Who is ‘Your Own Backyard’ podcaster? How Chris Lambert helped crack Kristin Smart case

On Oct. 18, 2022, a jury found Paul Flores guilty of murdering Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in 1996.

Read more: We’ve collected our complete coverage of the Kristin Smart trial here.

Below, we republish a story from 2021 in which we profile Chris Lambert, whose podcast delved into Smart’s disappearance and renewed statewide, if not nationwide, interest in the case.

This story originally published on April 19, 2021:

Ask anyone in San Luis Obispo County what they know about the Kristin Smart case and they may refer to “the podcast.”

“Your Own Backyard,” created by Orcutt resident Chris Lambert, delves into the 1996 disappearance of the Cal Poly student, captivating audiences with its suspenseful storytelling style.

Law enforcement officials and Smart’s family have credited the podcast with renewing interest in the case and bringing forth fresh information, including several new witnesses.

Investigators announced their biggest break in decades on April 13, when the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office arrested San Pedro resident Paul Flores, the last person seen with Smart before she vanished nearly 25 years ago, and his father, Ruben Flores of Arroyo Grande.

Paul Flores, 44, of San Pedro, was charged with murder, while his 80-year-old father faces a felony charge of being an accessory to a crime. The pair appeared in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on April 15, but didn’t enter pleas.

“We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the exceptional skills, indefatigable work and unselfish dedication of Christopher Lambert who produced ‘Your Own Backyard’ podcast,” the Smart family said in a statement April 13.

Lambert, 33, launched “Your Own Backyard” in September 2019 while working as a sound engineer.

The podcast was ranked first on Apple Podcasts’ Top 100 Podcasts list in April 2021.

Lambert, meanwhile, has been profiled by The Associated Press, NBC News and other national media outlets.

“This story is not over, and I’ll have plenty more to say in the coming weeks and months,” he said.

Orcutt man launches podcast about Kristin Smart case

It all began a few years ago, when Lambert met Kristin Smart’s mother at a memorial for her daughter in Shell Beach, where a plaque honoring her daughter is located.

Denise Smart showed up to light a candle and mark her daughter’s birthday.

“I had no idea she was going to be there,” Lambert, who grew up on the Central Coast hearing about Smart’s disappearance, told The Tribune in 2019. “She invited me to come sing with some friends and it was the four of us standing on the cliffs celebrating Kristin’s birthday.”

Lambert said he and Smart got to know each other over the next several months and stayed in touch. He later visited Denise and Stan Smart at their home in Stockton over a couple of days, where he conducted interviews in advance of launching his podcast.

As he released new episodes of “Your Own Backyard,” steadily growing his audience, Lambert spent months gathering information, tracking down witnesses, visiting key locations, reviewing documents and talking to Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement officials who have been involved with the case.

Lambert, who has no professional journalism or law enforcement experience, initially thought of his podcast as a side project.

His primary mission was to help Denise Smart find her daughter.

“If her body is in my own backyard, I could find it, you could find it, anybody with some sleuthing skills and a shovel potentially could find Kristin,” Lambert said April 15.

According to Lambert, “The podcast was one part of the whole formula.”

“Even with what I found, I can’t go arrest somebody. I needed (the Sheriff’s Office) to do their job,” he told The Tribune. “I was willing to do what I could to assist in that. You can get varying levels of agreement about whether what I did directly led to an arrest. My personal opinion was that I was one piece of the formula.”

“This is not a case that’s going to get solved because they stumble upon (Smart’s body),” Lambert said. “It’s the totality of evidence that’s just overwhelming.”

‘Your Own Backyard’ podcast leads to new witnesses

New information unearthed by “Your Own Backyard” contributed to a break in the investigation into Kristin Smart’s disappearance, when investigators talked to witnesses who had not been previously interviewed, according to county Sheriff Ian Parkinson.

“That eventually led to interviewing that witness,” Parkinson said at an April 13 news conference led by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. “With the knowledge of new witnesses, sheriff’s detectives secured a court order authorizing the interception and monitoring of Paul Flores’ cell phones and text messages.”

Lambert said that witnesses he interviewed for the podcast offered insights to the actions and whereabouts of Paul Flores in the days and weeks after Smart’s disappearance, and helped him nail down some key information.

“I think some of the witnesses who previously reluctant to talk to Sheriff’s Office investigators were more comfortable talking to me,” Lambert said. “Some of them told me information that I thought was relevant to the case and I encouraged some to talk to detectives about it.”

