Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. Margarita Campos: To this day, like, I was like, why why did I just let her go by herself? Chris Lambert says, two days after that, when Flores was interviewed by campus police, they asked how he got his black eye as well as scratches on his hands and knees. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. By herself, which is pretty amazing. Also known as Melinda E Flores. Join Facebook to connect with Ermelinda Thomas and others you may know. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. PODCAST EPISODE 1: Kristin broke down begging her mother to let her drop out and go somewhere else. It wasnt like some older guy or anything.. The family attorney refused to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. The earring was turned over to the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office, but investigators will never know if it belonged to Kristin, because it was misplaced. Early on, a small group of volunteers also looked for Kristin. I did have guilt about that. I was crying.. You just don't talk, and you get away with it. But every Sunday when she called her parents, they encouraged her to stick it out. I was lying down on my back. My mom opened the door and she cries, Oh my God!. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. The Arroyo Grande cops, Jane said, favored Floress story that she willingly drank and had sex that night. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. The duplex was located up the same street from where her mom resided. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. Includes Address (7) Phone (7) Email (2) See Results. And my roommate actually kicked down the door to make him stop. They took off running, Jane said. I know I didnt have any pants on and he was in me and I could feel him, she said of the three seconds she managed to wake from the slumber that took hold of her. Despite Flores sporting a black eye the next day (which he admitted to investigators he lied about) and despite police dogs picking up the scent of human decay in his dorm room, Flores was never charged. Had Flores been caught and convicted of his alleged sexual assault in 1994, perhaps Smart would still be alive. Paul Flores was lying through his teeth to law enforcement, Peuvrelle told the jury. He has never talked. AKA: Susan Flores, Sue P Flores. And I was like, "nah, I have to study." And the complaint has some explosive claims about what led investigators to focus under Ruben's deck in the first place. The investigation seemed to be hampered from the start by a series of missteps by campus police beginning with their assumption that Kristin was off having fun and ignoring worried friends who said she was missing. Neither the ex-boyfriend nor Sarah saw Flores again until they read The Daily Beast story on Kristin Smarts disappearance, where Floress mugshot appeared. Once the dogs were let inside the room, they alerted to a corner of Flores bed mattress. She was the last person other than Paul Flores to see Kristin alive. Paul would try to get Kristins attention and she was too nice to tell him off. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. To think that you're going to finally get some resolution, and then it doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. They were giggling as they were dragging me, the now 39-year-old woman told The Daily Beast. Paul owns a home in San Pedro, CA . He called his father at 9:47 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 1996. People who were there have said she was intoxicated. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. In the meantime, Paul Flores moved to Southern California, where he bounced from job to job. The living room had a TV and one sofa and the floor was white, she said. These new allegations against Paul Flores are very troubling and deserve to be thoroughly investigated. Chris Lambert told Jonathan Vigliotti, "It drove [Mary Lassiter] crazy and she went out there many times in the middle of the night to try to find it with sticks, sticking down into the planter boxes down in the soil." Chris Lambert: So much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week. Jonathan Vigliotti: There was a lot of focus on how Kristin was drinking what sounded a lot like victim shaming. Deputies seized a mattress cover from the bed with a blood stain. Prosecutors said Smart began falling down shortly after she was seen at the Tiki bar with Flores. His father Ruben Flores charged with being an accessory after the factwas found not guilty. Jane said she kept this secret for yearseven from her husband. Denise Pearce says that was a crushing blow for the Smart family. Investigators could have excavated the yard, but their decision not to was a crushing blow for the Smart family. A break in the case happened in 2020 when sheriffs deputies wire-tapped the phones of Flores, his father, and his mother to record their private conversations. So, I said, "you better turn some lights on right now and let me out or I'm going to scream." James Murphy: Having a black eye doesn't make you guilty of anything but if the person you were with disappeared from the planet that's physical evidence. Critics called. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. And very chilling. The Smart's attorney James Murphy, and his wife and office manager Garin Sinclair, have had Kristin's billboard in their front yard since late 1997. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. Flores claimed after walking Kristin back from the party, he went to his room in Santa Lucia Hall while she walked alone to her dorm. Still she stuck around until Flores allegedly laid his hands on her aggressively again. The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. We both were kids at the same school and so I felt comfortable. Ruben Flores and his estranged wife Susan have always denied any role in Kristin Smart's disappearance. and I was like, "Noooo.". He returned later that Friday night and they drove to his friends home which Jane described as sparely furnished. Four months earlier, Kristin Smart, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University better known as Cal Poly had gone to a party on Friday, May 24 the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Kristin Smart Murder Trial: Who's who The judge only allowed 1 media pool camera inside the courtroom. PODCAST EPISODE 4: So, I walk him up to his sister's apartment, and all of a sudden, he just like picked me up, carried me inside, turned around and shut the apartment door, and locked it. What happened in the privacy of his room that night? Peuvrelle asked the jury. Her dorm entrance is right over here. James Murphy: An eyewitness actually documented the fact that throughout the night that there was activity in the area of the underside of that deck. More than two decades after Kristin Smart vanished, Sheriff Ian Parkinson says that Paul Flores, left, remains the only suspect in her disappearance. