper that he was always trying to hit on women
00:24:12
Flores to walk Kristin back to her dorm alone told police that her friends called him Chester the Molester because
00:24:20
he was known for groping girls so was Cheryl's account alone we have an unsettling picture of Paul
00:24:29
just five months before Kristen disappeared San Luis Obispo police received a call from a student living
00:24:36
off campus there was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony very intoxicated and refusing to
00:24:44
leave when they showed up it was Paul Flores no charges were filed but Lambert discovered flores's troubles started at
00:24:52
a young age in high school he was known as a loner Chris Lambert spoke with some
00:24:58
women who knew Flores back then they asked him not to use their names well his nickname was scary Paul he wouldn't
00:25:05
want to be alone in a room with him he wouldn't let any of her friends be drunk around him those were kind of unspoken
00:25:10
things and they told Lambert they weren't surprised when they heard about flores's connection to Kristen's
00:25:18
disappearance I wasn't surprised but there's also that shock value of kind of oh my God I knew it although suspicions
00:25:25
surrounded Flores almost from the beginning any hopes for an arrest were dashed in May 1997 when then Sheriff Ed
00:25:34
Williams made an admission to the San Luis Obispo Telegraph quote we need Paul Flores to tell us what happened to
00:25:42
Kristin smart so absent something from Mr Flores I don't see us completing this case how significant was that I think
00:25:51
that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day
00:25:57
to declare to the public if you stay quiet you will get away with this and six months later when Flores was deposed
00:26:07
by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit he kept quiet would you state your full name for the record please Paul
00:26:14
Reuben Flores the only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores what is your present residence
00:26:21
address on the advice of my attorney I refuse to answer that question based on the Fifth
00:26:26
Amendment of the United States Constitution everything else he took the Fifth Amendment he wouldn't answer a
00:26:31
single thing in May of 96 were you a student at Cal Poly on the advice of my attorney he invoked
00:26:38
the fifth 27 times what is the name of your father on the advice and it worked you just
00:26:46
don't talk and you get away with it Flores wasn't talking but was there evidence possibly placing Kristen smart
00:26:55
at his mother's home somebody found an earring that they say plus Kristen Smart's jewelry in the driveway
00:27:05
an earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristen is wearing on this billboard
00:27:13
foreign what do you think was the biggest misstep in the initial investigation see
00:27:19
more photos from the case on Facebook at 48 hours when Christian smart disappeared Paul
00:27:32
flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart four months later while attempting to reconcile
00:27:40
Susan rented out her house in Arroyo Grande a young couple moves into it with their
00:27:45
kid the mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point something shiny catches her eye next to the front
00:27:51
driver's side Tire a single woman's earring that mother Mary Lassiter described it to Chris Lambert it was
00:28:00
like a red thing and it was like a smudge like fingerprinted look on the back just red like Maroon like old
00:28:06
looking and a smudge that it was like a half a fingerprint it was turned over to
00:28:12
a detective with the San Luis Obispo sheriff's office but Garrison Claire says the smarts never knew it existed
00:28:20
until the lassiters were deposed in January 1997. he never once turned to the smart family and said hey we have an
00:28:28
earring we'd like to show it to you to see if it matches any of your daughter's jewelry
00:28:33
the smarts then demanded to see it and that's when they're told that earring has been misplaced misplaced it was
00:28:41
never marked as evidence apparently but Mary Lasseter says the earring matched the necklace Kristen is seen wearing on
00:28:49
this billboard if it was in fact a piece of jewelry that matched Kristen's jewelry it would
00:28:56
have been Blockbuster evidence and might have connected Kristen to Susan flores's
00:29:02
house says James Murphy there's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it [Music]
00:29:13
at the time Kristen disappeared investigators weren't aware that Paul flores's parents were separated and
00:29:20
living apart so they did not immediately get a warrant to search Susan flores's home
00:29:26
even more difficult to understand was why they waited two months to search this house the family home where Paul
