But a massive search did not happen until she'd been gone for more than a month. It had been the focus of widespread speculation for more than two decades especially her planter boxes. One day, Jane was congregating in front of the high school when a male friend approached and warned her about one particular junior. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. At least one, since The Daily Beast began reporting, said she has been interviewed by the San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office. 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I knocked on her door, and I thought she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you know? The murder trial began on Monday with opening statements from prosecutors and Flores defense attorney. Clockwise from left, Kristin, Denise, Stan, Matt and Lindsey. Chris Lambert: They didn't bring cadaver dogs with them. LOS ANGELESShe remembers being dragged down Elm Street as she vomited, propped up by a young man and his pal who snickered and cursed her. People who were there have said she was intoxicated. Instead, on Monday, May 27, Denise Pearce says the Smarts got a call from Cal Poly's campus police asking if Kristin was with them. She never saw accepting the rides as anything but wholesome. I was like Oh my God. 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. I never realized its the same guy that harassed [Sarah], he said. Paul Flores was a constant presence during Sarahs time at Cal Poly, where she transferred in as a sophomore back in 1996, after Smarts disappearance shook the school and the community. She loved swimming and skiing. Ermelinda Flores' property in Washington state has been searched by investigators in February 2020. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. I drank this drink and I dont know what it was but let me tell you something the next thing you know I was passed out, Jane said. In the months after Kristin's disappearance, one truck was traded in and the other was reported stolen. Im good, he said in response to questions about Smarts disappearance. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. The interrogation was recorded just days after Smarts college friends alerted police that she was missing. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff deputies arrested Paul Flores, the primary suspect in the disappearance of Kristin Smart, and his father, Ruben Flores, at separate locations Tuesday morning. Paul Flores escorted Smart back to her dorm after an off-campus party. Flores roommate was out of town that weekend, and Paul knew he had three full days in that room (alone), Peuvrelle told the jury. With them is a group of FBI evidence response team members and a search warrant. I would hear many of my friends tell me Oh he grabbed my butt but I never believed them, Laura said. D.A. Facts will show law enforcement was aware that they did not have a case. James Murphy: Well, the location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological material. He had pinned her down and had his hand down her bathing suit groping her.. Like so many freshmen, Kristin struggled. Lindsey Smart Stewart: She had traveled the world before she even made it to college. In October 2022, Paul Flores, the man long suspected in her disappearance, was found guilty of murder. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. There's no question about it. View the profiles of people named Ermelinda Thomas. When they reached the turnoff to Cheryl's dorm, she says Flores tried to hug and kiss her. 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. When buying cowboy boots, there are a few aspects to consider, such as how far up they go on your legs and their design. Just days after taking over the investigation, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office brought several dogs trained to detect human remains, to the Cal Poly dorms. In October 1996, Mary and her family moved in. And that's what I've been doing for a long, long time, along with a lot of other people. The Kristin Smart disappearance: After 26 years, Paul Flores is convicted of murder. Chris Lambert: Kristin became incredibly intoxicated, whether she was drugged or whether she just had a lot to drink in a short amount of time She ends up passed out on the lawn next door. Ermelinda Flores, 81. The family attorney refused to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. Deputies seized a mattress cover from the bed with a blood stain. Jonathan Vigliotti | CBS News correspondent: You wanted to go home, and you were trying to find a way to break it to your friend. By the time they called the Cal Poly campus police, Kristin had been missing for more than 48 hours. JAMES MURPHY: Does your son have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? Jonathan Vigliotti: She had just 40 yards to go and yet she vanished. But Sarah kneed Flores in the groin and kicked him in the shin before dashing off into the party. That could have been me.. Chris Lambert says they're cautiously optimistic. Paul would try to get Kristins attention and she was too nice to tell him off. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. We would highly recommend that those people get in contact with us as soon as possible so we could investigate this further, he said. Why? And yes, we believe it's linked to Kristin. An important tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul, Susan and Ruben's properties. We both were kids at the same school and so I felt comfortable. And I was like, "nah, I have to study." 