Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Kristin Smart a year ago. What’s happened since?

One year ago, Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Kristin Smart.

The verdict came more than a quarter-century after the Cal Poly student vanished in 1996. Although Smart’s killer is now behind bars, other aspects of the case are still unfolding.

On Oct. 18, 2022, a Monterey County jury convicted Flores of first-degree murder in a move that provided “some sense of justice for Kristin, the Smarts, for our community,” San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said at the time. “Today, justice delayed is not justice denied.”

The same day, a separate Monterey County jury acquitted Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, of helping his son conceal the crime. Smart’s body has never been found.

That decision made former San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle “sick to (his) stomach,” he told The Tribune in March.

Paul Flores attempted to overturn his conviction, delaying his sentencing by three months.

Flores’ former defense attorney, Robert Sanger, argued three separate motions, but a Monterey County Superior Court judge denied them.

“Mr. Flores, you have been a cancer to society,” Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe told Flores on March 10 when she sentenced him to 25 years to life in state prison. “You deserve to spend every day you have left behind bars.”

After the sentencing, Kristin Smart’s family called on the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to pursue Flores for rapes he allegedly committed between Smart’s disappearance in 1996 and his arrest for her murder in 2021.

The Los Angeles County agency told The Tribune in January that it will not prosecute Flores for crimes he is alleged to have committed in its county, including rape and child pornography.

Flores is currently appealing the case, but has not filed a brief as of Tuesday.

Gag order lifted in Kristin Smart case, Cal Poly issues apology

A strict gag order originally prevented all those involved with the Smart case from speaking publicly outside the courtroom, but that order was lifted as soon as Flores was sentenced in March.

Since then, jurors who helped decide Flores’ fate have spoken about the toll the case took on them and their confidence in their decision. A juror for Ruben Flores’ case said Paul Flores should have been acquitted like his father.

Stan and Denise Smart, Kristin Smart’s parents, told the Tribune about their time working with various law enforcement leaders and their determination to continue searching for their daughter’s remains.

Also following the sentencing, lead investigators in the case gave the Tribune an inside look into how the Smart case was solved.

In May, Cal Poly issued its first public apology for the San Luis Obispo university’s handling of the case on the anniversary of Smart’s disappearance during Memorial Day weekend.

“We recognize, even though I wasn’t here, that Cal Poly could have done things differently,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong told The Tribune on May 25. “There were things that we do differently now. There are things that should have been done differently. And for that, I’m sorry.”

Is Kristin Smart’s body in Susan Flores’ yard?

In July, three scientists revealed they had found strong evidence of a possible “human remains decomposition event” buried in the yard of Susan Flores, Paul Flores’ mother.

The scientists used the same technology used to detect odor chemicals in soil for gas leaks, but instead tested for odor chemicals relating to human decomposition.

The men ran repeated tests in a neighbor’s yard that bordered Susan Flores’ backyard fence — an area that has never been searched by law enforcement. The men detected chemicals concentrated at the fence.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Det. Greg Smith told the Tribune in July that the science the men presented amounts to a theory rather than evidence.

“My job is to either validate what they’re saying or find another expert to say that what they’re doing is correct or what they’re doing is sound science or not,” Smith said. “And that’s where we are in the process.”

Paul Flores was convicted on the theory that Smart’s body was buried underneath his father’s deck for 25 years before being moved to a new location in February 2020.

Chris Lambert, whose “Your Own Backyard” podcast tracks the investigation into Smart’s disappearance, has posted several episodes since the sentencing wrapping up his work on the case.

He told the Tribune he does not plan to investigate any new cases.

Lambert said in March he would consider recording a second season of “Your Own Backyard” only to cover any possible prosecution of Flores by Los Angeles County or to focus on the search for Smart’s body.

Paul Flores attack in prison, lawsuits headed toward settlement

Paul Flores was transferred to North Kern County State Prison in April, but was moved to Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga in early August.

On Aug. 24, Flores was attacked by another inmate with a bladed weapon, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was seriously injured in the attack, with a stab wound on the side of his neck, but was upgraded to fair condition within a day.

He was expected to make a full recovery, Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said.

Meanwhile, there was a significant development in civil lawsuits connected to the Smart case

Those lawsuits are expected to reach a resolution or settlement by December, attorneys said in a September court hearing.

Stan and Denise Smart, Kristin’s parents, first filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores in 2002, court documents show. They alleged Flores murdered their daughter and hid her remains, causing severe emotional distress.

The allegation of murder was later proven in criminal court in October 2022.

In April 2005, Dennis Mahon sued Susan Flores and her boyfriend, Mike McConville, for emotional distress after he suffered “severe emotional distress” in jail for two days after violating a restraining order.

In the lawsuit, Mahon alleges McConville showed up to an Arroyo Grande City Council meeting knowing Mahon would be there in order to have Mahon arrested for violating the restraining order.

McConville and Susan Flores then counter-sued Mahon for harassment and stalking in October 2005, alleging Mahon’s “investigative efforts” caused emotional distress to McConville and the Flores family.