0:00

This episode contains subject matter that

0:02

may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener

0:05

discretion is advised.

0:30

Paul Flores' Sentencing

0:46

Following his first-degree murder conviction, Paul

0:49

Flores' sentencing was delayed from

0:51

December to March to give defense

0:54

attorney Robert Sanger extra time to

0:56

file a motion for a new trial. But

0:59

by the February 9th status hearing, more

1:02

than three and a half months after the guilty

1:04

verdict,

1:05

Sanger still hadn't filed his motion. When

1:08

the hearing began at 1.30pm, Sanger was not present.

1:14

Instead, an attorney named Frank

1:16

Ochoa explained to the court that he

1:18

was sitting in for Sanger, who was working

1:21

on another trial in Los Angeles and

1:23

unable to make it, even by Zoom.

1:26

Ochoa indicated that Sanger still intended

1:29

to file a motion for a new trial, but

1:32

even with the extra 60 days, he'd

1:34

been unable to secure funds for the trial

1:36

transcripts. Povrell

1:39

argued that Sanger had known about this hearing

1:41

for two months and should have scheduled

1:43

his new trial dates accordingly.

1:46

Judge O'Keefe

1:47

reaffirmed her earlier decision to

1:50

not delay the sentencing any further than

1:52

March 10th. On

1:55

Friday, February 24th, at 4.54pm.

1:59

Six minutes before the end of the work week,

2:02

Defense Attorney Robert Sanger finally

2:05

filed this motion for a new trial,

2:07

as well as another motion for acquittal,

2:10

arguing that the jury's verdict should be overturned

2:12

and Paul Flores should get a new trial or

2:15

be fully acquitted.

2:17

Remember in December when the court

2:20

reporter said it would take her longer to finish

2:22

the trial transcript, if Sanger

2:24

also needed transcripts of the jury selection

2:26

process? Sanger

2:29

said he did,

2:30

with regard to a couple of particular

2:32

individuals.

2:34

But in his 55 pages of motions,

2:37

Sanger made no claims of misconduct

2:40

against any juror. Instead,

2:42

the motions were mostly a rehashing

2:45

of his previous nine attempts for mistrial.

2:48

He argued that Deputy District Attorney

2:50

Christopher Poverrell misled the

2:52

jury during his closing rebuttal

2:55

by suggesting that the jurors had only two

2:57

options, to believe that the entire

2:59

case was a conspiracy against Paul, or

3:02

to believe that Paul was guilty.

3:05

Sanger also said that the defense never

3:07

suggested there was an actual conspiracy

3:10

against Paul, only that the

3:12

prosecution's argument

3:14

was equivalent to a conspiracy

3:16

theory. But in

3:18

his closing argument on October 3rd,

3:21

he told the jury, After

3:23

hearing Mr. Poverrell, I have to respond

3:26

to what he said. Basically, a bunch

3:28

of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy

3:31

theories can be fun. We love to

3:33

hear them. We like to watch shows

3:35

and you think, I bet I know what happened. But

3:38

you're here as jurors. You took an

3:40

oath that you would follow the rule of law. In

3:44

his rebuttal to Sanger's comment that conspiracy

3:47

theories can be fun, Poverrell

3:49

asked jurors, Did it look

3:51

like the woman with the ball gag in her mouth was

3:53

having fun?

3:55

Sanger argued that this question was inflammatory

3:58

and designed to evoke both passion

4:00

and prejudice. But

4:03

Sanger had already asked for and was

4:05

denied a mistrial on October 5,

4:07

2022, on those exact grounds.

4:11

On that occasion, Judge O'Keefe had stated

4:14

her position on any errors made

4:16

during closing arguments.

4:18

I have informed the jury numerous times

4:21

that the arguments of counsel are not evidence,

4:24

and if the statements of counsel conflict with court

4:26

instructions, they are to follow

4:28

my instructions. Sanger's

4:31

motions also argued that the testimony

4:34

regarding the bathtub rings staining

4:36

in the soil under Ruben Flores's

4:38

deck, which Sanger referred to

4:40

here as quote, bloodbath

4:43

evidence, in addition to

4:45

the dog alerts, Heem Direct testing,

4:48

and Blue Star testing in Mike McConville's

4:50

trailer, were all based on

4:52

junk science. Sanger's

4:55

arguments regarding those issues were

4:57

identical to arguments he made during the preliminary

5:00

hearing,

5:00

the pretrial motions,

5:03

and several times during the trial, with

5:05

no new information.

5:07

Sanger also argued that

5:09

the prosecution knew the testimonies of

5:11

David, Jennifer, Jamie

5:14

Lynn, Steve, Tim,

5:17

and Rhonda contained falsities,

5:19

but allowed them to testify anyway.

5:23

All of those issues had already been raised

5:25

during the trial, with each witness

5:27

being cross-examined and no

5:29

new information or evidence appeared

5:31

in his newest motion. Sanger

5:34

said Peveral quote, put forth

5:37

the claim that David said he was not allowed

5:39

under the deck at Ruben Flores's house. The

5:42

prosecutor knew that was not true,

5:44

unquote.

5:46

Sanger said that because David had stored

5:48

two 55-gallon barrels under the deck,

5:51

this was proof that he was allowed in that area.

5:55

However, David testified at trial

5:57

that he stored the barrels there without Ruben's

5:59

knowledge, and when Rubin found

6:02

out, he got angry and

6:04

demanded that David remove them.

6:06

Next, Sanger claimed,

6:09

when the prosecutor put Jennifer on the stand,

6:12

he knew he was endorsing perjured and bizarre

6:14

testimony, adding that Jennifer

6:18

rehearsed her testimony with the podcaster

6:21

and Justin before talking to

6:23

the police. Sanger

6:25

also went on to describe Justin as

6:27

her friend who was seeking a reward.

6:31

There was no new information or evidence

6:34

to back up any of those claims. He

6:37

argued that Jamie Lynn's testimony was

6:40

created by the Lambert-slash-Murphy

6:42

people. Steve's testimony

6:45

was highly biased because he

6:47

really wanted to see Paul Flores convicted.

6:50

Tim's testimony differed from one

6:52

of his police interviews, where he

6:54

said that before Paul approached the group walking

6:57

home, he had been walking down the

6:59

street with people from another party, something

7:02

that Paul himself never even claimed

7:04

in any of his police interviews. And

7:07

Rondedoe's testimony, that she

7:09

had been raped by Paul Flores in 2008, was influenced

7:13

by the fact that she had attended Cal Poly sometime

7:16

after Kristen's disappearance and

7:18

must have been aware of the publicity at that time.

7:22

Sanger reiterated that none of the rape

7:24

testimony should have been allowed in because there

7:27

was no evidence that Kristen Smart was raped,

7:30

and added that Judge O'Keefe should have allowed

7:32

him to present evidence regarding alternate

7:34

suspects, including an ex-boyfriend

7:37

and a student who may have been stalked

7:40

by Kristen. Additionally,

7:43

Sanger claimed that Judge O'Keefe had erroneously

7:45

excluded a psychological evaluation

7:48

of Kristen Smart, apparently conducted

7:50

sometime during her freshman year at Cal Poly.

7:54

In it, Kristen reportedly said that she

7:56

felt frustrated that her mother always expected

7:58

her to do better. and said she

8:00

was only happy when her mother was happy

8:03

with her. Sanger

8:05

said this report undermined

8:07

statements by the Smart family that Kristin

8:10

was very close with them. Sanger

8:13

didn't mention that this psychological

8:15

evaluation was conducted

8:18

by a chiropractor.

8:21

In all, the only new piece of information

8:24

from Sanger was that he intended

8:26

to recall a witness to testify in

8:28

support of his motion for a new trial, regarding

8:31

new evidence he had uncovered. He

8:34

didn't say who that witness was.

