Paul Flores was convicted of raping and murdering Kristin Smart whose body has never been found
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NEED TO KNOW
- The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant this week at the home of Susan Flores, the mother of Paul Flores, who was found guilty in 2022 of the first-degree murder of Kristin Smart
- Smart’s remains have never been found
- Smart, a California college student, went missing while walking home from a party
After a search of a California property connected to the murder of Kristin Smart, a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff said investigators have yet to find the remains of the teen.
"I think it's safe to say that we have not recovered Kristin yet but our search goes on," Sheriff Ian Parkinson said at a press conference on Friday, May 8.
Parkinson said he vowed to Smart's parents that he "would not give up the search for Kristen's remains and it was my goal to bring Kristen home. Since that time, we've continued to work on the case. We've continued to search locations throughout probably the last couple years and that's what led us to this past Wednesday."
However, Parkinson said soil testing indicates that "human remains were there at one time or still there,” he said. “I’m not going to go into the details, other than just to say with soil tests, it’s about the compounds in the soil that are related to a human, decomposing body."
Earlier this week, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at the home of Susan Flores, the mother of Paul Flores, who was found guilty in 2022 of murdering of Smart, a California college student who vanished in 1996 and whose remains have never been found.
The sheriff’s office on Wednesday, May 6 announced the investigation of the Arroyo Grande property was related to the Smart disappearance.
Credit: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office
Parkinson said they returned to the home of Susan Flores with a search warrant based on “investigative leads and evidence.”
Parkinson said the home had been searched twice before with no results. Law enforcement is also using grand penetrating radar.
"We made the agreement that internally that we are not leaving that house until we are sure that we have checked everything," the sheriff said.
“While those responsible for Kristin’s death—and those with knowledge of her whereabouts—could provide answers at any time, we remain firmly committed to using every lawful tool available to locate Kristin’s remains and to support her family until she is brought home," the San Luis Obispo District Attorney's Office added in a press release.
Flores, who was sentenced to life in prison for Smart’s murder in 2023, was a classmate of 19-year-old Smart's at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo when she went missing while walking home from a party. She was last seen alive with Flores, a fellow freshman who had volunteered to walk her home.
Although he was a person of interest for decades, Flores evaded arrest until 2021.
During his trial, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle said Flores raped her in his dorm before killing her. He then allegedly enlisted his father Ruben to help him bury the teen under a deck at their Arroyo Grande home. Ruben was later found not guilty of accessory after the fact.
Susan Flores has not been accused of any crimes in connection with the murder of Smart.
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After Flores and his father were arrested in 2021, Smart's parents called the moment "bittersweet" in their decades long battle for justice. "It is impossible to put into words what this day means for our family; we pray it is the first step to bringing our daughter home," they said in a statement.
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