00:29:34
Flores was living with his father Reuben and when they did they didn't bring cadaver dogs with them they didn't bring
00:29:41
a forensics team they didn't look at the Flores family's Vehicles they might have
00:29:46
found evidence in those vehicles Paul Flores did not have a car on campus so Murphy surmises he had to have had
00:29:55
help and it's 2 30 and 3 o'clock in the morning at Cal Poly this is not a location from which Paul alone could
00:30:04
easily move a body without a vehicle but Flores is two trucks seemed impossible in the months after Kristen's
00:30:15
disappearance one truck was traded in the other was reported stolen but it's Susan flores's concrete
00:30:24
backyard that initially received a lot of attention it had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two
00:30:31
decades especially her planter boxes around the time Kristen disappeared they cut out planter boxes in the backyard so
00:30:39
they cut out big chunks of concrete and filled it in with soil in one of Paul's police interviews he mentioned that he
00:30:47
wanted to be let out of the interview because he needed to help clean up concrete at his mom's house so what was
00:30:54
being done in Susan flores's backyard in the weeks after Kristen went missing Susan's house was finally searched in
00:31:01
March 1997 nine months after Kristen disappeared but but nothing was found it would be three more years before the
00:31:12
property was searched again at 8 am on June 19 2000 team of Sheriff's investigators knocks
00:31:19
on the front door of Susan flores's East Branch Street home with them is a group of FBI evidence
00:31:26
response team members and a search warrant that warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard but deputies chose not
00:31:34
to excavate Denise Pierce says that was a crushing blow for the smart family to be almost there to think that you know
00:31:42
you're going to finally get some resolution and then you know it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to
00:31:48
devastating and there would be more disappointment in 2007 after the smarts legal team searched a small portion of
00:31:56
Susan flores's backyard with ground penetrating radar and did not find any evidence they just have never given up
00:32:05
and are never going to give up on their daughter Ruben Flores and his estranged wife
00:32:10
Susan have always denied any role in Christian Smart's disappearance do you have any information as to where Kristen
00:32:18
Smart's body is located of course not your husband have any information as to work with some smarts bodies located no
00:32:29
when they were deposed by James Murphy they also insisted their son was not involved
00:32:35
does your son have any information as to where Kristen Smart's body is located nope has your son ever told you that he
00:32:46
did not kill Kristen smart we never asked that question we just do you know anything about it he
00:32:59
says no through the years the smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family but the
00:33:06
Flores have fought back suing the smarts for intentional infliction of emotional
00:33:12
distress like the smart civil case theirs was also on hold in the meantime Paul Flores moved to
00:33:22
Southern California where he's bounced from job to job but as Chris Lambert learned flores's pattern of behavior
00:33:29
with women didn't stop full time I would take home when he was just come on just give me a kiss
00:33:44
Paul Flores may have wanted a fresh start in Southern California but Chris Lambert says he could not seem to break
00:33:52
old habits Paul worked with a number of women that he made incredibly uncomfortable girls
00:33:58
who he tried to make a pass at sexually girls that he tried to force to kiss him
00:34:03
some of those women who did not want their real names used told Lambert about their encounters with him so I walked
00:34:11
him up to his sister's apartment and all of a sudden he just like picked me up carried me inside turned around he shook
00:34:20
so I said you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to
00:34:23
scream So eventually he'd unlocked you know the apartment door and I left Lambert also interviewed a woman who
00:34:31
dated Flores until she says he became physically and verbally abusive when he had like a butter knife and he like held
00:34:39
it to my neck and I was screaming and my roommate actually kicked down the door to make him stop
00:34:45
[Music] but Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents back in San Luis Obispo the smarts
00:34:54
feeling ignored by the Sheriff's Office continued a Relentless campaign to get them to do more to find their daughter
00:35:02
what toll over time did this have on your parents I think they're like carrying Boulders on their back then in