8:43

On the morning of March 10th, a

8:45

torrential rainstorm hit Monterey County,

8:48

knocking out power along the coast. Sections

8:52

of Highway 101 were flooded and

8:54

shut down in both directions. As

8:57

we gathered at the Salinas Courthouse, the

9:00

sky was dark and gloomy, and

9:02

there was tension in the air. Even

9:05

though Paul had been successfully convicted

9:07

five months earlier by a jury

9:10

of his peers, many present

9:12

were holding their

9:13

breaths for Sanger's hearing, waiting

9:15

to see if the system would fail

9:17

Kristin Smart one more time.

9:21

Ruben and Susan Flores sat in the front

9:24

row of the right side of the courtroom.

9:26

The media sat in row two.

9:29

Seven of Paul Flores's jurors

9:32

sat in row three as members

9:34

of the public. And to

9:36

the surprise of many,

9:38

five of Ruben Flores's jurors

9:41

sat in row four. I'll

9:43

add here that no one on Ruben's jury

9:45

has ever contacted me as of this recording,

9:49

though I did speak with one of them briefly

9:51

after this hearing in March.

9:54

On the left side of the courtroom,

9:57

the Smart family and their supporters

9:59

filled the room. all six rows. The

10:03

hearing began with Sanger's request to recall

10:05

a witness to the stand, in support

10:07

of his motion for retrial.

10:10

And while many of us prepared ourselves for

10:12

a witness who might recant their testimony

10:15

or maybe evidence of perjury,

10:18

Sanger instead told the court that

10:20

he had subpoenaed dog handler Wayne

10:22

Barons. To

10:24

refresh your memory, Barons previously

10:27

testified on August 16, 2022 that

10:29

his Labrador Retriever

10:32

Sierra

10:33

had alerted at Santa Lucia Hall back

10:36

in June of 1996. But

10:39

Sanger's reason for wanting to recall him to

10:41

the stand had almost nothing

10:43

to do with his work on this case,

10:45

but this one from October 2022. Coming

10:49

out of Atherton right now, a car found buried behind

10:51

a $15 million home. The strange

10:54

part is the cadaver dogs indicated slight

10:56

possibility of human remains. So police

10:58

have been searching the area since Thursday.

11:00

Police do know that the car belonged to

11:03

Johnny Bachtoon Liu, who was also

11:05

the former owner of that property. He

11:07

reported this car stolen in 1992, only to be discovered buried

11:09

decades later on Liu's property

11:15

with several bags of cement last week. Now

11:18

Liu had quite a history with the law.

11:20

He was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend

11:23

in the 1960s and convicted

11:26

of attempted murder of another person

11:28

in 1977.

11:30

When an Atherton police commander was asked

11:32

during a press conference what the cadaver

11:35

dogs could have been reacting to,

11:37

he said this. I've done a few

11:39

questions with some different canine officers and what they've

11:42

said is it could be human

11:44

remains. They could be reacting to

11:46

blood. They could be reacting to old bones. They

11:50

could be reacting to human vomit. It

11:52

could be any one of those combinations of things

11:54

that the dogs are reacting to. They

11:57

did mention that because of the time frame

11:59

that this vehicle has been buried for approximately 30 years,

12:02

that a slight reaction would be

12:04

consistent with the duration that the vehicle has

12:06

been buried.

12:08

Note that both the news anchor

12:10

and the police commander described

12:12

a slight reaction to the car,

12:15

but not a full alert.

12:17

That's because the cadaver dogs only

12:19

showed a change of behavior, much

12:21

like they did under Ruben Flores's deck

12:24

in 2021, which

12:26

the commander said was consistent with

12:28

the duration that the vehicle had been buried.

12:31

But that's not the part that Sanger was interested

12:34

in. They could be reacting to old

12:37

bones, they could be acting to human vomit, it could

12:39

be any one of those combinations

12:41

of things that the dogs are reacting to. You

12:44

might recall that Sanger said during his closing

12:46

arguments that dog handler

12:48

Adela Morris had said dogs

12:51

would alert to vomit. After

12:53

a juror submitted a question asking

12:55

if that was true, Sanger

12:58

corrected himself, indicating

13:00

that it wasn't exactly what she had

13:01

said, but it was the jury's job

13:04

to sort out what was true and what wasn't

13:06

in his closing argument. Now

13:09

again, Sanger was hoping to raise

13:11

doubt about the cadaver dog alerts in Paul's

13:13

dorm room by suggesting that human

13:16

vomit could cause a false alert.

13:18

This issue

13:20

is complicated by the fact that Paul told police

13:23

he only vomited in his mouth before

13:25

going to take a shower. Plus

13:28

the suggestion that Paul Flores's dorm

13:30

room was the only room on a university

13:32

campus where anyone had ever

13:34

vomited. So

13:37

what does any of this have to do with recalling

13:39

Wayne Barons?

13:41

Sanger said he believed that Barons

13:43

was present on the scene in Atherton

13:46

because his van was visible in the background

13:48

during a news broadcast.

13:51

I've watched dozens of videos covering

13:53

that story and never spotted

13:55

Barons in any of the footage,

13:57

though it's possible he was there since

13:59

resides in the same county where the

14:02

buried car was found.

14:04

What this meant

14:05

was that Behrens was now driving

14:07

south in a heavy rainstorm

14:10

from his home in the Bay Area, a

14:12

two-hour drive in good weather, to

14:14

testify about whether or not he had

14:16

been the person who told the Atherton

14:19

Police Commander that cadaver dogs

14:21

could alert on vomit. We

14:23

don't know what he will say specifically,

14:26

Sanger told the judge.

14:28

We saw a video where Mr. Behrens

14:30

was getting out of his van, so we have every

14:32

right to be able to interview him, so we subpoenaed

14:34

him.

14:35

We don't know if he may have spoken to Adela

14:37

Morris during the trial and told her that, yeah,

14:40

dogs could alert to vomit. We don't know,

14:42

because he won't speak to us. We're

14:45

asking for an opportunity to interview Mr.

14:47

Behrens in the hallway before we call

14:49

him to the stand.

14:51

He's not here yet, but he called us and

14:53

said he was stuck in all the traffic and

14:55

would be here around 926. So

14:58

when he gets here, we'd like to interview him briefly

15:01

in the hallway. If that's denied,

15:03

I ask that we could just call him to the stand."

15:06

Peverrell then responded.

15:09

Your Honor, defense subpoenaed Mr.

15:11

Behrens in December. We were

15:13

not told about it

15:14

until yesterday.

15:16

If that's not bad faith, I don't know

15:18

what is. Mr. Sanger

15:20

also misrepresented what the Atherton

15:22

commander said in his TV interview. He

15:25

said he spoke to canine officers, not

15:27

a cadaver dog handler.

15:29

I'm asking the court to deny this.

15:33

Judge O'Keefe

15:34

then made her ruling. I

15:37

will note for the record that I received a declaration

15:40

yesterday at 12 p.m. stating

15:42

that new evidence had been discovered. The

15:45

court obviously reviewed it, and

15:47

I will note that the information in the declaration

15:50

is somewhat different than what Mr. Sanger

15:52

said here in court today.

15:54

There is no indication to this court that

15:57

this is anything but speculation.

15:59

There is no proof at all that Wayne Barons is

16:02

the person who gave this info to the Atherton

16:04

commander. This question was also

16:07

already asked of Miss Adela Morris. There

16:09

was no follow-up to this question.

16:12

There was no question asked about Vomit to

16:14

Mr. Barons by the defense at all.

16:17

The court finds that it is not reasonably

16:19

probable that this info would lead to

16:21

a different verdict. The court

16:23

respectfully denies the matter.

16:26

If someone could please let Mr. Barons know

16:28

the court's ruling so he's not waiting

16:30

around.

16:32

Sanger's

16:32

private investigator, Ramona Messina,

16:35

then left the courtroom to go downstairs to

16:38

inform Wayne Barons that his testimony was

16:40

no longer needed.

