Paul Flores, now 44, has never been arrested or charged in relation to the three separate alleged sexual assaults that authorities say occurred between 2007 and 2017 in Los Angeles.
Kristin Smart s parents sue murder suspect s father for emotional distress after he hid the California college student s body under his deck and later moved the remains
Ruben Flores, 80, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for hiding Kristin Smart s body
His son Paul Flores, 40, has pleaded not guilty to killing Smart in 1996 during an attempted rape in his California Polytechnic State University dorm room
They were arrested last week after investigators said they found biological evidence indicating Smart had once been buried under Ruben s deck
Smart s family filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Ruben claiming her body was buried in his yard but he moved it under the cover of darkness
Paul Flores has long been the sole person of interest in Smart’s 1996 disappearance.
The father and son were arrested and charged last week in connection with the 19-year-old Lincoln High School student’s death more than 25 years after she went missing from the Cal Poly University campus in San Luis Obispo. Both Paul and Ruben Flores pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing Monday.
Paul Flores is facing first-degree murder charges in the commission of a rape, while Ruben Flores is charged for accessory after the fact for allegedly assisting in hiding Smart s body after she was killed.
The judge in the case, Craig B. van Rooyen, granted the prosecution’s request Monday to hold Paul Flores in custody pending the outcome of the trial, determining that he was both a flight risk and posed a danger to the community. However, van Rooyen scheduled an additional bail hearing after ruling that Ruben Flores was neither and should be allowed bail.
On the morning of April 13, just hours after Paul and Ruben Flores were arrested for their alleged involvement in Kristin Smart’s disappearance and death, Cal Poly University freshman Michelle Mueller cried and lit a candle for Smart.
Smart was a Cal Poly freshman when she disappeared in May 1996 after attempting to return to her dorm room after a party on Memorial Day weekend. She was last seen with Paul Flores, another Cal Poly freshman, who reportedly said he’d walk with Smart to her Muir Hall dorm room.
Now 44, Paul Flores is charged with first-degree murder, although Smart’s body has not been recovered. She was declared dead in 2002. Paul Flores’ 80-year-old father, Ruben, is being charged with accessory to the murder after the fact. Both have entered not-guilty pleas, and Ruben Flores was ordered released on $50,000 bail Wednesday.
Kristin Smart s body was buried under the deck at murder suspect Paul Flores father s home and was moved prior to cops searching property last week, prosecutor claims
Kristin Smart s body was once buried in the backyard of the California home owned by murder suspect Paul Flores father but was moved, prosecutors say
Ruben Flores, 80, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for hiding Smart s body after his son allegedly killed her in 1996
Paul, now 44, has pleaded not guilty to murder
He was the last person seen with Smart, who witnesses say was drunk at the time, after he offered to walk her home after an off-campus party