PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. Kristin Smart Murder Trial: Who's who The judge only allowed 1 media pool camera inside the courtroom. I had zero interest in her, according to prosecutors. Last month, authorities searched Ruben Flores' home in Arroyo Grande. More critical evidence was seized when investigators used ground-penetratingly radar that found a grave where Smarts body was once buried in the Flores familys backyard, according to prosecutors. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. That's how the Lassiters learned that their landlord's son, Paul, was the prime suspect in the disappearance of a young college student in nearby San Luis Obispo. I was like, Who the hell do you think you are?. In one of Paul's police interviews he mentioned that he wanted to be let out of the interview because he needed to help clean up concrete at his mom's house So, what was being done in Susan Flores's backyard in the weeks after Kristin went missing? She didn't think that was OK. November 27, 2020 / 8:14 AM Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department and FBI searched the grounds of Susan Flores's home in Arroyo Grande on June 19, 2000, for any evidence that might shed light on the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. James Murphy: Paul Flores had a reputation amongst the girls that knew him at Cal Poly as being a creeper that he was always trying to hit on women. ), A sheriff offices spokesman said his agency couldnt say if investigators working Smarts cold case had been made aware or not of the new alleged victims, citing refusal to comment on an open and active investigation.. I guess the answer is yes. And yes, we believe it's linked to Kristin. They believe they can prove Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart. Since speaking with The Daily Beast, at least one of the women who has come forward saying Flores attacked her has been questioned by a detective working the Smart case. D.A. Now several women say they were victims before and after her, too. We would highly recommend that those people get in contact with us as soon as possible so we could investigate this further, he said. DAN DOW [press conference]: But the allegation that he was committing or attempting to commit a rape when he killed her, is the basis for which we are able to file first-degree felony murder charges. Susan's house was finally searched in March 1997 nine months after Kristin disappeared but nothing was found. Ken Blum is the editor. I remember thinking: If my moms not home Im going to die right here.. But perhaps Mary Lassiter's most disturbing story was about being awakened very early in the morning by a beeping sound coming from the backyard. I wasnt freaked out.. Lived In Dublin CA, King Of Prussia PA, Norristown PA. Related To Cooper Flores. But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. The murder trial began on Monday with opening statements from prosecutors and Flores defense attorney. Other names that Ermelinda uses includes Ermelinda M Macarthur, Ermelinda M Flores, Ermelinda M Mac Arthur, Ermelinda Flores and Ermelinda M Thomas. And there are more horrifying allegations about what may have happened to Kristin after she was last seen with Paul Flores. So maybe he had a crush on me. Denise Pearce: Kristin hasn't come home And we're not sure where she is We don't know anything. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. Chris Lambert: So much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week. At the time of Smart's disappearance, Flores was a 19-year-old food science major at Cal-Poly. She was the last person other than Paul Flores to see Kristin alive. I guess you can call it little white lies, Flores told detectives. Just very involved with their children. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. Ermelinda Flores' property in Washington state has been searched by investigators in February 2020. Denise Pearce: The investigation was completely botched by the campus police. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. Murphy has filed a new civil suit against Ruben Flores for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. One of Kristins closest college friends, Steve Fleming, noticed that Paul Flores would linger around Smarts dorm hall even though he didnt live there. Paul Flores, lower left, remained in jail without bail while Ruben Flores, upper right, was able to post bail after a judge agreed to lower the bail amount from $250,000 to $50,000, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court/Zoom, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death, Five deaths with a connection to Alex Murdaugh's family investigated, Florida man tries to use COVID-19 as a cover for murder. "48 Hours" has learned these suspicions center around evidence found during that 2020 search of Paul Flores' home. Flores roommate was out of town that weekend, and Paul knew he had three full days in that room (alone), Peuvrelle told the jury. More than two decades later, Chris Lambert, a podcaster who was investigating Kristin's disappearance, tracked down and interviewed Mary Lassiter. And there would be more disappointment in 2007, after the Smart's legal team searched a small portion of Susan Flores's backyard with ground penetrating radar and did not find any evidence. Facts will show law enforcement was aware that they did not have a case. In fact, Cheryl Anderson, who trusted Flores to walk Kristin back to her dorm alone, told police that her friends called him "Chester the molester," because he was known for groping girls. As she told Chris Lambert, "In the master bedroom, I'm hearing this 'beep beep' every night at 4:20, or 4:20 in the morning." Flores allegedly told campus police, I did not find Kristin attractive. Includes Address (7) Phone (7) Email (2) See Results. But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. This 9-room home sits on 40,000 square feet of land, which was purchased by the Flores family in 1990. James Murphy: They're interested in seeing Paul Flores get convicted and Ruben Flores get held accountable. Im fine. According to multiple party-goers, Smart was incapacitated unable to walk or stand on her own because of something she drank at the party, DeputyDistrict AttorneyChristopherPeuvrelle told the jury. I remember being home watching the news about Kristin Smart and there goes Paul, she recalled. First published on November 28, 2020 / 11:10 PM. They might have found evidence in those vehicles. Jonathan Vigliotti: What toll over time did this have on your parents? Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. When authorities later confronted him with the two stories, Flores admitted lying and offered a new explanation. His podcast, "Your Own Backyard," has become a big hit attracting millions of listeners eager to hear every detail surrounding this unsolved case. I believed him but he was probably cheating on me.. The mother is washing her car in the driveway at one point. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. The Smarts' younger daughter, Lindsey, described her parents to Vigliotti: "I think they're like carrying boulders on their backs.". An earring that appeared to match the necklace Kristin is wearing on the billboard. One late night at a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted a 21-year-old student whom well call Laura. One female cousin called Flores a pervert. Kristin Smart and Paul Flores were briefly seen speaking to each other during the party. This is about the facts. Our roommate came in and yelled Leave her alone. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. Laura said Flores worked a construction job while attending school but that he was very secretive and she suspected he was in college forever so that his mommy kept paying for his housing and classes.. Paul owns a home in San Pedro, CA . but I knew that I could try to do a small part. Jane said she took Flores up on carpool offers to and from high school whenever she would be walking solo from her mothers home in Arroyo Grande, California. You never look at her again! Have a good day, he said. JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? If you come near her again I will kill you!, His buddy pushed Paul real hard and he fell through a desk before he ran for his life.. It wasn't until Kristin's roommate returned to their dorm room, that Margarita realized Kristin never came home. Smart, a native of Stockton, was nearing the end of her. After seizing an old car, digging in the back yard and taking evidence San Luis Obispo County sheriff deputies concluded a two search of an Arroyo Grande home related to the 1996. Thats when everyone got involved, she said. Lives in: Arroyo Grande CA. Chris Lambert: Around the time Kristin disappeared, they cut out planter boxes in the backyard, so they cut out big chunks of concrete and filled it in with soil. When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. San Luis Obispo County. He returned later that Friday night and they drove to his friends home which Jane described as sparely furnished. In June of 1996, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office brought in four cadaver dogs to sniff dorms on campus. Chris Lambert: Kristin became incredibly intoxicated, whether she was drugged or whether she just had a lot to drink in a short amount of time She ends up passed out on the lawn next door. PODCAST EPISODE 4: At 8 a.m. on June 19th, 2000, a team of sheriff's investigators knocks on the front door of Susan Flores's East Branch Street home. Flores claimed after walking Kristin back from the party, he went to his room in Santa Lucia Hall while she walked alone to her dorm. Chris Lambert: A young couple moves into it with their kid. James Murphy: The podcast is out. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. JAMES MURPHY: What is your present residence address? The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. AKA: Susan Flores, Sue P Flores. Often, Sarah would be at one party or another and there was Flores. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? Also known as Melinda E Flores. First published on November 27, 2020 / 8:14 AM. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. And the body's not there now. I was like Oh my God. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. James Murphy: I'd love to do anything to end their suffering. But as Chris Lambert learned, Flores's pattern of behavior with women didn't stop. The living room had a TV and one sofa and the floor was white, she said. Dave Minsky,. So had Margarita Campos, who lived in the next room in Muir Hall. Jonathan Vigliotti: And that phone call never comes. D.A. There was no reaction until the dog reached Paul Flores's room. Paul Flores escorted Smart back to her dorm after an off-campus party. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. During one interrogation with campus police on May 28, 1996, Flores story changed about what happened after Anderson left. Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. Ermelinda Macarthur currently lives in Kenmore, WA; in the past Ermelinda has also lived in Long Beach CA, Arroyo Grande CA and Bothell WA. That could have been me.. PODCAST EPISODE 3: Something shiny catches her eye next to the front driver side tire. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. His father, Ruben Flores, is also on trial because investigators charged him with hiding Smarts body. James Murphy: There has been no other suspect. They're known for being a really safe school.". Over the years, Susan Flores's backyard has been the focus of widespread speculation because of stories like the ones Mary Lassiter told Chris Lambert. Lassiter told Lambert the earring she found matched the necklace Kristin was wearing on one of the "Missing Cal Poly Student" billboards. It was turned over to a detective with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office, but Garin Sinclair says, the Smarts never knew it existed until the Lassiters were deposed in January 1997. I was lying down on my back. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. A . Ruben's attorney, Harold Mesick, dismissed the evidence against his client as "so minimal as to shock the conscience.". A popular true-crime podcast, Your Own Backyard, revived public interest in Smarts disappearance. Chris Lambert: He actually hit his eye on his steering wheel in the middle of the night while changing his stereo. Susan Flores's backyard has been the focus of widespread speculation. The Smart family. In the interrogation video played for the jury, detectives can be heard asking Flores, If anybody lies as much as you have, about something as serious as this is, what does that tell you?. As of this date, Paul is single. But the investigation is ongoing. They left me there and knock on my moms door really hard and then ran off, Jane, who is telling her story for first time, said. He was required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet. He's going to find her body, which is awful for a parent. By this point Sarahs ex-boyfriend arrived and he and his friends scared Flores and his pal, trying to make sure they never showed their faces again. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. But Mary Lassiter says the earring matched the necklace Kristin is seen wearing on the billboard. The earring was turned over to the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office, but investigators will never know if it belonged to Kristin, because it was misplaced. It wasnt like some older guy or anything.. Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. or even her keys. Stan and Denise Smart, Kristins parents, sent The Daily Beast a statement praising the women for coming forward to share their stories and hope it leads to a break in their missing daughters case. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. Meanwhile, the FBI, who recently excavated earth at Cal Poly to look for Smarts remains, referred comment to the sheriffs office. Chris Lambert: Kristin's father would come down and hike every trail he could find on the Central Coast. It was just the three of them standing in the kitchen before Jane was handed a plastic cup. And while they did not rush to investigate Flores, Kristin's family says campus police were very quick to judge her. Please enter valid email address to continue. I called my mom. It has been called Dr. Seuss Day because of this. My mom opened the door and she cries, Oh my God!. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. "48 Hours" contributor Jonathan Vigliotti takes viewers inside the popular podcast and haunting case in "The Disappearance of Kristin Smart.". He was seeing someone on the side who he called his friend, she said. Paul Flores was a constant presence during Sarahs time at Cal Poly, where she transferred in as a sophomore back in 1996, after Smarts disappearance shook the school and the community. The investigation seemed to be hampered from the start by a series of missteps by campus police beginning with their assumption that Kristin was off having fun and ignoring worried friends who said she was missing. These new allegations against Paul Flores are very troubling and deserve to be thoroughly investigated. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. / CBS News. Any tidbit of information or recollection could make the difference in the recovery of our beloved Kristin., disappearance of another woman under almost identical circumstances: Kristin Smart. Sources tell us investigators discovered videos and photographs on Flores' computer showing him engaged in sexual activity with at least 10 different women, apparently in various states of consciousness. One day, Jane was congregating in front of the high school when a male friend approached and warned her about one particular junior. Chris Lambert: Paul keeps stopping along the way and letting Cheryl Anderson know, you can go on ahead. But I've seen it. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. He would tiptoe around everything. Denise had told Lambert that her daughter had been working as a lifeguard at the university's rec center, and every morning Kristin's watch alarm went off to make sure she was at the pool by 5 a.m. Over the years, law enforcement and the Smarts' lawyers have searched Susan Flores's backyard several times, but nothing has ever been found. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. FBI via AP, File. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. Lindsey Smart Stewart: She definitely, like, took advantage of life, seized the day she was super ambitious and was determined you know, to find the next adventure. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. Kristin Smart has been missing since 1996 and the San Luis County Obispo District Attorney allege she was killed during a rape. James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. Kristin Denise Smart (born February 20, 1977, legally presumed dead May 25, 2002) was an American woman who is presumed to have been abducted, raped, and killed at the end of her freshman year of college on the campus of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. She spent a summer in London, was an exchange student in Venezuela, and a lifeguard at a camp in Hawaii. Ruben Flores defense attorney is slated to deliver his opening statements when the two trials resume on Thursday in a Monterey County courtroom. That's been our goal. PODCAST EPISODE 1: Kristin broke down begging her mother to let her drop out and go somewhere else. I would turn around and he would be right there lurking, the woman, referred to here by a pseudonym, said. If you use a windshield cover, you can at least forget about scrapping the ice off your windshield to save some time and hassle. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. Eventually they moved in together along with a male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale. Related to: Ruben R Flores, Ermelinda M Thomas, Paul R Flores, Rachel H Flores, Ruben Flores. Paul Flores was the last person seen with Kristin Smart before she vanished in 1996. Personal details about Paul include: political affiliation is unknown; ethnicity is Hispanic American; and religious views are listed as Christian. DAN DOW [press conference]: We don't have evidence sufficient to charge anyone else at this time. A student named Paul Flores, Susan's son, volunteered to take her back. At least one, since The Daily Beast began reporting, said she has been interviewed by the San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office. She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case. James Murphy: That suggests that something bad happened in Paul Flores's dorm room. Not at all. Flores father is now charged with helping cover up the homicide by burying Smarts body in his Arroyo Grande homes backyard. They have not been able to proceed with the civil case while there was an ongoing criminal investigation, but that didn't stop them from following every lead and preparing for an eventual trial. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. That warrant allowed them to dig up the backyard, but deputies chose not to excavate. JAMES MURPHY: What is the name of your father? Chris Lambert told Jonathan Vigliotti, "It drove [Mary Lassiter] crazy and she went out there many times in the middle of the night to try to find it with sticks, sticking down into the planter boxes down in the soil." He lived in the dorm building across from Smart's room. Ian Parkinson: Yes. One of them was Paul Flores, who, to this day, Kristin's family believes abducted and likely killed her. Over the years, while Stan Smart hiked every trail around California's Central Coast in hopes of finding Kristin's remains, Denise relentlessly pushed law enforcement to do more. But while campus police weren't doing much, Kristin's parents were doing whatever they could to find their daughter. Lambert began looking into what happened to Kristin, collecting articles and documents, chasing down leads and tracking down anyone with information. Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. I got in his face, the ex-boyfriend, who requested anonymity, told The Daily Beast. That turned out to be college. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. Ann-Marie Christian: She was who she was because of her parents, for sure.