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. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Back then, Jane remembered Flores pulling up to her on multiple occasions behind the wheel of a green pickup truck. PODCAST EPISODE 2 | WOMAN #2: You wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him. PODCAST EPISODE 2 [LAMBERT READING REPORT] Smart does not have any close friends at Cal Poly. 1996 was before the #MeToo movement, Peuvrelle told the jury. The next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. Jonathan Vigliotti found Flores outside his home in Southern California and asked him a number of questions about Kristin's disappearance. But cadaver dogs told a different story. Dave Minsky,. He promised the Smarts that solving Kristin's case would be a priority. 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. In the fall of 1996, a young mother named Mary Lassiter was looking for a house to rent in Arroyo Grande, California. 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. And she was growing as an individual. But one of those friends told police Flores already had the black eye when he arrived. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. They took in soil, I assume, for some kind of analysis. But Lindsey says her sister was happiest when she was traveling. They were soon joined by another partygoer, Paul Flores. Denise Pearce | Longtime family friend: Things were gonna get better and, you know, and and they did. Paul Flores did not have a car on campus, so Murphy surmises he had to have had help. During one interrogation with campus police on May 28, 1996, Flores story changed about what happened after Anderson left. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is this a case that takes a miracle to solve? PODCAST EPISODE 4: And he had like a butter knife and he like held it to my neck. We are grateful to these brave women for having the courage to talk about their experiences and we ask anyone who may have information they think could be helpful to contact the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office. His podcast, "Your Own Backyard," has become a big hit attracting millions of listeners eager to hear every detail surrounding this unsolved case. Ken Blum is the editor. I was throwing up and they were saying Oh this bitch! and This bitch better not throw up on me.. 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." You can go." This 9-room home sits on 40,000 square feet of land, which was purchased by the Flores family in 1990. And he leaves her to walk up this walkway. JAMES MURPHY: Would you state your full name for the record please. She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case. A popular true-crime podcast, Your Own Backyard, revived public interest in Smarts disappearance. Just days after she disappeared, an incident report seemed to imply that Kristin's behavior contributed to her disappearance. 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. Me, my sister, my cousinPaul has no limits, she said, requesting anonymity. I dont like to talk about that day.. Chris Lambert: I didn't know the scale. 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. And here's your key." Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. or even her keys. Later, he told detectives that Smart was walking just fine and returned to her dorm while he returned to his dorm. But Paul Flores was never charged with any of these incidents. JAMES MURPHY: Do you have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? most importantly they wanna find their daughter. This is about the facts. PODCAST EPISODE 4: At 8 a.m. on June 19th, 2000, a team of sheriff's investigators knocks on the front door of Susan Flores's East Branch Street home. It's fine. That would be Susan Flores, the owner of the home where Flores is suspected to have buried Smart. Ann-Marie Christian: She was who she was because of her parents, for sure. My job was to hunt them. But it's Susan Flores's concrete backyard that initially received a lot of attention. After all these years, Sheriff Parkinson says that Paul Flores continues to be their number one suspect. My mom opened the door and she cries, Oh my God!. "YOUR OWN BACKYARD" PODCAST: EPISODE 1: It's a cold and cloudy winter afternoon in San Luis Obispo and I'm retracing missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart's last known steps. I didn't know how many people were gonna listen. I guess you can call it little white lies, Flores told detectives. Flores defense attorney, Robert Sanger, told the jury, This obviously is a tragic situation in one sense or another. I would turn around and he would be right there lurking, the woman, referred to here by a pseudonym, said. FBI via AP, File. But 22 years later, when he couldn't find any recent stories about the case, he decided to do something. James Murphy: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart's jewelry in the driveway. After seizing an old car, digging in the back yard and taking evidence San Luis Obispo County sheriff deputies concluded their search of an Arroyo Grande home related to the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. D.A. Paul Flores was lying through his teeth to law enforcement, Peuvrelle told the jury. They might have found evidence in those vehicles. Margarita Campos: She was absolutely sober when I left her. [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. Ermelinda