On Tuesday, a jury in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas, California convicted Paul Flores of murdering Kristin Smart, a California Polytechnic State University student who disappeared from a campus more than a quarter of a century ago.
The jury also acquitted Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, who was accused of helping cover up the murder.
Flores was one of Smart’s college classmates at the time, and accompanied her after an off-campus party. The convicted felon now faces 25 years to life in prison and will remain in custody.
At the end of May 1996, Kristina Smart disappeared after an off-campus party. Smart’s body was never found and she was formally declared dead in 2002.
Paul Flores was questioned immediately after Smart's disappearance as one of the last people to have seen her, as he volunteered to walk Smart to her dorm, since he lived next to her. However, he was nor arrested nor charged at the time.
Only in 2020 did law enforcement carry out search warrants on properties linked to Paul Flores and his family. A year later, Paul was named the “prime suspect” in the case and Flores and his father were arrested.