“I think some of the people I talked to were able to say exactly what Paul was doing and when and where,” he added, “and helped tie some pieces of the case together.”

After Smart disappeared on May 25, 1996, Paul Flores heavily cleaned his Cal Poly dorm room. Flores moved out on June 8, 1996, Lambert said, about two weeks after Smart’s disappearance.

The room was not searched by authorities until after it was cleaned up; search dogs alerted to Smart’s scent when they did, Lambert said.

One of Lambert’s theories of the case is that Paul Flores and possibly his father may have used a Volkswagen Cabriolet to transport Smart’s body. At the time, that vehicle was owned by Paul Flores’ sister, Ermelinda Flores, who lived about a mile away from Cal Poly, Lambert said.

Cadaver dogs alerted to the car when they were used to search Ruben Flores’ Arroyo Grande property in mid-March, Lambert said. The podcaster personally observed the dogs’ reaction while watching from a location outside the property, he said.

Smart’s body may not have been buried necessarily at Ruben Flores’ property, or she could have been moved, but the car was likely used, Lambert told The Tribune.

“(Paul and his sister) lived in close proximity, about a mile away, it makes sense that the car was used in some way,” Lambert said.

Ermelinda Flores’ property in Washington state has been searched by investigators in February 2020. She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case.

Women describe ‘creepy’ experiences with Flores

San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow alleges that Paul Flores raped or attempted to rape Smart before killing her. The statute of limitations has expired on a sexual assault charge.

Dow asked the public for any information such as “assaults or other acts,” which the District Attorney’s Office believes have occurred.

“Evidence of other sexual crimes may be used,” Dow said at a April 14 news conference. “We intend to use evidence of other sexual crimes to prove the (case).”

Lambert said that women who encountered Flores described him as “creepy” citing “bad experiences” are now likely to come forward to report potential crimes, which he expects could be important to the prosecution.

“You wouldn’t want to be alone in a room with him,” one woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Lambert in the second episode of “Your Own Backyard.”

She told the podcaster that she knew Flores from high school parties, saying friends called him “Psycho Paul” to distinguish him from another classmate named Paul.

The woman, who Lambert refers to with the alias “Jackie,” said she saw Flores get physical with a female friend. Jackie recalled a prom party gathering in which Flores “picked (a female friend) up and threw her unprompted” in a moment of physical aggression.

They’d see Flores hiding in bushes near them, watching them, which made them uncomfortable, Jackie said, and claimed that he sidled up to a passed out drunken female friend once in a way that seemed off.

“You wouldn’t want your friends to be drunk around him,” said Jackie in the episode, adding her friend group avoided being alone with him. “Those were kind of unspoken things. ... I’m 100% a fan of ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ ... (But) he just wasn’t right with girls.”

A female coworker at Garland’s Hamburgers in Grover Beach, where Paul worked as a cashier from 1993 to 1995, said Flores groped her by running his hand up her thighs and she was fired from her job after he threw chopped onions at her in the kitchen and she starting hitting him in front of customers, Lambert reported.

Lambert said he learned that some women felt afraid for their safety with Paul walking around free, Lambert said.

“But now, with Paul behind bars, I think they’re more likely to come forward and share what happened to them,” Lambert said.

What’s next for podcaster?

After starting his podcast, Lambert quit his job as a professional sound engineer to focus on the podcast project full-time, relying on contributions from donors to support his living.

“When I considered quitting my job, my family and girlfriend, who’s successful in her career, supported me and said ‘Go for it,’ ” Lambert said. “People have been very generous. I’m good for a while, I think, for the near future.”

While he potentially stands to earn millions of dollars, based on the sales of other bestselling podcast programs, Lambert has turned down offers from major streaming and entertainment companies to sell his show’s rights, he said.

He continues to offer “Your Own Backyard” for free to listeners on his website, only taking donations from supporters.

“I want to do this for the right reasons,” Lambert said. “And I also want to maintain my relationships with the Smart family and law enforcement and for me to do that, I think this is the best approach (not to sell his work).”

Lambert said: “The Smart family has told me that they’re okay with me pursuing any kind of career options from this I might choose, but I’m not interested in becoming a crime podcaster or anything like that.”

Lambert plans to complete at least a couple more “Your Own Backyard” episodes based on the latest developments of the case, and then he may call his crime-related research quits, he said.

“I don’t plan to work in law enforcement, and never did,” Lambert said.

While his “full-time job” has been the podcast in recent months, he plans to return to life as a professional musician and music producer.

“That may not pay the bills either,” Lambert said. “But that’s just what I love to do.”