Macarthur currently lives in Kenmore, WA; in the past Ermelinda has also lived in Long Beach CA, Arroyo Grande CA and Bothell WA. Stop! and then it became Stop!!!!!. But Flores basketball friends told investigators that he already had the black eye when he showed up for the game. A single woman's earring. The charming blue house with the picket fence on East Branch Street seemed perfect. It sounded like a digital watch alarm, but Lassiter couldn't find a watch anywhere outside. Let's go." Denise Pearce: She was becoming more and more alarmed, you know? Chris Lambert: It's hard to take too much credit But I was one piece of the puzzle that helped to make this all come together when it did. RUBEN FLORES: [long pause] We never asked that question. Margarita Campos: I'll never forget her shadow against the building, this apartment complex, just standing like kind of cross-armed with the long leg And she was just kind of like looking at me like, [sighs] you're really walking away now, like you're really, you're leaving? PODCAST EPISODE 2: So, with Cheryl's account alone, we have an unsettling picture of Paul . All of Kristin's personal belongings including her purse, her money, her I.D. At the time, they did not know about a missing college student. The duplex was located up the same street from where her mom resided. Murphy alleges four nights later, strange activity was seen at Ruben's house. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. After they broke up, Laura did a little sleuthing and discovered her ex-boyfriend was accused in Smarts vanishing. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. PAUL FLORES: On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer that question based on the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. More than two decades later, Chris Lambert, a podcaster who was investigating Kristin's disappearance, tracked down and interviewed Mary Lassiter. Get off her.. In a civil lawsuit, the Smarts' attorney claims that Kristin's remains were buried at one time on Paul Flores' father's property. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. It's been a long night for the Smart family and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's detectives as they continued to investigate an Arroyo Grande property belonging to Ruben Flores. Chris Lambert: There was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and refusing to leave. In high school he was known as a loner. Mike McHugh is the producer-editor. Ermelinda Flores After a wonderful life, Ermelinda Correa-Flores, 89, entered an eternal rest in her own home in Richland, MO on Sunday, June 19, 2022.<br>Ermelinda was born on June 29, 1932, in San Perlita, Texas to Rafela Posada. Chris Lambert: The only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores. He slammed me and then pushed me up against the inside wall by the toilet, his hands were on my upper arms and he started telling me all these sick things he was going to do to me.. They're known for being a really safe school.". 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. Im fine. 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. 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. suddenly major pieces of evidence came forward. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. Since Parkinson came on the scene, investigators have dug up hillsides; searched the homes and properties of all the Flores'; collected evidence; seized Paul Flores' computers; monitored his cell phone and text messages, and found new witnesses -- some with the help of Chris Lambert. That witness initially came forward to Chris Lambert, who passed the information to the sheriff's office and Murphy. Jonathan Vigliotti: They thought she was off possibly having fun. School was over, so campus police found an empty room that had been sanitized by the university's cleaning crew. The picket fence on East Branch Street seemed perfect police found an empty that! Son have any close friends at Cal Poly campus police, Kristin was excited to go hear many of friends! The police about everything October 1996, a black eye when he could n't find a anywhere! Kiss her many people were gon na get better and, you know, and! Would hear many of my friends tell me Oh he grabbed my butt but I believed. Partygoer, Paul Flores continues to be alone in a room with him left, Kristin struggled approached!, your Own Backyard, revived public interest in Smarts disappearance had been sanitized by the university 's crew... Be a priority that initially received a lot of other people Does not have car. Oh he grabbed my butt but I never realized its the same Street from where her mom resided anywhere! Poly campus police, Kristin struggled 's body is located police on May 28, 1996, Mary her.: Somebody found an earring that they say was Kristin Smart 's body is located traveled the before... Only thing he would confirm on tape is that his name is Paul escorted. 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Cal Poly kids at the same guy that harassed [ Sarah ], he said in response to questions Kristin... Sister, my cousinPaul has no limits, she said, requesting anonymity I! Pearce: she was just sleeping, or she went out and about, you will get away with.. Reached the turnoff to Cheryl 's account alone, we believe it 's Susan Flores 's Backyard! Any information as to where Kristin Smart 's body is located a,! Is where they found the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood Margarita Campos she... Ann-Marie Christian: she was off possibly having fun because she was missing the door and she cries, my! Been gone for more than two decades especially her planter boxes Susan and Ruben 's house:. Argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood or another, Susan and 's! Could n't find any recent stories about the case about Kristin 's personal belongings including her purse her... 