Kristin Smart: 30 Years, a Conviction, and Still No Body
Matter of Fact: A play on "matter" (physics) and "facts" (news).Show Notes
Kristin Smart was a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman when she vanished after a party in May 1996. For 25 years, no one was charged. Then a podcast brought new witnesses forward, and in 2022 a jury convicted Paul Flores, the student last seen with her, of first-degree murder. His father, Ruben Flores, was acquitted.
But Kristin has never been found. In May 2026, investigators spent three days digging at another house, and soil tests pointed to human remains. They still did not find her. We go through the night she disappeared, the evidence under a deck, the trial with two juries, and why her family is still waiting.
This episode mentions testimony about sexual assault. In the US, the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.
Chapters: 00:00 Thirty years later, still not found 01:01 Who was Kristin Smart 01:39 The night she disappeared 02:47 The first days and the black eye 03:53 Cadaver dogs and a lawsuit 05:27 A new sheriff and a podcast 06:30 The search under the deck 07:16 The arrests and the charges 08:08 The trial 09:58 Two juries, two verdicts 11:07 The sentencing 11:56 The appeal and the 2026 search 13:18 Where the case stands
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This episode was produced with AI voices, from a research brief of court records and news reports. Sources are listed below.
Sources: NBC News: Verdicts reached in 1996 disappearance and murder of California college student, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/verdicts-reached-1996-disappearance-murder-california-college-student-rcna49787 KCBX: Two juries, two verdicts in Kristin Smart murder trial, https://www.kcbx.org/central-coast-news/2022-10-19/two-juries-two-verdicts-in-kristin-smart-murder-trial-paul-flores-guilty-ruben-flores-not-guilty San Luis Obispo County District Attorney: Paul Flores Found Guilty / Justice for Kristin Smart, https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/District-Attorney/Latest-News/2022/October/Paul-Flores-%2844%29-has-been-convicted-by-jury-of-the.aspx NBC News: Kristin Smart 'not recovered' after search of property linked to her 1996 disappearance, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/search-property-linked-kristin-smarts-1996-disappearance-hasnt-found-r-rcna344154 ABC News: Kristin Smart case: Sheriff's office says latest search completed, her remains not found, https://abcnews.com/US/new-search-warrant-kristin-smart-case-decades-after/story?id=132719151
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