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. She regretfully denounced them as cruel rumors at the time. Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, Sneak peek: The Disappearance of Kristin Smart. When Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores's parents Susan and Ruben were separated and living apart. More critical evidence was seized when investigators used ground-penetratingly radar that found a grave where Smarts body was once buried in the Flores familys backyard, according to prosecutors. The Smarts say they tried to file a missing person's report with the local police but were told it was too early, and the FBI told them Cal Poly police were in charge. Thats when everyone got involved, she said. Chris Lambert and it worked. The dogs were trained and certified to detect human remains. And six months later, when Flores was deposed by James Murphy for the Smart's civil suit, he kept quiet. Chris Lambert: I think that might have been the biggest misstep that investigators have made to this day. I blacked out and didnt consent to anything.. She graduated from San Perlita as valedictorian to the class of 1953 to proceed her education at James R . View the profiles of people named Ermelinda Thomas. or even her keys. All four dogs, including one who was considered the best of the best, separately signaled an alert indicating the presence of human remain odors only in Flores room. Margarita Campos: I was a little bit more introverted and inhibited and she was like, "no, we have to go out and we have to go like live life." PODCAST EPISODE 5: If you were making a film about a new law enforcer who's coming to a small town to save the day, you'd probably cast Parkinson. Four months after that futile search, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury. Have a good day, he said. Sources tell us investigators discovered videos and photographs on Flores' computer showing him engaged in sexual activity with at least 10 different women, apparently in various states of consciousness. Chris Lambert: It's mostly frat guys from the Kappa Chi fraternity. First published on November 27, 2020 / 8:14 AM. Ermelinda Flores, 81. Flores claimed he walked Smart to her dorm at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo on May 25, 1996 after a night of binge drinking. Because of the statute of limitations, Dow says, Paul Flores can't be charged with rape. They have not been able to proceed with the civil case while there was an ongoing criminal investigation, but that didn't stop them from following every lead and preparing for an eventual trial. I think they're just waiting to see what the outcome is going to be. "48 Hours" contributor Jonathan Vigliotti takes viewers inside the popular podcast and haunting case in "The Disappearance of Kristin Smart.". Bodega en Renta de $65.000 , 3 baos, 1100 m2 en Arroyo de Las Flores, Jalisco ID 26114512. My heart dropped, she said. In April 2021, investigators charged Paul Flores, left, with Kristin Smart's murder, and his then-80-year-old father Ruben, as an accessory after the fact. Five months after Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores was brought before a grand jury but no charges were ever filed. One of Kristins closest college friends, Steve Fleming, noticed that Paul Flores would linger around Smarts dorm hall even though he didnt live there. So, she slowed down and walked with them. So maybe he had a crush on me. Through the years, the Smarts have kept pressure on the Flores family. Paul had this look on his face, the relative said. Flores and Smart had spoken at the party. After they broke up, Laura did a little sleuthing and discovered her ex-boyfriend was accused in Smarts vanishing. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. JAMES MURPHY: Has your son ever told you that he did not kill Kristin Smart? People are watching Ruben Flores and Susan Flores and Paul Flores. But Sarah kneed Flores in the groin and kicked him in the shin before dashing off into the party. San Luis Obispo County. Lambert also interviewed a woman who dated Flores until, she says, he became physically and verbally abusive. Kristin Smart went missing from Cal Poly in 1996. [emotional] I will go outside at nighttime and I'll look up at the full moon and I'll think that that kid's buried somewhere real close. JAMES MURPHY: Does your son have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. So, they did not immediately get a warrant to search Susan Flores's home. That turned out to be college. The woman, whom we'll call Jane, believes she was roofied, raped, and discarded by Paul Flores and his nameless friend when she was a 15-year-old high-school sophomore in 1994. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of the charge of being an accessory after the fact. And there would be more disappointment in 2007, after the Smart's legal team searched a small portion of Susan Flores's backyard with ground penetrating radar and did not find any evidence. At the time Kristin Smart disappeared, investigators did not immediately search the home. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. And I was screaming. PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. Chris Lambert was just 8 years old when Kristin Smart vanished on her way home from a college party in San Luis Obispo, California. Chris Lambert, who worked as a CBS News consultant, pieced together what he learned from people who were there that night. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. PODCAST EPISODE 1: I googled Kristin Smart's name every few years. So now you've got three different stories about how he got that black eye. Smarts body has never been found. Lawyers representing Paul Flores, a man found guilty last year of murdering Kristin Smart in San Luis Obispo in 1996, filed motions last week to dismiss the jury verdict and for a new trial. James Murphy: And it's 2:30 and 3 o'clock in the morning at Cal Poly this is not a a location from which Paul alone could easily move a body without a vehicle. Chris Lambert: Everything else, he took the Fifth Amendment. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. Friday, May 24, 1996, was the start of the Memorial Day weekend. A single woman's earring. I got in his face, the ex-boyfriend, who requested anonymity, told The Daily Beast. Used to live: San Luis Obispo CA, Arroyo Grande CA, Torrance CA. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. They had become close friends despite their differences. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. SALINAS, Calif. (KRON) In the wake of Kristin Smarts disappearance from Cal Polys campus, detectives knew Paul Flores was lying through his teeth, according to prosecutors. There's no question about it. Davis was helping Smart get up to her feet with Anderson when Flores suddenly appeared out from the darkness, Peuvrelle said. Prosecutors Think Paul Flores Tried to Rape Kristin Smart in Dorm Room Before Killing Her On April 13, Paul's father, Ruben Flores, 80, was also arrested and charged with being an accessory. But remarkably, the same thing happened with three more dogs. Even though he'd never investigated anything before, Lambert quit his job to create a podcast about the case. Sheriff Ian Parkinson was able to confirm that forensic physical evidence that authorities believe is linked to Kristin was located at, at least two homes. I told her I didn't I didn't want to go. Susan Flores's backyard has been the focus of widespread speculation. Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. Why? James Murphy and Garin Sinclair look at the billboard that has been in their front yard for more than two decades. Chris Lambert: I remember seeing it on the news it was something scary and they were talking about it pretty regularly. How could she have gone out of town? He'd go through tunnels, under bridges, looking for his daughter and expecting best case scenario. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. The Kristin Smart Scholarship has been established by her family to help other college bound women pursue their dreams. It was turned over to a detective with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office, but Garin Sinclair says, the Smarts never knew it existed until the Lassiters were deposed in January 1997. She was looking forward to hearing from Kristin that Sunday. Lindsey Smart Stewart: Right. Other names that Ermelinda uses includes Ermelinda M Macarthur, Ermelinda M Flores, Ermelinda M Mac Arthur, Ermelinda Flores and Ermelinda M Thomas. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Jonathan Vigliotti: You look at Kristin Smart every day. They got to the parking lot of an apartment complex. In fact, Cheryl Anderson, who trusted Flores to walk Kristin back to her dorm alone, told police that her friends called him "Chester the molester," because he was known for groping girls. In October 2022, Paul. Paul Flores spotted July 29,2017, in Food4Less grocery store located in Arroyo Grande, CA. They are aware that they had no eye witnesses, a body was not recovered, there is no physical evidence, and no forensic evidence, Sanger said. Flores admitted he promised another student, CherylAnderson, that he would make sure Smart made it back to her dorm room in Muir Hall safely from the party. Its not a lie. James Murphy: Paul Flores had a reputation amongst the girls that knew him at Cal Poly as being a creeper that he was always trying to hit on women. October 22, 2022 / 10:10 PM He says "no.". When they were deposed by James Murphy, they also insisted their son was not involved. She spotted an ad for a rental that a woman named Susan Flores had put in the local newspaper. Meanwhile, three other women told The Daily Beast that Flores sexually assaulted them after Janes assault and Smarts disappearance. I believed him but he was probably cheating on me.. so eventually he unlocked you know, the apartment door, and I left. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. Flores attempted to kiss Anderson before she walked away around 2:30 a.m. She refused his advances because she was creeped out, Peuvrelle said. Paul R Flores and Paul Raul Flores are some of the alias or nicknames that Paul has used. But cadaver dogs told a different story. And while they did not rush to investigate Flores, Kristin's family says campus police were very quick to judge her. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. At least one, since The Daily Beast began reporting, said she has been interviewed by the San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office. This is about the facts. Chris Lambert: I don't think she ever imagined that Kristin would end up dead by the end of the night. Two years later Smart would go missing and when suspicion quickly fell on Flores, Jane decided then and there that she may have been one of the lucky ones. Empresa. ", Although suspicion surrounded Flores almost from the beginning, any hopes for an arrest were dashed in May 1997 when then-Sheriff Ed Williams made an admission to the San Luis Obispo Telegraph: "We need Paul Flores to tell us what happened to Kristin Smart so absent something from Mr. Flores, I don't see us completing this case.". As she told Chris Lambert, "In the master bedroom, I'm hearing this 'beep beep' every night at 4:20, or 4:20 in the morning." Since the Daily Beast story on Kristin Smarts disappearance to his friends home which Jane described as sparely.... 'S disappearance looked for Kristin to my neck became physically and verbally abusive they. Leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get inside her balcony, intoxicated. Meanwhile, three other women told the Daily Beast says that was a crushing blow for the Smart family leaving., San Luis Obispo police received a call from a student living off campus so now 've. 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