16:42

When she returned to the courtroom, she

16:44

leaned down to whisper in Sanger's ear, which

16:46

could be heard throughout the courtroom via

16:48

his lapel mic.

16:50

He said he doesn't remember saying that. Sanger

16:54

shrugged.

16:56

Judge O'Keefe then allowed him to move on to

16:58

his motion for judgment of acquittal,

17:01

but informed him up front. Mr.

17:03

Sanger, I have read and gone through these

17:05

motions thoroughly. It is not

17:07

necessary to go through every detail ad

17:09

nauseam. Sanger

17:12

smiled and quipped, ad

17:14

nauseam. So

17:16

we have moved past the... Vomit.

17:20

That was a terrible joke.

17:22

Before reiterating all of the information

17:24

in his motion,

17:26

which I went through at the beginning of this episode,

17:29

Sanger claimed again that he had never

17:31

implied that there was a conspiracy.

17:34

The prosecutor came up with this idea that

17:36

we said 50 witnesses and the dogs

17:38

conspired. No,

17:40

we said everybody likes to watch television

17:43

and you have to suspend your disbelief to enjoy

17:45

the movie. In response,

17:48

Deputy District Attorney Crystal Siler,

17:51

now seated next to Pivrell, responded.

17:54

I find it amusing that the defense said in their

17:57

argument that they never claimed there was a conspiracy.

18:00

Then in the same document

18:02

claimed all these people manipulated testimony

18:04

and evidence and were out to get Paul Flores

18:07

that is by definition a conspiracy

18:10

and

18:12

Judge O'Keefe agreed. I Similarly

18:15

find the prosecutor did not misstate the defense's

18:18

position

18:19

The defense began their argument with

18:21

several minutes of discussing conspiracy

18:23

theories This was a theme

18:26

of the defense's argument that several

18:28

people inserted themselves into the case over

18:30

the years in an effort to convict Paul

18:32

Flores The defense's

18:34

motion for judgment of acquittal

18:36

is respectfully denied

18:39

I'm going to ask everyone to return at 1 p.m.

18:42

And we will proceed to sentencing and

18:45

That was it Paul Flores

18:48

was going to be sentenced and When

18:51

we all returned to the courthouse an hour later

18:54

Something suddenly changed One

18:57

o'clock in the afternoon on the

19:00

day of sentencing. I mean We've

19:03

heard the term atmospheric river ad nauseam

19:06

and we just you know the weather and

19:09

it was just brutal Road

19:12

conditions the rain the wind the weather

19:14

was I mean the worst that I've seen in a long

19:16

time and for us

19:18

to walk back in court at 1 o'clock

19:21

and that was the moment when the rain stopped and There

19:24

was blue skies directly above the courthouse

19:27

and that kind of courthouse prom nod walking from

19:29

the DA's office over to the

19:32

courthouse itself was a

19:35

moment that Like that

19:38

is a standout moment. That is one of them that

19:42

I don't think it was chance and it was just one

19:44

of those moments. There was no no

19:46

other reason for the the skies to part

19:48

like that and We

19:51

all remarked that I mean what a time

19:53

for the rain to stop and what a time for

19:55

the blue skies to kind of open

19:57

up and Man,

20:01

it was like one o'clock sharp. It was, and

20:04

you could see the sun shining down

20:06

on that courthouse.

20:09

And that was amazing.

20:12

Yeah, you couldn't write that into a story.

20:17

The courtroom bench is filled with supporters

20:19

who came back after the lunch break wearing

20:22

items of purple,

20:24

Kristin's favorite color. Chris

20:27

Peverill addressed the judge,

20:29

and for the first time,

20:30

cameras were allowed in the courtroom. The

20:35

defendant's statement in the probation

20:37

report. He admits

20:40

he has an alcohol problem, which at least corroborates

20:42

what happened in this case. And

20:45

yet he still maintains his innocence and

20:47

blames law enforcement and everyone else for

20:51

being here. But

20:55

we know he lies. We

20:58

know he told investigator Bill Hanley that

21:00

he has no problem with white lies, no

21:03

problems with fibs. And

21:08

any future parole board should know this defendant

21:10

has proven over and over again he has no

21:13

problem lying to achieve what he

21:15

wants. The

21:17

bottom line, even from the statement

21:19

from 27 years, he has zero insight

21:22

into his crime. Zero

21:24

remorse.

21:25

Zero

21:27

empathy for the family of the young

21:29

lady that he snuffed off the face of this earth. And

21:33

if and when he is ever in front of a future parole board,

21:36

he will fib and lie

21:39

to them too. Oh, I'm going to object

21:41

here. This is not sentencing. This is

21:44

not a message to the parole board. This

21:46

is, should be sentencing,

21:48

should be addressed to the court with regard to the appropriate

21:51

sentence, in case there is only

21:53

one. But I object to

21:55

messages

21:57

to a future parole board that's not appropriate.

21:59

and your objections noted to the record,

22:02

Mr. Sanger, and Mr. Pobel, you may proceed. All

22:05

of which shows that Paul Flores is a true

22:08

psychopath in every meaning

22:10

of the word. He

22:12

is a proven and admitted liar over

22:14

the course of decades who takes

22:16

perverse pleasure in raping women

22:19

while they are completely incapacitated. He

22:22

murdered Kristen with zero remorse

22:24

or concern. And

22:27

the world now knows the truth that Paul

22:29

Flores

22:29

is a sick murderer, rapist,

22:32

and psychopath who should never be released from

22:34

prison. And that's his court to sentence

22:36

Paul Flores to 25 years to life. Thank

22:40

you. Thank you, Mr. Pobel.

22:42

On the courtroom projector, the smart

22:44

family played home movies and pictures

22:46

of Kristen

22:47

from the time she was born until

22:50

the time she left for Cal Poly. Here

22:54

we go, guys. We're headed to

22:56

Fort Lauderdale. Today is December

22:58

the 17th, 1994. We've

23:04

been to the Francis cruise to take a trip

23:06

to

23:06

Jamaica. Oh

23:09

my God, she's still here. Look

23:13

at this girl. Hey,

23:17

how's the jeez, Kristen? Probably

23:21

about 7 out. The stuff going down is... Should've

23:24

been here earlier, but... Oh, yeah. She's

23:27

that guy. I hate to

23:29

go. Members

23:33

of both juries sobbed,

23:35

as did most of the people present.

23:38

After the video,

23:40

Kristen's family and friends were allowed to present

23:42

victim impact statements to Judge

23:44

O'Keefe. The following

23:46

clips were edited for time, but

23:49

I urge you to watch the entire hour and

23:51

a half of statements on my website

23:54

or on YouTube. Good afternoon,

23:56

everyone. And it's a little

23:58

hard to follow that emotion. video

24:01

that I'm Stan Smart, I'm the father

24:03

of Kristin. This is a parent's

24:06

worst nightmare, the disappearance

24:08

and death of their child. As

24:11

a parent, you fall into a pit of despair.

24:14

You're willing to travel anywhere and

24:16

to be with anyone that thinks

24:18

they have information regarding the

24:21

whereabouts of your child. Your

24:23

wife is distraught to the point

24:25

of quitting her teaching position

24:29

and I needed to bring myself into

24:32

further school administrative work to

24:34

occupy my mind and continue with

24:37

some semblance of normal life. Initially,

24:40

my wife's focus and mine were to find

24:42

Kristin alive. Within

24:44

weeks, we learned from the Cal Poly police

24:47

that she had been at an off-campus

24:49

party and possibly killed by

24:51

the last person she was seen

24:53

with all for us. We

24:56

worked in keeping our younger children, Matt

24:59

and Lindsay, shouldered from the horrific

25:02

crime or event. They

25:05

had been scarred emotionally at the loss of

25:08

their older sister. Matt

25:10

became very defensive and slept at

25:12

night with a baseball bat under his bed.

