Kristin Smart: A Tragic Disappearance With No Clear Conclusion

Kristin Denise Smart was a student at California Polytechnic State University (aka Cal Poly). In 1996, after a party on Memorial Day weekend, she disappeared. Initially, her friends were concerned and reported Smart's disappearance to the campus police, but they didn't immediately involve the local authorities.

Soon afterward, a fellow student named Paul Flores came under suspicion as being involved with her disappearance and possibly her death. He was the last person to have seen her alive, claiming he helped walk her partway back to her dorm. As evidence mounted, Flores became a prime suspect, although the case stalled for many years.

Finally, after more than 20 years of delays, Paul Flores was charged with the murder of Kristin Smart. His father, Ruben Flores, was charged as an accessory after the fact. While Paul was convicted, Ruben wasn't.

To this day, Smart's body hasn't been recovered.

Kristin Smart, a freshman at California Polytechnic Institute, San Luis Obispo, was last seen on Saturday, May 25, 1996. On Friday night she attended an off campus party at a frat house. She arrived solo.

At 2 a.m. Saturday she was discovered on a neighbor's lawn by two students, Tim Davis and Cheryl Anderson. She was passed out, but they revived her and helped her to her feet, deciding to accompany Kristen back to her dormitory.

Paul Flores, another student who had recently left the frat party, joined the group and offered to help. First Davis left, then Anderson, as they approached Smart's dorm. Flores assured them he'd see her the rest of the way home.

Flores later told the police that he accompanied her as far as his own dormitory in Santa Lucia Hall, and Smart continued on to her own. This would make Flores the last person to have seen her alive.

The next day, when Smart didn't show up for a planned study session, her alarmed friends notified the campus police that she was missing. However, they didn't report the disappearance until two days later, assuming she had either gone home or on an impromptu vacation (despite not having any cash or credit cards on her at the time of her disappearance).

When the police began investigating, various leads were pursued, with the most promising being Paul Flores.

In his interview, his knee was scuffed and he had a black eye, and he gave different stories as to how he'd gotten them. He claimed that the last time he'd seen Smart she had been walking on the sidewalk back to her dorm, but police cadaver dogs reacted to Flores' dorm room, suggesting she might have been there.

An extensive search was conducted, but nothing conclusive was found. Suspicion of Flores was widespread, but the police didn't charge him, likely due to lack of evidence. At one point, an earring was found at Paul Flores' mother's home (Susan Flores), but it was lost by the police before being properly tagged as potential evidence.

Susan Flores' property was also searched, as well as the ground surrounding Smart's dorm room, and while some evidence was apparently obtained, it wasn't used in the subsequent trial. On May 25, 2002, six years after her disappearance, Kristin Smart was declared legally dead.

The Smart Family, frustrated by the lack of progress, filed a civil case of wrongful death against Paul Flores, although it didn't result in a judgement. Over the years, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office kept the case open, as did investigators at the FBI.

In 2019, an independent podcaster named Chris Lambert started a podcast on Smart's disappearance, which became a hit. It reignited interest in the case, and momentum began to increase once more.

In early 2020, two trucks belonging to Flores were taken in as evidence. Later, four different search warrants were served in locations also linked to Flores.

In April of that year, a search warrant was issued for Paul Flores home. The resulting evidence included what was described as a date rape drug, as well as videos allegedly showing Flores raping young women.

Finally, about a year later, Paul Flores was arrested and charged with the murder of Kristin Smart. His father Ruben Flores was also charged as an accessory, and the two had separate juries.

Prosecutors alleged that Flores had either engaged in rape or attempted rape of Kristin Smart, and then killed her. A search of Ruben Flores's home uncovered biological evidence which led investigators to believe that Smart's body had been buried there temporarily, then moved.

After a motion by the defense for change of venue, the murder trial took place in Monterey County superior court. Ruben Flores was acquitted, but Paul Flores was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He is still serving out his sentence today.

With this kinds of cases, it's natural to hope that something positive has come from them. Sure, there was eventually a conviction, but how can we prevent such things from happening again?

In the wake of the case, the Smart family have set up the Kristin Smart scholarship, which assists young women in the pursuit of their academic dreams.

The Kristin Smart Campus Security Act was also signed into law in 1998. This law mandates all publicly funded colleges to have agreements with local law enforcement to expedite the sharing of information about violence against students, as well as disappearances [source: California Legislation Info].

The Kristin Smart case was widely covered, first in local and then in national media. CBS news and NBC News, among other outlets, did reporting on the disappearance and later trial, although it's notable that an independent journalist and podcaster might have had the most effect, from a media standpoint, on raising public awareness and putting pressure on the authorities.