Kristin Smart prosecutors have a decent case without a body: Attorney
Criminal defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh analyzes the Kristin Smart murder case and explains what may happen as the trial resumes.
Jurors overseeing the California trial for the two men accused in Kristin Smart’s disappearance and death heard from a woman who testified that accused killer Paul Flores once said he "put" or "buried" the missing college student under his skate ramp, according to reports from inside the courtroom.
After their return from an extended holiday break, jurors absorbed hours of testimony from several evidence and forensics experts on Wednesday and Thursday morning, before hearing from their final witness: A woman who described how Flores made comments about Smart and her whereabouts.
"Flores responded to the PSA by saying that b---- was a d--- tease and that he was done playing with her.'
Smart was a 19-year-old college student at California Polytechnic State University in 1996 when she vanished after an off-campus party, investigators have said. More than 26 years later, Flores – the man who was last seen with Smart – and his father, are standing trial on charges related to her presumed death.
Flores, now 45, has been charged with Smart’s murder. Ruben Flores, his 81-year-old father, was charged with acting as an accessory after the fact.
Left: Still-missing college student Kristin Smart; Right: Paul Flores (FBI / San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Prosecutors allege Ruben Flores helped his son bury Smart’s body under the deck of his Arroyo Grande home – and then later removed and relocated her remains when law enforcement returned decades later.
EXAMINING CALIFORNIA'S KRISTIN SMART TRIAL: THE ANATOMY OF A CASE WITH NO BODY
The trial proceedings are not being televised or live-streamed, pursuant to a judge’s ruling. A handful of journalists — including local news station KSBY-TV and the person behind the "Your Own Backyard" (YOB) Podcast, which is credited with renewing interest in the case — have been reporting from inside the courtroom amid the media limitations.
In this file photo provided by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office is Ruben Flores, 80, who was arrested in connection to the murder of college student Kristin Smart at his Arroyo Grande, Calif., home on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
On Thursday, Jennifer Hudson took the stand to testify about her encounter with Flores decades earlier.
According to KSBY, Hudson said she was skateboarding with Flores and a group of others in 1996, when she was 17.
Robert Flores' 1996 mugshot photo for charges unrelated to Kristin Smart case (court records)
Court papers previously described Hudson’s run-in with Flores.
"[A] radio advertisement came on that piqued everyone’s interest," court papers regarding Hudson’s account recalled. "A Public Service Announcement was read asking if anyone had information about Kristin Smart or her disappearance."
Kristin Smart went missing on May 25, 1996 while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and has not been heard from since. ( Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images)
According to court papers, "Flores responded to the PSA by saying that b---- was a d--- tease and that he was done playing with her. He buried/put her underneath his ramp in Huasna."
She allegedly couldn’t recall if Flores said "put her" or "buried" when uttering the sentence, court papers state.
"It did not appear to [the woman] that he was joking as he was not laughing or smiling," documents allege. She then left, and said she "vomited" the next time she saw him.
Kristin Smart went missing on May 25, 1996 while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and has not been heard from since. (Photo by Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images)
But she did not contact the police "because she was afraid, and he knew people she hung out with."
Hudson testified that Flores had "evil eyes," according to the report.
She reportedly acknowledged in court that she did not initially notify police about her encounter with Flores until after the release of the YOB Podcast, but her friend had notified authorities anonymously before she did.
During cross-examination, Hudson testified that the podcast maker had asked her not to report certain information to police, but she said told authorities everything she knew, according to the report.
Sept. 7, 2016: A sign outside the James R. Murphy, Jr. law office in Arroyo Grande, Calif., offers a reward for information in the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. (AP)
Thursday’s trial proceedings ended with defense attorneys arguing that Hudson only notified authorities because of the prospect of a reward.
She is due to return to court on Monday.
Paul Flores, prime suspect in the disappearance of CapPoly San Luis Obispo Student Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly Student himself lived in this dorm room (nearest window in photo) in the Santa Lucia dormitory in 1996, when 19-year-old Kristin disappeared. (Photo by Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Smart was a student at Cal Poly’s San Luis Obispo campus in 1996 when she was allegedly heavily intoxicated, with Paul Flores, after an off-campus party on Crandall Way. She was walked back from the party by three people — two people, a man and woman, and Flores. The others slowly peeled off after Flores allegedly insisted multiple times that he could get Smart home safely.
She was never seen again.
Paul Flores stands during his murder trial in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas, Calif., Monday, July 18, 2022. (Daniel Dreifuss/Monterey County Weekly via AP, Pool)
The state has said Flores killed Smart in his dorm room while he tried to rape her when they were both freshmen. The disappearance prompted a massive search.
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Dual juries were selected from a pool of more than 1,500 Monterey County residents to oversee each case separately but simultaneously. The trial is expected to last months.