25:15

Lindsay became less social and

25:17

would not attend age group gatherings

25:20

without having their work friends accompanying

25:22

her. We are no longer

25:24

a whole family of two parents

25:26

and three children. It is

25:29

now abundantly clear that Paul

25:31

and his family and all of them

25:33

took the fifth not to

25:35

incriminate themselves and

25:38

have no remorse for taking our daughter's

25:40

life and are unwilling to assist

25:43

in locating her remains. The

25:46

court evidence has shown that after

25:48

our daughter's murder, Paul Flores proceeded

25:51

to prey on numerous intoxicated

25:54

women, he met at bars

25:56

by drugging them and repeatedly

25:58

raping them and videoed to the court. taping them, he definitely

26:01

has demonstrated a proclivity

26:03

to this type of unlawful abhorrent

26:06

behavior during the past 26 years.

26:10

I respectfully request that Paul Flores

26:12

receive the maximum sentence for

26:14

first degree murder, hopefully 25

26:17

years, to life without parole.

26:20

Matthew Smart, for more than 26 unthinkable

26:24

years, the Smart family has waited for my

26:26

elite sister, Kristen Smart's return home.

26:29

It would be for naught. We

26:32

searched the hillsides, followed

26:34

every lead, no matter how large or

26:37

small, spoke with anyone

26:39

and everyone who might know something but

26:42

our efforts would unfortunately be futile.

26:45

Paul Flores and his family knew this from day

26:48

one. There has never been a

26:50

need for a lengthy trial, only

26:52

at confession, by Paul Flores.

26:55

His continued silence speaks

26:58

for itself.

26:59

Paul has been given every chance

27:02

and more,

27:03

but in the past 26 years he

27:05

has committed additional heinous crimes against

27:08

society and yet even more women.

27:11

Paul is a menace to society,

27:13

and we have waited long enough for

27:16

this day. There will be no peace, there

27:18

will be no rest in the Smart family fight.

27:21

Our resolve is only renewed and

27:24

strengthened by Paul's sentencing.

27:26

We will never rest until Kristen

27:28

is properly laid to rest by

27:31

her family. This fight is

27:33

far from over.

27:35

I'm Lisa Smart, wife of Matt

27:38

Smart and Kristen's sister-in-law. I

27:40

have been a member of the Smart family for 20 years

27:43

and have experienced all the trials and

27:45

triumphs that have come along with this case. The

27:47

impact of Paul killing Kristen has always

27:50

been felt, but the impact over

27:52

the last three years has never been stronger.

27:55

I never had the opportunity to meet my sister-in-law.

27:57

She was taken away from her family six years I

28:00

met Matt. Matt's well-being

28:02

has always been my first priority when it came

28:04

to Kristin's case. He is quite

28:06

guarded which is to be expected. Matt,

28:09

as well as his parents, Stan and Denise, and

28:11

younger sister Lindsay, all have tremendous resilience

28:14

and strength. I have always been

28:16

amazed at how they continue to live life to the

28:18

fullest and are not full of anger or

28:20

hatred as I feel others in this situation

28:23

might be. I have been greatly impacted

28:25

by Paul. He has put us in a club

28:28

no family or human cares to belong to.

28:30

It has been lonely and terrifying as others

28:33

I know cannot relate to what we are going through.

28:35

The impact of what Paul has

28:37

done has not only affected Matt, our

28:40

families, and myself but it has

28:42

now trickled down and is impacting our

28:44

own children. As a mother there's

28:46

no guide book on how to parent but

28:48

there's definitely not a guide book on

28:51

how to tell your children that their auntie was raped

28:53

and murdered and you don't know where her body is. I

28:56

am attempting to answer questions from two inquisitive

28:58

children who want answers about our family

29:01

member who my kids and I never got

29:03

to meet. Sadly our

29:05

children have come to learn that real monsters like

29:08

Paul Flores

29:08

do exist.

29:10

Their innocence has been taken away. The

29:12

impact of Paul's choices has instilled

29:15

fear and anxiety in our children about

29:17

losing another loved one or family member.

29:20

We've waited years for Paul to be arrested,

29:22

waited months for a preliminary hearing and trial

29:25

and now we wait for sentencing and for Paul to be

29:27

moved to prison. Paul always

29:29

had a choice to end this madness but

29:31

instead he has chosen to not speak a word for

29:34

almost 27

29:34

years. My name is Eric

29:37

Cook. I'm Kristen's first

29:39

cousin. No February

29:42

20th is my birthday. These

29:44

are the words that I hear every

29:46

February 20th for 19 years since

29:48

Kristen first speak. It

29:51

was a game we used to play on the telephone

29:53

when she was young. Kristen and I shared

29:55

a special bond. We shared

29:58

the same birthday. Sense

30:00

your death. My birthdays have been better

30:03

sweet and filled with mixed emotions.

30:06

Kristen was the first baby I ever babysat.

30:15

Much the way all

30:17

of us remember what we were doing when we

30:19

heard about 9-11, I will

30:21

always remember. What

30:23

I was doing when my mom called and

30:25

told me that Kristen was missing. The

30:28

long car ride down to Cal Poly

30:30

with my uncle Stan the next morning. Looking

30:33

up at the moon our first night in

30:36

San Luis Obispo and my

30:38

uncle wondering if Kristen

30:40

could see the moon from somewhere. When

30:43

my uncle and I heard for the first time

30:45

that I'm thinkable from the district

30:47

attorney investigator that

30:50

Kristen was not alive and

30:52

they had a suspect. Searching

30:55

for Kristen's body with my uncle. My

31:01

whole view of the world changed forever.

31:04

Lost was my belief that institutions

31:07

and people would take care enough to

31:09

do the right thing when someone goes missing.

31:13

During the past 26 and a half

31:15

years I have seen the best and

31:18

the worst in human behavior. We

31:22

have encountered many heroes and

31:25

many villains. At the

31:27

time of Kristen's murder I

31:29

was 33 years old without

31:31

children and my uncle Stan

31:34

and Anthony were 51 years old with

31:36

three beautiful children. Now

31:39

married with children of my own I better

31:41

understand the rage and pain

31:44

that they have felt. They have shown

31:46

unimaginable strength. They

31:49

have stayed by each other's side and

31:51

raised two beautiful successful children.

31:54

While Kristen's bedroom remained

31:57

empty. Most

31:59

families

31:59

do not survive this type of tragedy. My

32:04

name is Anne-Marie Christian. I

32:07

am a dear childhood friend of

32:09

Kristen Smart. Kristen

32:11

Smart and I met when we were in fourth grade.

32:14

We were the same age my

32:16

daughter is now. Kristen's

32:20

last words to me were

32:22

in a handwritten letter, a sympathy

32:24

letter. She wrote while she was

32:26

a student

32:27

at Cal Poly in your hall. A

32:30

sympathy letter about my mom's unexpected

32:32

death. Addressed, but

32:34

she never got the chance to send it.

32:37

How do you quantify or even

32:40

begin to explain the impact

32:42

of the loss of a childhood best friend when

32:44

you were both only 19 years old?

32:46

You

32:49

can't. It is not possible.

32:52

I have lived 26 plus

32:55

years without her while

32:57

her killer has been free and

33:00

was given the opportunity to

33:02

victimize other women.

33:06

This is shameful.

33:08

This is shameful.

33:12

Although Kristen's killer has not yet been sentenced,

33:16

he has already handed out a

33:18

life sentence to Kristen.

33:19

Her family

33:22

and friends. Lies.

33:25

We've heard a lot about lies today. You

33:28

know, I have a teenage son as well. And

33:30

the most important thing I've taught him is

33:33

to speak the truth. To

33:35

take responsibility for your actions,

33:38

mistakes or otherwise.

33:40

Your parents,

33:42

Paul, have failed you. So has

33:45

your legal team. Instead

33:48

of teaching you to speak the truth, they've

33:50

taught you how to lie.

33:51

You could break

33:53

the cycle. This

33:58

is only prolonged and increasingly... the

34:00

pain and suffering. Once

34:02

the location of her body is revealed,

34:05

healing can begin. Kristen,

34:11

we love you and

34:13

she'll never give up hope for

34:15

you to finally rest in peace and for

34:19

a lifetime

34:19

of justice

34:21

to be served. Lindsay

34:25

Smart-Stewart. I'm

34:28

the proud sister of Kristen Smart. Throughout

34:31

her short life, my sister's list

34:33

of accomplishments and adventures were already impressive.

34:37

It makes my heart ache when I stop to think about

34:39

what we would have had if she

34:41

were here. Almost three

34:43

decades worth of sister secrets, certainly. Would

34:46

our children be friends? Would

34:48

we live in the same city and help each other out with

34:50

carpool? Would I be God

34:52

here and to one of her children? Today

34:55

I stand before you as a grown woman.

34:58

I have a family, friends, a

35:00

career that I'm proud of. In

35:02

spite of everything in my life that could have

35:04

been very well jeopardized, I

35:07

feel lucky beyond measure for the things I've built

35:09

for myself today. Nevertheless,

35:13

the prolonged post-traumatic stress I experience is

35:16

real and intense.

35:19

Take

35:27

your time. I

35:29

have full-body reactions on the street. And

35:33

they're often prompting me to spread it home and hear.

35:38

They took me ten years to even turn on the news.

35:41

When the worst thing happens to you, it's impossible

35:44

to subject yourself to anything else. For

35:46

so many years, it felt easier to be

35:49

survival mechanism, to compartmentalize

35:51

my existence and focus

35:53

on the things I could control.

35:54

But more importantly, there's

35:57

a hole in my heart that will never be replaced, a hole

35:59

that cheats on my head. changed me, shaped me, and hurled me

36:01

into adulthood overnight. A

36:05

hole that exists thanks to a man who

36:07

hardly learned from his disaster

36:10

and had zero consequences for his actions

36:12

for more than 26 years. While

36:15

I sat at home staring at my

36:17

sister, empty chair for over 26 years, Paul

36:19

had the freedom

36:22

to do whatever he wanted with this family.

36:24

And he still is holding the key to the one thing

36:26

I desperately want, my sister, bringing

36:29

her and her body back. He

36:31

holds the key to

36:33

all the answers of our family's questions,

36:35

and he keeps us imprisoned from

36:37

the truth and the closure about

36:40

my sister's remains. Furthermore,

36:42

Los Angeles County has proof of these horrific

36:45

crimes that continued after my sister's death. Multiple

36:47

women have come forward. These Jane

36:50

Does are the unsung heroes,

36:53

speaking out and giving voice to not only

36:55

their own truth but to victims,

36:57

like my sister who no longer can.

37:00

And yet, Los Angeles County continues

37:02

to evade action. We

37:05

didn't get this right the first time, and sadly we aren't

37:07

getting it right now, but I'll be damned if we don't get

37:09

it right for my children. This

37:11

man has made it abundantly clear he

37:13

never deserves freedom again. I

37:18

am Patrick Stewart, husband of

37:20

Lindsay Smart Stewart and brother-in-law

37:22

to Christmas morning. Women

37:25

suddenly disappearing from Lindsay's life when she was only 14

37:28

years old had a profound impact on the rest

37:30

of her life, often in which she does

37:32

not completely realize. First lady

37:35

from Lindsay is one of the most safety-conscious

37:37

women I have ever known. She will not go

37:39

anywhere that makes her feel even mildly

37:41

unsafe, because, to paraphrase,

37:44

you never know when you're going to get abducted. Not

37:48

robbed, harassed, or

37:50

assaulted, simply disappeared

37:52

off the face of the earth. She

37:54

applies this lens to vacation destinations,

37:57

living situations, and anywhere

37:59

that... anyone in her family may go.

38:02

And even now, though we live in a very safe

38:04

neighborhood with few cars and friendly neighbors,

38:06

she still won't walk down the street at night

38:09

to the mailbox alone. When

38:11

the smart family finally declared Kristin

38:13

dead and held a memorial service in 2002, the

38:17

only way they could get Lindsay, then

38:19

a college freshman, to attend was

38:21

to simply bring her to the service just

38:23

before it started without telling her what

38:26

she was going to in advance. The

38:29

ripple effects of Paul Flores

38:32

raping and murdering my sister-in-law

38:34

have hit me as well. I've

38:36

had to come face to face with the truth

38:39

that people like Paul Flores, who

38:42

give no second thought to drugging

38:44

and raping women, freely

38:46

walk around us all the time and realized

38:50

my own daughters, now two, four,

38:52

and six, might face a monster like

38:54

this before they get their driver's licenses.

38:58

The depravity and pain that Paul

39:00

Flores has brought to our society has

39:02

shaken me deeply. I

39:05

will be enrolling my six-year-old daughter

39:07

into ju- into ju-jitsu-

39:13

I understand how crazy this sounds. Enrolling

39:16

my six-year-old daughter into jujitsu with

39:18

the hopes that she will have

39:20

enough muscle memory by the time she's an adult

39:23

to defend herself against an assault, but

39:26

also knowing that there is no defensive drug.

39:30

Many times sitting in this courtroom, I

39:33

could feel my hands trembling with rage

39:35

at the sight of Paul Flores, which is

39:38

a feeling I never had before and

39:40

wish to not experience again. The

39:43

images of grave sites and the ball-gagged

39:45

victim haunt the back of my

39:48

mind no matter how hard I tried to forget them, simply

39:50

knowing that Paul had so many

39:53

images of exploited children on his

39:55

hard drive and rages me. Not

39:58

even our children.

39:59

children have found shelter from what Paul

40:02

Flores did to their aunt despite our

40:04

best efforts to shield them from

40:07

reality. My oldest daughter has asked

40:09

us several times, what happened

40:11

to Kristen? Or is it a bad man

40:13

who killed Kristen in jail? A year

40:16

ago, my then three-year-old led me

40:18

across a friend's yard to a flower pot

40:20

saying, Kristen is buried here.

40:24

Your Honor, please put Paul Flores

40:26

away for the rest of his life. At the

40:29

core of my being, he is an unapologetic

40:32

sexual predator. At any point

40:34

in the last 26 years, he could have

40:36

done the right thing by confessing and returning

40:39

Kristen's remains. Instead, he used

40:41

the freedom that his parents afforded him after

40:44

Kristen's murder and just kept on

40:46

drugging and raping woman

40:48

after woman after woman. Kristen's mother,

40:52

Denise Smart,

40:53

I feel like there

40:55

is very little like an ad from

40:58

having the family speak. I apologize

41:01

in advance, it's a little long. Life

41:04

can give you no greater pain than the death

41:07

of your

41:10

child. I'm tormented

41:12

by the thought of how she lost her life. Did

41:16

she realize she was in mortal danger? Did a

41:19

sexual deviant think his needs were greater

41:21

than the value of her life? Did

41:23

she cry for help that ever came? If Kristen

41:27

had died from an accident or

41:30

an illness, others would have been there

41:32

to help and care for her through kindness

41:34

and compassion. Yet

41:37

our beautiful and cherished daughter struggled

41:40

alone, alone in the presence

41:41

of

41:45

one of humanity's worst offerings. This

41:48

heartless and depraved person not

41:50

only took her life, but instead

41:53

of coming for help, he unceremoniously

41:56

disposed of her and went about

41:58

his day.

41:59

Why is there no punishment

42:02

for kidnapping or hiding the body of

42:04

another human being? There

42:06

is no greater cruelty or pain than

42:09

not knowing where your child is. And

42:12

even worse is knowing that the perpetrator

42:15

and his callous family

42:17

have the answer you so desperately

42:19

want. I promise

42:21

you I will work for the rest

42:24

of my life to ensure

42:26

that there will be retroactive enhancements

42:29

to

42:29

all sentences for murder when

42:32

the perpetrator also hides the body.

42:37

Watching Paul Flores sit stone-faced and

42:40

remorseless behind his mask

42:43

was emblematic of the hiding he has

42:45

done for the past 26-plus years. Sitting

42:48

in close proximity and watching Paul

42:50

and his

42:51

father banter like a day in the park while

42:53

pointing to this or that, each totally

42:55

ignoring that the family behind them

42:57

does not want to be

42:59

in the courtroom either. We

43:01

only wanted our daughter back. Killing

43:04

another human being is an evil

43:06

sin that has no

43:08

equal. But

43:10

torturing a family by continuing

43:12

to withhold the location of their sister

43:15

and daughter is a cruel

43:17

and visceral pain that

43:20

no one should ever have to bear. It

43:23

is clearly too late for us, but Paul,

43:26

it is not too late for you to tell

43:29

the truth to free your soul and

43:31

your heart from the weight it must be carrying. You

43:34

are after all a human being. Please

43:37

look within your

43:38

heart and consider helping

43:41

our family through this tragedy. It

43:45

was one giant verbal

43:47

heartbreak, one after another. It

43:50

was heartbreaking and sad, yet

43:52

still hopeful, I think. And really, I mean,

43:54

just a testament to never

43:57

giving up. That's really what

43:59

I took from all that. It was a

44:01

living, breathing testament

44:04

to a family and a bunch of supporters

44:07

and friends that just never gave up

44:09

and still continue to work towards

44:13

justice. Were there any standout moments

44:15

in the victim impact statements that hit you? Kristin's

44:18

friend, that one hit me really

44:20

hard for some reason. Really

44:24

kind of hit me. Yeah,

44:26

Patrick talking about putting

44:29

his daughters in jujitsu.

44:29

That one hit home.

44:32

Because

44:35

I've had the same thought.

44:38

Following the victim impact statements,

44:40

Judge O'Keefe spoke at length about her takeaways

44:43

from the case before finally

44:45

sentencing Paul Flores. A

44:47

beautiful young woman with big dreams and a

44:50

bright future, the senses

44:52

they murdered. It

44:55

is a tragedy that her family had to

44:57

wait 26 years for justice. It

45:01

is a tragedy that you, Mr. Flores,

45:04

continue to compound their heartbreak

45:07

by not allowing them to burn Kristin home.

45:12

I think it's important to acknowledge Kristin

45:14

Smart and to remember

45:16

the extraordinary person that Kristin

45:18

was and her lasting impact

45:21

of her short, meaningful life

45:23

that they had on

45:25

those who were fortunate enough to know her. I

45:29

read the voluminous impact letter submitted

45:31

by those who knew and loved Kristin.

45:35

Through your words and memories, you

45:37

have given me the great honor of getting

45:39

to know Kristin as well.

45:43

Kristin Smart was a bright, caring

45:46

and loving daughter, sister and friend.

45:49

She was an adventurous soul with dreams

45:51

of traveling the world. Kristin

45:54

always approached light through the lens of what was

45:57

possible. To her, every

45:59

dream looked like this.

45:59

with in reach.

46:02

Her family members remember Kristin

46:05

as their Sunday morning omelet chef, a

46:08

great big sister who cheers her limbs

46:10

on at swim meets, gave

46:12

them pep talks, made them desserts,

46:15

and gave the best hugs. Kristin

46:19

loved children and was a great babysitter.

46:22

She loved the beach, water sports, aloha

46:25

shirts, and reggae music. But

46:28

first and foremost, Kristin

46:31

was a smart, loving, kind,

46:34

and beautiful person. On

46:37

May 25, 1996, Kristin's life was suddenly and violently extinguished.

46:40

What began as a

46:45

missing persons report turned into a decades-long

46:47

nightmare for Kristin Smart's family.

46:50

And I don't think anyone

46:52

can truly understand the nightmare they

46:54

do have endured. Your

46:57

love, strength, and tenacity has

47:00

bound you as a family and

47:02

has enabled you to enjoy the senseless

47:05

tragedy. This

47:07

tragedy not only devastated the Smart

47:09

family, it has impacted the communities

47:15

of St. Louis, Obispo, and Cal Poly.

47:18

It has scarred the community and the

47:20

wounds caused to the community are still brought.

47:24

I received numerous letters from those in those

47:27

communities regarding the lasting

47:29

effects that this tragedy has had on them. A

47:32

pervasive theme throughout these letters was

47:35

the loss of innocence and the loss

47:37

of a feeling of safety because

47:39

of the knowledge that evil does exist

47:41

in the world and the fear that

47:43

if something happened this close to home,

47:46

how can they be safe?

47:47

Nothing

47:50

that I say can remove

47:52

the almost three decades of loss,

47:55

anger, frustration, and sadness that

47:58

Kristin Smart's family embraced. have endured.

48:00

Kristen's murder

48:03

has impacted every facet of their life

48:05

and affected them profoundly. Sentencing

48:09

does not generally bring closure. There

48:13

is no closure in Kristen's family and friends

48:15

who have suffered 26 years of pain and

48:18

are still unable to properly lay their

48:20

luck on to rest. Sentencing,

48:23

Paul Bloor, says, does not mean not a holiday,

48:25

birthday, wedding, or other

48:27

joyous occasion will go by without the pain

48:30

of Kristen not being there. What

48:32

this sentencing will provide is accountability.

48:34

Mr.

48:37

Flores, you

48:39

have been a cancer to society.

48:43

In May 1996, you

48:45

maliciously murdered Kristen Smart. You

48:48

took advantage of her while she was in a

48:50

vulnerable state. You

48:53

volunteered to make sure she got home safely to

48:55

her dormitory only to take her life.

48:57

For 25 years, you would

49:00

live free in the community while Kristen's

49:02

family has lived a nightmare. Your

49:05

continued predatory behavior in

49:07

the years that you were free sexually

49:10

assaulting women who were either drugged

49:12

or intoxicated to the point where they could not

49:14

consent. This

49:16

predatory behavior has spanned your

49:18

adult life. It

49:21

is necessary to remove you from society

49:23

so that you can no longer prey on

49:25

and victimize women. You

49:28

deserve to spend every day you have left behind

49:31

bars. The

49:33

defendant is statutorily ineligible for probation

49:36

pursuant to Penal Code Section 1203E3

49:39

and probation will be denied. You

49:42

are committed to the Department of Corrections and

49:44

Rehabilitation, as to count

49:47

one, a violation of Penal Code

49:49

Section 187A, murder in the first

49:52

degree, to the maximum sentence

49:54

that I can impose by law, an

49:56

indeterminate term of 25 years to life. Pursuant

50:01

to California Penal Code Section 290.006A, you

50:04

are ordered to register as a sex

50:08

offender for life. The court

50:11

finds that the murder of Kristen Smart was

50:13

for the purpose of sexual gratification

50:15

and sexual compulsion. The

50:18

murder occurred during the commission of or

50:20

attempted commission of a rape. The 1108

50:23

evidence presented in this case was that this

50:25

was not an isolated incident and that

50:28

the defendant has sexually assaulted other women.

50:31

Mr. Flores was remanded

50:33

into the custody of the sheriff for the delivery

50:35

to the Department of Corrections, Fort Worth. Thank

50:38

you, ladies and

50:39

gentlemen.

51:06

Let me ask you about Judge O'Keeces' sentencing. Because

51:09

this was a particularly cathartic moment for me,

51:12

how did you feel listening to her say

51:14

those words to Paul? She

51:16

had spent an amazing five months

51:19

being stoic and

51:21

professional and kind

51:24

of the prototypical perfect judge, calm,

51:27

cool and collected, willing to listen,

51:30

willing to change her mind if needed. And

51:32

when she's made a decision, she lets everybody

51:34

know that it's done. What more

51:36

can you ask for? You can't. Her

51:41

level of emotion

51:43

was cathartic for me as well. I

51:45

think that's the best way of putting it. I

51:48

thought the judge's statements were very powerful.