00:35:10
2011 Ian Parkinson was elected Sheriff if you were making a film about a new law enforcer who's coming to a small
00:35:19
town to save the day you'd probably cast Parkinson he promised the smarts that solving
00:35:25
Kristen's case would be a priority I committed to them that I was going to go back to the beginning and re-examine
00:35:32
every piece of evidence that we had but Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy there was early mistakes made that
00:35:41
you can't recover from when you're missing those vital pieces is this a case that takes a miracle to solve I
00:35:49
hope not since Parkinson came on the scene investigators have dug up hillsides searched the homes and properties of all
00:35:58
the flores's collected evidence seized Paul flores's computers monitored his cell phone and text messages and found
00:36:07
new Witnesses some with the help of Chris Lambert I brought them a number of witnesses that they were very interested
00:36:13
in I also brought them witnesses that they had no interest in whatsoever and then months and months later they'd
00:36:18
reach back out and say can you get us in touch with this person again in April 2021 investigators finally put the
00:36:25
pieces of the puzzle together and decided they had enough to charge the then 44 year old Paul Flores with
00:36:32
Kristen's murder and his then 80 year old father as being an accessory after the fact
00:36:38
the allegation against Reuben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed San Luis
00:36:47
is a district attorney Dan Dao we don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time but the
00:36:53
investigation is ongoing and for the first time clues about what may have happened to Kristin smart
00:37:01
forensic physical evidence was located and yes we believe it's it's linked to Kristen and yes we did find physical
00:37:09
evidence at at least two homes like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben
00:37:18
flores's House using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar they did a significant amount of digging underneath
00:37:25
the house they took in soil I assume for some kind of analysis according to a County Probation bail report obtained by
00:37:33
the San Luis Obispo Tribune biological evidence was found under Reuben's deck the question for decades was well where
00:37:42
did the body go Murphy has filed an additional civil suit against Ruben Flores and others for the intentional
00:37:49
infliction of emotional distress and the complaint has some claims about what led
00:37:55
investigators to focus under rubin's deck in the first place the podcast is out people are watching
00:38:03
Reuben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores suddenly major pieces of evidence
00:38:12
came forward an important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul Susan and Ruben's properties Murphy
00:38:21
alleges four nights later strange activity was seen at Reuben's house an eyewitness actually
00:38:29
documented the fact that throughout the night there was activity in the area of the underside of that deck
00:38:37
I'm not at Liberty to describe how it was documented but I've seen it that witness initially came forward to
00:38:46
Chris Lambert who passed the information to the Sheriff's Office and Murphy in his complaint Murphy alleges along with
00:38:55
Reuben there were two other unnamed individuals but he says they are rubin's ex-wife Susan and her boyfriend so why
00:39:04
would Susan Flores her boyfriend and and Reuben Flores be up all night long working under that deck the lawsuit
00:39:14
claims they were moving Christians Remains the location where all this activity occurred is where they found
00:39:22
the biological materials and the body's not there now and there are more horrifying allegations about what may
00:39:31
have happened to Kristen after she was last seen with Paul Flores it is alleged that Mr Flores caused the
00:39:38
death of Kristen smart while in the commission of or attempted rape because of the statute
00:39:45
of limitations Dao says Paul Flores cannot be charged with rape but the allegation that he was committing or
00:39:53
attempting to commit a rape when he killed her is the basis for which we are able to file first degree felony murder
00:39:59
charges authorities made clear that they plan to use flores's alleged predatory behavior against him we intend to use
00:40:08
evidence of other sexual crimes in this prosecution to prove the facts necessary
00:40:14
for the attempted rape in this case and according to that probation report dozens of women have recounted Paul
00:40:21
flores's sexual assaults and predatory behavior that document his 25 years as a serial rapist he has not been charged in
00:40:31
