Kristin Smart: Paul Flores will stand trial for missing student’s death
The man long suspected in the 1996 disappearance — and presumed murder — of California college student Kirstin Smart will stand trial for her death.
Paul Flores, 44, is charged with first-degree murder. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s office says he killed the college freshman in his dorm room at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which they both attended, after raping or attempting to rape Smart, CNN reported Wednesday.
Prosecutors believe Flores’ father, 80-year-old Ruben Flores, helped hide the 19-year-old’s body, for which he is charged as an accessory, according to the outlet.
The weeks-long preliminary hearing finally concluded Monday, with the district attorney’s office tweeting Wednesday: “A judge has determined sufficient evidence was presented for the two to be tried.”
“We continue to support the family of Kristin Smart as we work toward justice,” said District Attorney Dan Dow in the tweet.
Father and son, who were arrested in April, have both pleaded not guilty, according to CNN.
Paul Flores, a “serial rapist,” according to prosecutors, was also a 19-year-old freshman when Smart — declared dead in 2002 — disappeared near her dorm on May 25, 1996.
Though her body has never been found, documents filed in the case include a statement by a sheriff’s office detective that authorities have “biological evidence that makes them believe the victim was buried underneath the defendant’s deck at one time,” according to CNN.