51:52

That really hit me kind of

51:54

in the gut too, you know, it's like an emotion

51:56

that was a strong

51:58

emotion. I

52:01

was impressed with the judge throughout the whole

52:03

trial, but especially when

52:05

she sentenced him. The utmost

52:08

profession the entire time. In

52:10

that way, because of her level

52:13

of decorum and just

52:16

professional affect and everything

52:18

that she showed throughout that time, just

52:20

being impartial, ruling

52:23

as was appropriate, following

52:25

the law and doing

52:28

her job appropriately

52:29

and correctly, it

52:32

was different when she ended

52:34

up making her final judgment and her statement.

52:38

She appropriately described Paul

52:40

Flores and the things

52:41

that he's done and she hit the

52:44

nail on the head.

52:45

Paul was led out of the courtroom by a bailiff

52:48

in handcuffs to begin serving

52:50

his sentence of 25 years to life.

52:56

March 10th, 2023 also

52:59

had another important distinction. Detective

53:02

Clint Cole,

53:03

who had been the lead detective on the Kristen Smartcase

53:06

for over five years, returned

53:08

to work after the verdicts in October and

53:11

quickly realized that he was depleted.

53:14

After some deep thought and consideration,

53:17

he decided it was time to retire from the San

53:20

Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department. He

53:22

just needed to pick a day. I

53:24

had filled out my pension trust paperwork. They

53:27

asked for a date. Well, I wasn't sure. And

53:31

super sweet lady and she's like, hey, you

53:34

still need to put a date. I

53:36

said, well, I'm not real sure. I mean, how do you pick

53:38

a date? And it just

53:40

popped in my head. I

53:42

put a lot of heart and soul into

53:45

that case as people

53:47

like you have.

53:47

And I just felt

53:49

like that would be a fitting day to be

53:51

my last day. March 10th,

53:55

the day Paul Flores gets sentenced will be my last

53:57

day at work.

53:58

That was an awesome day. You know, seeing

54:01

him, when I watched

54:03

him walk out of that courtroom, he's

54:06

gone. I

54:08

can move on. Just

54:11

seemed like it was such a fitting day. It's

54:14

just like it all fell together.

54:17

When we walked out of the courthouse that afternoon,

54:20

we still had a lot of questions.

54:23

For one, what does 25

54:25

years to life even mean?

54:28

It was confusing for a lot of ordinary

54:30

people,

54:31

and as I learned, kind of hard to

54:34

explain even for legal professionals.

54:37

Basically, Paul Flores

54:39

has been ordered to spend a minimum of 25

54:42

years to a maximum of

54:44

the rest of his life in prison.

54:47

However, in the state of California,

54:50

he'll become eligible for parole

54:52

after only 15 years.

54:55

The upside

54:56

is that in August of 2037, a parole

54:59

board will have access to the

55:01

video files found on Paul's hard drive

55:03

in 2020.

55:05

As Judge O'Keefe said,

55:07

Kristen Smart's rape and subsequent

55:09

death

55:10

were not an isolated incident.

55:13

Paul Flores is a documented

55:15

serial rapist,

55:17

and a future parole board will have

55:19

to determine that releasing him would no

55:21

longer pose a risk to public safety.

55:24

It is hard to predict the future, and it's hard to say

55:26

what future

55:29

legislation might do. It's hard to

55:31

say what parole boards might do. But

55:33

my experience in

55:35

parole hearings and parole boards

55:38

is that they look for accountability

55:42

and some insight into what they've done.

55:47

And absent that, I would think that

55:49

any parole board might be hard-pressed to

55:53

entertain the possibility of parole

55:55

for someone who has zero insight into what he's done,

55:58

much less. any sort of admission

56:00

to what he's done. That's

56:03

just kind of based on my experience having

56:05

sat through parole hearings before, but

56:09

there's really no telling. You know, I hope

56:12

at the end of the day that Paul

56:15

Flores will have to serve the sentence that's

56:17

been handed down to him, which I think is 100% appropriate

56:20

and is deserved.

56:23

Paul is currently being held at

56:25

North Kern State Prison in

56:28

Delano, California.

56:29

From which he'll likely be transferred to a more

56:31

permanent home sometime this summer,

56:34

potentially San Quentin

56:36

or Pelican Bay,

56:38

according to corrections officers I've spoken

56:40

with. And while partial

56:43

justice has now been served for Kristen Smart,

56:46

in some ways it still feels like

56:48

a hollow victory.

56:50

All of the evidence indicates that

56:52

Paul Flores was not the only person

56:55

involved in disposing of Kristen's

56:57

remains.

56:58

And Kristen is still out there

57:00

somewhere.

57:02

While I shared previously that

57:04

Paul's first attorney, Mel Delamot,

57:07

was involved in a years-long negotiation

57:10

with both the District Attorney's Office and

57:12

the Smart Family Civil Attorney,

57:15

documentation of those negotiations

57:18

finally surfaced in unsealed

57:20

affidavits in 2022.

57:24

On May 2,

57:27

2010, a note taken from a meeting with then

57:29

District Attorney Gerald Shea quotes

57:31

Delamot verbatim, I

57:34

just want to say one thing,

57:36

and I shouldn't even be saying this,

57:38

but if you'll come to me with an offer of an involuntary

57:41

with only one condition, and that is

57:43

that he'll take law enforcement to the body,

57:46

then I can make that deal happen.

57:49

If

57:52

Paul can't produce Kristen's body, then

57:55

no plea deal can happen. If

57:57

Paul has no knowledge of when and which

57:59

where Kristin died, then

58:01

he couldn't ever produce a body.

58:04

And yet, Delamot says in 2010,

58:07

he'll take law enforcement to the body.

58:11

When that portion was unsealed in 2022,

58:14

Delamot told San Luis Obispo Tribune

58:16

reporter Chloe Jones that

58:18

the quote attributed to him

58:20

was a total lie,

58:22

insisting that he retired in 2001 and

58:26

walked away from law entirely.

58:28

Quote, when I retired, I retired.

58:31

I didn't practice law at all.

58:34

Whether he was still practicing and

58:36

officially representing Paul Flores or not,

58:39

Delamot returned to the negotiations on

58:41

several occasions.

58:43

Smart family attorney Jim Murphy's office

58:46

kept records of several phone calls and

58:48

lunch meetings with Delamot

58:50

to discuss a plea deal for Paul. January 11, 2003.

58:56

March 28, 2003.

58:58

October 21, 2003.

59:03

All two years after he says

59:05

he didn't practice law at all.

59:08

And others told me they discussed

59:11

it with him as recently as 2009, prior to that documented

59:14

meeting with the DA's

59:16

office

59:17

in 2010.

59:20

Delamot's denial last year

59:22

doesn't hold a lot of weight with the team that prosecuted

59:24

Paul either.

59:25

He has no choice but to say that he

59:28

has no choice, even though he's not practicing

59:30

any further.

59:32

I'm not going to call him a liar,

59:35

but it happened. As

59:38

I think was publicly reported, our

59:40

files indicate there were several plea negotiations

59:43

going back into the late 90s and

59:45

early 2000s.

59:46

Those conversations happen

59:49

all the time in general amongst prosecutors

59:51

and defense attorneys when there's a good relationship. Say,

59:53

hey, let's can we work this out? What's something

59:56

that we could do? That's

59:58

kind of a core function that.

59:59

to happen in the system to

1:00:02

be able to talk candidly. So I

1:00:05

believed him. Let me put it that way.

1:00:07

One of the things that Delavot was offering

1:00:09

was Kristen's body. Was

1:00:11

that on the table? Yes.

1:00:16

So what happens now?

1:00:19

Paul is in prison. Reuben

1:00:21

is not. Susan and

1:00:23

her boyfriend Mike have never been

1:00:25

charged.

1:00:27

Susan and Ermelinda both refuse

1:00:30

to testify or even sit

1:00:32

in the courthouse during the trial.

