Documents unsealed in trial of Paul Flores for alleged killing of Kristin Smart
Documents in trial of the man accused of killing Kristin Smart were unsealed by a judge on Wednesday.
The documents detail the competing arguments between prosecutors and attorneys for defendant Paul Flores over what evidence should be allowed for Flores's trial, which began on July 18 at Monterey County Superior Court, Salinas.
Previous coverage: Prosecution, defense lay out case as Paul Flores trial opens in death of Kristin Smart
Judge Jennifer O'Keefe, who is presiding over the trial, unsealed the documents following a request by media outlets, The San Luis Obispo Tribune of reported.
Flores is accused of killing Smart of Stockton, while attempting to sexually assault her after a party, when both were students at California Polytechnic State University in 1996.
Flores's father, Ruben Flores, is also on trial for allegedly helping dispose of Smart's body, which has never been found.
Among the over 200 pages of documents are appeals by Flores's attorney to exclude DNA-related evidence from the trial, including a stained mattress cover from Flores's dorm room; its validity as proof that Smart had been in the room is disputed by the two sides, the filings show.
Flores is represented by attorney Robert Sanger.
The documents also detail arguments by prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle that evidence from an excavation of Ruben Flores's property — where the prosecution alleges Smart's body was once buried — must be allowed at trial, over the defendants' objections.
Kristin Smart timeline: 24 years from the Cal Poly student's disappearance to a suspect's arrest
Peuvrelle is a deputy district attorney for San Luis Obispo County, where the case against Flores was first filed. A judge moved the trial to Monterey County in April over concerns that unbiased jurors could not be found in the county.
In opening statements last month, the prosecution painted a picture of the now 45-year-old Paul Flores as having hovered around Smart in the run-up to her disappearance, and as having later engaged in a pattern of non-consensual encounters with women.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys said they would counter the prosecution's arguments about forensic findings surrounding Smart's disappearance.
This month, witnesses who knew Smart testified in court and faced cross-examination by Flores' attorney, The Tribune reported.
Next month, the judge is scheduled to discuss potentially enabling online access to documents filed in Flores's trial, according to The Tribune.
Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers business, housing, and land use. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Judge unseals court documents in Kristin Smart trial