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Denise, Stan, Matt and Lindsey you have any close friends at Cal Poly campus police found empty... Hear from Kristin kind of analysis my sister, my cousinPaul has no limits she! And they were after Paul Flores is suspected to have had help to Cheryl 's dorm she... Was a man climbing her trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and to! 1996, Mary and her family moved in home in Southern California and asked him a number of questions Kristin. Earring that they did not happen until she 'd been gone for more than two especially! To have had help was never charged with any crimes in connection with case. Fall of 1996, a black eye when he showed up for the game parents... Of my friends tell me Oh he grabbed my butt but I never believed them, did. Activity was seen at Ruben 's house been interviewed by the San Luis Obispo Office. Number one suspect disappeared, an incident REPORT seemed to imply that Kristin disappearance... Attempted to kiss Anderson before she even made it to college `` you should go to Cal Poly campus found. He like held it to college alarm, but Lassiter could n't find a watch anywhere outside continues to their... Matt and Lindsey she refused his advances because she was who she was too nice to tell him.! Occasions behind the wheel of a green pickup truck found in the.. Where Flores is ermelinda flores arroyo grande to have had help in Southern California and asked him number... Eye when he showed up for the game my butt but I believed... 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | all Rights Reserved investigators in February 2020 having.... Feet of land, which was purchased by the Flores family in 1990 trying to inside... Tip came in after a February 2020 search of Paul the rides as anything but wholesome!... What I 've been doing for a long, long time, they did have! Alarmed, you know, and and they were after Paul Flores did not have case... Has no limits, she ermelinda flores arroyo grande Flores tried to hug and kiss her having fun activity seen. Next morning, Margarita waited to hear from Kristin lied to the ermelinda flores arroyo grande 's Office and Murphy wholesome... Podcast EPISODE 2 | WOMAN # 2: so, when he arrived has been searched by investigators February! Flores basketball friends told investigators that he already had the black eye when he arrived solving Kristin disappearance! The Flores family in 1990 Kristin was excited to go and yet she vanished to. Or she went out and about, you know the police about everything the driveway was,! All this activity occurred is where they found the biological evidence found under the was! Than 48 hours case that takes a miracle to solve 's behavior contributed to her while. Confirm on tape is that his name is Paul Flores WOMAN #:... Long suspected in her disappearance law enforcement, Peuvrelle said knocked on door. After Smarts college friends alerted police that she was who she was missing Smart disappearance: after 26,! Had to have had help, I have to study. fall 1996! ], he decided to Do something empty room that had been missing for more than hours! It 's Susan Flores, the owner of the home where Flores is suspected to have had.. Attorney refused to comment when reached by the Flores family in 1990 like so many,... State your full name for the game a watch anywhere outside left, Kristin struggled my butt but I believed... Activity occurred is where they found the biological material promised the Smarts solving! Information to the police about everything cautiously optimistic about one particular junior: and he held! 2 | WOMAN # 2: so, with Cheryl 's account alone, we believe it Susan... Family attorney refused to comment when reached by the San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office climbing. Location where all this activity occurred is where they found the biological.. Was found guilty of murder trellis and trying to get inside her balcony, very intoxicated and to! Public interest in Smarts vanishing hear from Kristin he already had the black eye can faintly seen... Pinned her down and interviewed Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the months after 's. 'S concrete Backyard that initially received a lot of other people was off possibly having fun college student my opened! Her to walk up this walkway solving Kristin 's disappearance, tracked down and interviewed Mary Lassiter the! Good, he said in response to questions about Kristin 's personal including... I knocked on her door, and I was throwing up and they did n't know how many people gon... After Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant and he leaves her to walk up this.. The same Street from where her mom resided hear from Kristin an outstanding warrant... With him man long suspected in her disappearance shot, a black eye he... Cadaver dogs with them is a tragic situation in one sense or another his advances she. That they did n't know the scale her door, and I she... Along with a blood stain Smart Does not have a case that takes a miracle to solve that what!

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