Paul Flores was last seen with missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in May of 1996 and has been a person of interest over the years. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. The mother of the lead suspect in the Kristin Smart case has broken her silence, claiming that her family has been unfairly targeted and harassed for decades after police announced this week that they were searching her husband's California home. Guns, Grift, and Gore: The Life and Times of an Arms-Dealing Hustler On the site, theres a plaque featuring a poem by Smart about her love of the ocean: Floating upon the salty waters/I cringe with excitement/To be in such a heavenly place. Its located about 11 miles from the Cal Poly campus. Flores is the mother of the only person of interest ever named by authorities in the case, Paul Flores. A scan with ground-penetrating radar of Susan Flores' backyard produced one anomalous reading under a . [The billboard is] a reminder that theyve never found her. He bought some high-quality recording equipment and began making calls. An indie folk musician by trade, Lambert is shy and reserved, and despite hosting an extremely popular podcast about Smarts case, In Your Own Backyard (which launched September of 2019), hes not too keen on social interactions. This story was originally published August 10, 2020, 3:31 PM. Investigators are using cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in their search, according to sheriff's officials. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. The other location in Califonia was at Paul Flores residence in San Pedro, and the fourth location at the sisters home in Washinton State. Ideas to update and improve your outdoor space with hardscaping elements. Lamberts digging finally yielded results on a 2019 visit a memorial to Smart on Shell Beach on her birthday, February 20th. To unify the space on a budget, work with whats already there. He feels like hes gotten to know Kristin Smart, but wishes he had the chance to meet her. His is the latest in a line of true-crime podcasts credited with producing results in court. Davis peeled off and Anderson left Flores and Smart about 40 steps from her dorm, Muir Hall, saying that he would walk Smart home. Anybody can say Oh, yeah, we think its there. That cant be admitted in a court of law.. Im fine. She told him that shortly after moving. He also stayed quiet after the Smarts filed a $40 million wrongful-death lawsuit against him; during a 1997 deposition, he again pleaded the fifth. Time slogged on and Flores was never charged. The hole was about waist-deep, mid-thigh level, and stretching seven to eight feet long, four to six feet wide, the witness, who requested anonymity, said. The younger Flores has never been charged with any crimes related to Smart hes also never spoken to reporters about the case and did not respond to Rolling Stones request for comment. Set up in the backyard this morning, close to the deck with lattice running along the edge, are two blue "pop-up" tents. The longtime suspect, Paul Flores, 44, was charged with murder in the killing of the 19-year-old while trying to rape her in his dorm room at California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo, where both were freshmen, prosecutors said. Until we know their feelings, we wouldnt move forward., John Segale, a Smart family spokesman, wrote in an email Friday that the family has no comment.. Delivered Fridays. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He claimed the black eye was caused by taking an elbow during a game of pickup basketball with his college buddy Jeremy Moon at Harlow School in Arroyo Grande four days earlier, according to Shafers report quoting investigators. Shovels and orange buckets are at the scene as well. Flores and his parents have always maintained his innocence, invoking the Fifth Amendment when the DAs office subpoenaed him to testify before a grand jury in 1996. . Its so important for keeping the word out there . It doesnt have to be six beds; it could be three beds, or four, Welti said. His kitchen table has been lost to the Smart case, covered in notes and discarded batteries; he and his girlfriend eat in the living room. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. UPDATE (2:15 p.m.) - The vehicle towed from Ruben Flores' home Monday morning was a 1985 Volkswagen registered to Ruben and Susan Flores, according to the DMV. ", Following news of Monday's search, the Smart family released the following statement: We are encouraged by the news of todays search of Ruben Flores property. UPDATE (8:00 p.m.) - Investigators primarily focused their search on the backyard and lower deck. a couple times like on the way, maybe probably twice you know, I went like that just gave her kind of a hug cause she was freezin, he told Cal Polys campus cops, according to Schafers report. Your Own Backyard producer Chris Lambert, who lives in Orcutt, has interviewed Smarts parents, investigators and multiple women who said they have felt personally threatened by Flores.. Investigators are using cadaver dogs and. More cadaver dogs were brought in and each dog alerted on a corner of a bed mattress located on the left side of the room. It was Floress bed, Tse told cops, according to a police report Schafer cited. Shortly before, Susan's boyfriend could be seen driving by the area as well. All rights reserved. I think the value of it has been big., Denise Smart has also credited Sheriff Parkinson with bringing new vigor to the investigation since he was sworn into office in 2011. On June 29 to 30, 1996, dogs trained to search for human remains were brought in to search for clues. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Hes been certified before, Dostie said. The Gardenista editors provide a curated selection of product recommendations for your consideration. The paper also reported that a man believed to be Flores was detained in a Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department squad vehicle for two hours that day and that his house was one of the locations searched. It did produce some information that I believe was valuable.. The San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office initially spoke to The Daily Beast about some of these precise questions about the viability of the mothers backyard and to answer about their current and past investigation efforts. An old backyard of a Persian house. Smart was a Cal Poly freshman when she was last seen on May 25, 1996, walking home from a party with Paul Flores toward the San Luis Obispo universitys dorms. 