Paul Flores Ordered To Stand Trial For Murder Of Kristin Smart

SAN PEDRO, CA — A San Pedro man accused of killing his Cal Poly San Luis Obispo classmate Kristin Smart 25 years ago must stand trial for murder along with his father, who is charged as an accomplice, a judge ordered Wednesday.

The ruling follows a high-profile months-long preliminary hearing to how there was enough evidence against Paul Ruben Flores, 44, to try him for murder. The hearing brought to light a series of Los Angeles area rape allegations against Flores that were never prosecuted. Investigators earlier this year asked possible victims in Los Angeles to come forward, and San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said he planned to use "evidence of other sexual crimes in this prosecution."

Smart was last seen walking with Flores back to the college dormitories from an off-campus party Memorial Day weekend 25 years ago. Prosecutors allege Flores killed Smart while sexually assaulting her and his father Ruben Flores helped dispose of her body.

On Wednesday, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen ruled there was sufficient evidence against the pair to try Flores for murder and his 80-year-old father for being an accomplice to the killing.

The ruling comes after dozens of witnesses testified in the preliminary hearing. Flores was represented by Michael Jackson's defense attorney Robert Sanger, who argued on Monday that no one could know what happened to Smart because no one knows where her body is.

“They were both drinking and went their separate ways,” Sanger said, according to The Tribune in San Luis Obispo.

Paul and Ruben Flores are slated to be arraigned on October 20.

Paul Ruben Flores, who had long been described as a "prime suspect" by authorities, was arrested in April at his home in San Pedro and charged a day later with killing the 19-year-old freshman. Prosecutor's allege Smart's body was then dug up from beneath Ruben Flores' deck in the middle of the night and spirited away days before investigators searched his yard.

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"We continue to support the family of Kristin Smart as we work toward justice," said Dow, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney.

Smart was reported missing days after she disappeared, and Flores was the prime suspect almost immedaitely.

"We certainly believe that Mr. (Paul) Flores' dorm room was the crime scene," the prosecutor said earlier this year, noting that the young woman from Stockton was last seen alive "close to the dorms."

The district attorney noted that investigators are requesting information from the public "about this case or other potential crimes believed to have been perpetrated by Paul Ruben Flores, including assaults or other acts."

Investigators "do have evidence in this case that leads us to conclude that there very well may be additional victims in the Southern California area," Dow said last week, noting that the younger Flores was "known to frequent bars in the San Pedro area."

"At this point we're concerned about sexual assault," he said, noting that the complaint includes a statement that the prosecution intends to use "evidence of other sexual crimes in this prosecution."

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said investigators served search warrants at the younger Flores' home and simultaneously at the residences of his mother, father and sister, in February 2020, telling reporters that "physical evidence recovered during these searches led to the service of (an) additional search warrant at Paul Flores' residence in April last year."

"During the search warrant, detectives recovered evidence related to the murder of Kristin Smart," the sheriff said, adding that "additional evidence related to the Smart investigation" was discovered when a search warrant was served at Ruben Flores' home.

"Since I came into office in 2011, we have served over 41 search warrants on this case, done physical searches of 16 different locations ... a complete re-examination of every physical item seized, submission of 37 items of evidence from the early days of the case for modern DNA testing, recovery of 193 items of physical evidence, new physical evidence," the sheriff told reporters. " We've conducted approximately 137 person-to-person interviews and in addition completed over 500 additional police reports."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.