those incidents we have evidence that we do believe there are other people that are not yet identified that have had a
00:40:37
some kind of a criminal act perpetrated on them by Mr Flores 48 Hours has learned these suspicions center around
00:40:45
evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul flores's home sources tell us investigators discovered photographs and
00:40:54
videos on flores's computer showing him engaged in sexual activity with at least
00:40:59
10 different different women apparently in various states of consciousness Paul Flores and his father both pleaded
00:41:08
not guilty to all charges at their arraignment Reuben's attorney Harold Messick dismissed the evidence against
00:41:14
his client as quote so minimal as to shock the conscience he later argued that the biological
00:41:22
evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood and DNA evidence could not be found linking any
00:41:30
other evidence to Christian Susan Flores and her boyfriend were never charged in the case Reuben Flores
00:41:37
was released on fifty thousand dollars bail to his ex-wife he was required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet but
00:41:45
Paul Flores remained Behind Bars without bail to see them in custody was a feeling of great joy for me
00:41:54
my job was to hunt them and that's what I've been doing for a long long time along with a lot of other
00:42:02
people that's been our goal it is also what the smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a
00:42:12
century [Music] Chris Lampert says they're cautiously optimistic they're hopeful but they've
00:42:21
also been let down so many times before I think they are just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be they're
00:42:28
interested in seeing Paul Flores get convicted and Reuben floors get held accountable
00:42:33
[Music] most importantly they want to find their daughter foreign [Music] they force themselves in with guns they
00:43:10
take her by force they hooded me as soon as I went into the van a deputy chases them down I opened the rear door of the
00:43:16
van and scared me so I jumped back and I shut the door 48 Hours next on CBS streaming on Paramount Plus

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 85
    Most shocking
  • 85
    Best concept / idea
  • 85
    Biggest twist

Episode Highlights

  • The Disappearance of Kristen Smart
    Kristen Smart vanished on Memorial Day weekend in 1996, leading to decades of searching.
    “It's been a puzzle and a very slow process to find each of those little pieces.”
    @ 05m 09s
    October 26, 2022
  • Podcast Sparks New Interest
    Chris Lambert's podcast reignited interest in Kristen's case, attracting millions of listeners.
    “I Googled Kristen Smart's name every few years; I never expected it would be a hit.”
    @ 06m 46s
    October 26, 2022
  • Missteps in Investigation
    The investigation into Kristen's disappearance was hampered by early missteps from campus police.
    “So much was lost in those first few days.”
    @ 16m 18s
    October 26, 2022
  • The Creeper Reputation
    Paul Flores was known as a creeper among girls at Cal Poly, raising red flags.
    “Flores had a reputation amongst the girls that knew him at Cal Poly as being a creeper.”
    @ 23m 58s
    October 26, 2022
  • Misplaced Evidence
    An earring matching Kristen's jewelry was misplaced, a potential key piece of evidence.
    “If it was in fact a piece of jewelry that matched Kristen's jewelry it would have been Blockbuster evidence.”
    @ 28m 56s
    October 26, 2022
  • Charges Filed
    In April 2021, Paul Flores was charged with Kristen Smart's murder, marking a significant development.
    “Investigators finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and decided they had enough to charge Paul Flores.”
    @ 36m 27s
    October 26, 2022

Episode Quotes

  • I really miss her; she should be here.
    The Disappearance of Kristin Smart | Full Episode
  • It is every parent's worst nightmare.
    The Disappearance of Kristin Smart | Full Episode
  • I will go outside at night and look up at the full moon.
    The Disappearance of Kristin Smart | Full Episode
  • I wasn't surprised but there's also that shock value of kind of oh my God.
    The Disappearance of Kristin Smart | Full Episode
  • You just don't talk and you get away with it.
    The Disappearance of Kristin Smart | Full Episode
  • It would have been Blockbuster evidence and might have connected Kristen to Susan's house.
    The Disappearance of Kristin Smart | Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Kristen's Last Steps06:14
  • The Night She Disappeared15:50
  • Frustrated Parents18:53
  • Billboard of Hope20:27
  • Creeper Reputation23:58
  • Misplaced Evidence28:56
  • Relentless Pursuit32:07
  • Charges Filed36:27

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown