True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Part VII

Disappearance of Kristin Smart

Kristin Denise Smart (February 20, 1977 – disappeared May 25, 1996; declared legally dead May 25, 2002) was a 19-year-old American woman murdered by Paul Flores at the end of her first year on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo).

On Saturday, May 25, 1996, Smart attended a fellow Cal Poly student's off-campus party. At approximately 2 a.m., she was found passed out on a neighbor's lawn, and two students began to help her walk to her dorm room. A third student named Paul Flores joined the group, and due to the proximity of his dorm to Smart's, Flores told the other two students he would get Kristin home safely. Smart was never seen again, and searches conducted since her disappearance has not yet located her, or her remains.

Smart's disappearance resulted in state legislation, including the Kristin Smart Campus Security Act, a bill that requires all public colleges and publicly funded educational institutions in California to have their security services make agreements with local police departments about reporting cases involving or possibly involving violence against students, including missing students. The bill was passed unanimously by the California State Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson.

On April 13, 2021, Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of Smart's disappearance. Their homes were searched, and investigators found numerous "items of interest" in the son's home. Their trial began in July 2022. On October 18, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of the murder of Kristin Smart, and Ruben Flores was acquitted of 'accessory after the fact'. On March 10, 2023, Paul was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The trial was held in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas, California.

Background

Kristin Denise Smart was born February 20, 1977, in Augsburg, Bavaria, West Germany, to Stan and Denise Smart, both teachers to children of American military personnel. She had one brother and one sister. When she was a child, Smart moved with her family to Stockton, California. She attended and graduated from Stockton's Lincoln High School in 1995. Before her disappearance, she worked as a lifeguard and camp counselor at Camp Mokuleia in Hawaii.

Disappearance

Smart enrolled at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California, in 1995. On the night of May 25, 1996, which fell on Memorial Day weekend, she attended a birthday party where she did not know anyone at a fraternity house. She walked to and attended the party alone as a friend of hers had decided to return to the dorms earlier that night.

At approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 1996, Smart was found passed out on a neighbor's lawn by two fellow students, Cheryl Anderson and Tim Davis, who both had just left the party. They helped Smart to her feet and decided to walk her back to her nearby dormitory. Another student from the party, Paul Flores, joined their group and offered to help the two returns Smart to her dorm room.

Davis departed the group first since he lived off-campus and had driven to the party. Anderson was the second to depart the group, heading to Sierra Madre Hall, after Flores, who lived closer to Smart's dorm, assured Anderson that he could walk her there. Flores stated to police that he walked Smart as far as his dormitory, Santa Lucia Hall, and then allowed her to walk back to her Muir Hall dorm by herself. This was the last known sighting of her. Smart did not have any money or credit cards at the time she went missing.

Official investigation

The University Police Department originally suspected that Smart had gone on an unannounced vacation and as a result were slow in reporting her as a missing person to local law enforcement. She was only reported missing after a week, despite her family calling the police earlier.