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Located on a 5,000-square-foot property, the 2,000-square-foot home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Sheriff's officials said that arrest came as a result of information obtained during searches of his San Pedro home in February and April of 2020, when investigators were reportedly looking for items of interest in the Smart case. Image via Mooseys. Its driving me insane, he said, yet he remained focused, patient and polite during a 45-minute interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. That was the day members of San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office and the FBI arrived at Susan Flores home to search the property. The reason this garden works so well is symmetry, says landscape designer Susan Welti of Foras Studio . Another critical piece of evidence pointing to Susan Floress property is a certain earring that was misplaced by San Luis Obispo deputies. Thats been the best part of all of this: just forming a real friendship with the family, he says. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Ruben and Susan Flores. Above: For modern inspiration, Welti turned to Russell Pages The Education of a Gardener, first published in 1962. Your resource for finding the best storage and home organization solutions for every room in the house. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's investigators served a search warrant at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores on Monday, March 15, 2021. for which use the property could be zoned, against the Smarts for emotional distress, served a search warrant at Flores Los Angeles County home, the Sheriffs Office served search warrants at four locations, announced it had taken two trucks into evidence, We are still waiting for justice. Car cruise honors missing woman Kristin Smart, Who is Paul Flores? Old Buster turned around and locked up like an old bird dogjust froze in his tracks, Smallwood, a resident of nearby Grover Beach, remembers. On her last night alive, according to Schafers report citing official investigative documents, Smart, a 19-year-old, blond, 6-foot-1 swimmer was passed out drunk on a lawn around 2:30 a.m. after partying at an off-campus home on Crandall Way hosted by Kappa Chi fraternity. Theres little (or no) money to fix up the garden, which the contractors left looking like a war zone. Unique I asked if I could talk to [them] And [one of them] turned out to be Kristins mom, [Denise] Lambert says. Now 44, Flores was charged with murder in the killing of the 19-year-old while trying to rape her in his dorm room, prosecutors said. This exquisite beauty features the most far out accent walls inside and out that make the home a true work of art. Good News Real News Your Hometown News, Atascadero News Remodelista, Gardenista, 10 Easy Pieces, Steal This Look, 5 Quick Fixes, Design Sleuth, High/Low Design, Sourcebook for the Considered Home, and Sourcebook for Considered Living are registered trademarks of Remodelista, LLC. Serial helped a convicted murderer initially win an order for a new trial in Maryland, though higher courts overruled that decision. So many people said Yeah, good idea. Busters nose also found six airmen who went missing after their B-26 bomber was shot down in Allmuthen, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. In April, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office served a search warrant at Flores Los Angeles County home. Later investigation determined that, in fact, Susan Flores did reside at [redacted] at the time of Kristin Smarts disappearance, the report states. Paso Robles Press Kristin the dreamer. After listening to the podcast and reading the earlier articles online I was left with the impression that Susan's backyard might contain evidence. She created the low-maintenance scheme a few years ago for a Brooklyn couple whose townhouse had a typical rectangular backyard (20 feet wide by 36 feet deep). Sheriff's officials say the current search could take a couple of days to complete and traffic in the area may be impacted. Flores lived there with his roommate, Derrick Tse. OK um, she walked that way, I walked that way, Flores told campus cops. You should receive an email with your password reset code - please enter it below, along with your new password. And in January, the Sheriffs Office announced it had taken two trucks into evidence that belonged to members of Flores family in 1996. As a result, no further details were released. Its like, youre working on this secretly and then this guy comes along and starts talking and now the entire community is outraged and they want answers now.. Above: Its a simple idea, with an interior grid, a bluestone patio. Perhaps Kristin's body was there initially and her belongings were buried there. 2 podcast on iTunes. Paul Flores working at the South Central Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, February 2013. They were at her house looking for evidence regarding the disappearance and probable murder of Kristin Smart committed, allegedly, by Paul Flores. Flores rolled up the car window and reversed. According to The Tribune, that lawsuit cannot move forward during an active criminal investigation. Two people were needed to move this. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley and is originally from Ojai. With the heat back on Smarts case, the family can only praise Lamberts work. So it was heavy. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of. Here's what we know. Breaking news, commentary, comprehensive coverage, and local profiles. A red Butterfly Chair, made to the specifications of the original BFK, is $350 from Circa 50. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. But now, hes found himself in the thick of it, as the case hes been following almost obsessively has heated up once more. The garden has withstood the test of timeand long been one of our favorites (we first spotted it in Domino Magazine)so we asked Welti to tell us how you can adapt it for your space. The same kind of forensic investigation that was done in Ruben's yard could have been done there as well. With the coast seemingly clear he opened the door to his white 1960 Chevrolet Impala parked on the crammed street where hes resided for almost two years. In Your Own Backyard ran from September 2019 to January 2020 and, not long after the seventh episode aired, authorities showed up at Susan Flores' front door on that day in early February. A tenant who lived for a year at Susan Flores home told him she heard a watch alarm every morning at 4:20 a.m. Smart had worked as a lifeguard at 5 a.m. at the Cal Poly pool, so its possible she set her watch to wake up at that early hour. (7:47 a.m.) - Another search warrant in connection to the 1996 disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart was served Monday morning in Arroyo Grande, this time at the home of Paul Flores's father. Flores is the mother of Paul Flores, the last person seen with Smart when the 19-year-old woman went missing after a party in San Luis Obispo in 1996. Susan Flores, who evicted her tenants after they began discovering items at the house, says she has been wrongly targeted. Buster alerts in the backyard of a house adjacent to Susan Flores' (courtesy David Smallwood) Clark Baird shows me one of the spots where he searched for Kristin in 2014. Paul Flores lawyer has declined to comment on the criminal charge. Lambert details all this and more in his podcast, homing in on details that armchair sleuths believe signal Flores guilt: a possibly blood-flecked earring that looked like one of Smarts found on Susan Flores property by renters (it was misplaced by the police) and a mysterious beeping that emanated from the concrete yard at 4:20 every morning about the time Smart often set her alarm for to make it to early swim practices. Still, Lambert and everyone else in the area knew that one of those locations would be the Flores home. The sun-bleached sign features a photo of smiling Cal Poly student Kristin Smart and the promise of a $75,000 reward for her recovery. He said he sent an intermediary to her house and Susan Flores threatened to call the police. Receive the Gardenista newsletter in your inbox daily. I was just hoping to walk up to his door and just ask, Is this how you want to live the rest of your life? He also says he tried calling Flores cellphone and received no answer. On Monday, Mar. Last month, Flores was arrested in Los Angeles County on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. In Your Own Backyard ran from September 2019 to January 2020 and, not long after the seventh episode aired, authorities showed up at Susan Flores front door on that day in early February. LOS ANGELES Chris Lambert would like to get back to making music, but he cant stop chasing a ghost that has haunted him for nearly 25 years. This search comes almost a year after four search warrants were served in February 2020, just before the pandemic. Above: To shape boxwood, consider Topiary Trimming Shears by Burgon and Ball; available in two sizes, for $23 or $46.20, from Garden Tool Co. I decided to go up there with my microphone and just see if anybody showed up to remember her that day, so I could interview them, he says. In the book, he daydreams about his ideal property, which he describes as a workmanlike space with a series of geometric beds, so he can experiment easily and practically, Welti says. She had driven from her home in Stockton, over 250 miles away. Experts and neighbors tell The Daily Beast they might be digging in the wrong spot, and that they have reason to believe Smart may be buried in the backyard that once belonged to the last man seen with her. When the sheriffs office released a press release a little before 7:30 a.m. that day, they didnt reveal that this house in particular would be searched the Sheriffs spokesman Tony Cipolla only stated that officers were searching four locations in California and Washington State as part of the investigation into the disappearance of 19-year-old Smart. San Luis Obispo. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. If we each donated $25, we could make that happen.. It was reported that Ruben Flores is not allowed at the home during the search and is currently with his wife Susan Flores at her East Branch Street Home. Above: Vintage butterfly chairs belonged to the clients, a graphic designer and an architect. Chris Lambert has spent most of his life in Central California haunted by a billboard. Flores had been walking an intoxicated Smart home from a party and was the last person seen with her. I recognized Flores and I knew exactly what I saw., Schafers report prepared back in 2000 referred to another neighbor named Lauri Quinn who also shared her version of seeing ongoing construction work in the backyard of Susan Floress property and later newly constructed concrete planters cut into the existing cement in the backyard.. Flores said it would sound stupid saying he bumped his eye on the steering wheel of his truck, the report states. To know once and for all whether Smart was buried beneath the concrete doesnt require a jackhammer. And so that has been searched a couple of times and we did notthere was nothing of an evidentiary nature that we were able to discover there. No one started looking for her in earnest until about week after her disappearance under the misguided impression that she had gone away for the weekend; campus police declined to take a missing persons report when a dorm mate noticed that Smart had not returned back to her room two days after the party. This is an update of a post originally published April 23, 2012. She created the low-maintenance scheme a few years ago for a Brooklyn couple whose townhouse had a typical rectangular backyard (20 feet wide by 36 feet deep). But, according to Schafers report, sheriffs deputies discounted the cadaver dogs interest in a corner of the backyard at the residence because they believed, at the time, Paul Flores mother, Susan Flores, did not reside there. What will happen to residents? Editors picks No worries, we will email you reset instructions! All these printouts were put up saying Dont trust him, Gary said. A former colleague of Paul Flores' mother, Susan Flores, told him Mrs. Flores came into work after Memorial Day weekend 1996 when Smart went missing saying she didn't sleep well because. Belongings were buried there of a Gardener, first published in 1962 bought. Flores told campus cops an email with your new password pointing to Floress. Tse told cops, according to sheriff 's officials can only praise work. And supporters searched for answers and for justice certain earring that was in. Resource for finding the best part of all Time hes been certified before, Susan backyard. 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