1:00:35

Delavot says he never said Paul

1:00:37

could lead authorities to Kristen's body, even

1:00:39

though a paper trail says he did.

1:00:43

Somebody knows what happened to Kristen's

1:00:46

body. So what steps

1:00:48

are being taken to find her?

1:00:51

I can tell you confidently that

1:00:53

searches for Kristen's smart are

1:00:55

ongoing. You've probably read

1:00:58

about some in the news, and you

1:01:00

know at least a few places that still

1:01:02

need to be covered. And

1:01:05

in addition to that, there are several

1:01:07

uncharged rapes in Los Angeles County

1:01:10

and a backyard in San Pedro that

1:01:12

has never been searched with human remains detection

1:01:15

dogs or ground penetrating radar.

1:01:18

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's

1:01:21

Office told the slow Tribune this

1:01:23

past January that they have no

1:01:25

intention of charging Paul with any of the

1:01:27

rapes, homemade rape videos,

1:01:29

or child sexual assault material

1:01:32

found on Paul's computer in 2020.

1:01:35

Detective Clint Cole retired

1:01:38

on March 10th,

1:01:39

and in January Deputy District

1:01:41

Attorney Chris Peverrell

1:01:43

left San Luis Obispo to take a new position

1:01:46

as the Assistant District Attorney of

1:01:49

Monterey County.

1:01:51

So is this the end of the investigation?

1:01:54

What's next? Well, one,

1:01:56

I know you're still working on it. The

1:02:00

detective that took my spot is going

1:02:03

to assist in any leads. Sheriff

1:02:06

Parkinson has devoted

1:02:09

that this case will continue to be

1:02:11

followed up on with

1:02:14

LA, geez, that's a good question.

1:02:17

I don't have a lot of faith that they're gonna do

1:02:20

anything. I'm not afraid to say

1:02:22

that we submitted everything we know

1:02:24

to them. We've given

1:02:26

them everything they need. And

1:02:29

I hope the smarts continue to push that

1:02:32

because if we

1:02:34

could get them to

1:02:37

work these a little bit harder and get

1:02:39

a couple, we'll keep him in jail longer.

1:02:43

And then your hard work, I know you're gonna keep working

1:02:45

it as well. And it's

1:02:49

a difficult situation because one

1:02:52

family knows. They've kept a horrific

1:02:54

secret for all

1:02:57

these years. And it's just not right. The

1:03:00

Sheriff's Department is in charge of

1:03:03

the investigation at this point to find

1:03:05

Kristen, but I will

1:03:08

do whatever they ask me to do. And

1:03:10

I know the district attorney's office in St. Louis

1:03:12

would feel the same. I have thought about

1:03:14

where Kristen might be every single day since

1:03:17

I've been assigned the case, as I'm sure

1:03:19

you have from every single day that you've started to do

1:03:21

the podcast. If they put her

1:03:23

under their deck, they put her in a place under

1:03:25

their purview, under their control.

1:03:29

I would suspect that they do something

1:03:31

similar. So she is in a place that

1:03:33

they are familiar with, that may not be

1:03:35

under their control given the level of surveillance

1:03:37

they thought they were under, but that they could easily access

1:03:40

if needed. As far as

1:03:42

Los Angeles,

1:03:45

you know, I tried to prosecute those rapes and

1:03:48

I was denied the motion to

1:03:51

amend and add them to the San

1:03:53

Luis Obispo case. I did everything

1:03:55

I could for those victims' voices to be heard.

1:03:58

And there's nothing else I can do. It's

1:04:02

an aggravating situation, and

1:04:05

practically the same reason I started this podcast

1:04:07

in the first place. As

1:04:09

a regular citizen in 2018, I

1:04:12

had no idea what the holdup was.

1:04:16

Whether it was apathy, laziness,

1:04:19

or some big conspiracy in San Luis

1:04:21

Obispo County, I

1:04:23

was relieved to learn that the sheriff's

1:04:25

detectives were just ordinary people

1:04:28

who had hit a number of dead ends because

1:04:30

of early mistakes and needed

1:04:32

to find a new way to move forward.

1:04:35

And once they did, dozens

1:04:37

of people jumped into action, many

1:04:41

who will never be publicly recognized for

1:04:43

their efforts. A lot of hard work

1:04:45

by a lot of people that are behind

1:04:47

the scenes in the DA's office, the sheriff's

1:04:50

office. You know, I'm the one

1:04:52

here getting the interview, but there were 15 or 20

1:04:55

detectives helping me at various times,

1:04:58

and writing search warrants, manning

1:05:00

the wire room. A

1:05:02

lot of people behind the scenes also helped

1:05:04

make this successful,

1:05:05

and I think it's fair that

1:05:08

they're thanked and mentioned as well. So

1:05:12

there's work to be done in Los Angeles County,

1:05:15

and still in San Luis Obispo, and at

1:05:18

Cal Poly. But

1:05:20

until that work produces something worth

1:05:22

reporting on, I'll be moving

1:05:25

quietly in the background for a while, doing

1:05:27

whatever I can to help.

1:05:30

I'm still unpacking the events of the last

1:05:32

several years and how we got

1:05:35

to this point, and so

1:05:37

far,

1:05:38

it's been a little difficult.

1:05:40

But luckily, I'm not

1:05:42

alone.

1:05:43

After a few years of being zoomed

1:05:45

into the microscopic details, a

1:05:48

lot of us are just finally starting to

1:05:50

zoom out again to assess the

1:05:52

impact of what took place.

1:05:56

I think this case is probably very unique,

1:05:58

just because

1:05:59

You're from the community and the community just

1:06:02

cared so deeply about this case. I

1:06:04

just don't think you could ever replicate what

1:06:06

happened, what we did here in

1:06:08

any other case. I mean maybe, but just

1:06:11

a confluence of events that brought everything together

1:06:13

the last few years. Did

1:06:16

what you saw in this trial or what you saw from Paul

1:06:19

Flores, has it

1:06:20

changed the way that you view the world?

1:06:23

Yes for good and for bad. You

1:06:25

know the bad, you

1:06:28

can almost never let your guard down.

1:06:30

Because I think it's more common, based

1:06:33

on my experience in this case, I know it's more common

1:06:36

than we think or than is reported

1:06:39

by a substantial factor. So

1:06:44

you know if I was 19, I

1:06:46

would

1:06:48

never get to take a drink from anybody. I

1:06:53

would cover my drink. I've seen products on the internet

1:06:56

where you cover your drink if you're at social

1:06:58

function. It's changed

1:07:00

how I'm going to send my kids to college

1:07:03

and you know if I ever speak at colleges, how

1:07:05

I speak to them.

1:07:08

And in a way

1:07:10

that I just didn't understand before

1:07:12

the case. To really truly understand

1:07:15

the depth of how pervasive this

1:07:17

is. But

1:07:19

the good. You

1:07:21

know people like you. You

1:07:24

stand up for what's right. For

1:07:26

no other reason just then it's right.

1:07:32

You know that the team at the DA's office and

1:07:34

the Sheriff's Department

1:07:36

who moved away from their

1:07:38

families for five months to do this. Because

1:07:41

it was the right thing to do. You

1:07:43

know and the community in

1:07:46

San Luis Obispo and your community.

1:07:49

You know people still you know stop

1:07:51

and tell me thank you. It means a lot

1:07:53

and it's you know

1:07:55

the good is people do care

1:07:58

and people will come together. when

1:08:00

it's for the right thing. The

1:08:02

good in the world is there, and

1:08:04

this case really showed it for

1:08:06

me. If that makes

1:08:08

sense.

1:08:42

You've been listening to People vs. Flores,

1:08:46

a special bonus series at the Your Own Backyard

1:08:48

Podcast. For more

1:08:51

updates, go to yourownbackyardpodcast.com.

1:08:55

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1:08:57

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1:08:59

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