Buster spun around and locked up like a bird dog alongside the fence bordering Susans home. On Sept. 18, 2014, test results came back from Dr. Vass indicating a negative for human decomposition. Not long after Dostie and Buster were heading home, Smallwood called saying he got permission from the owner at another neighboring property, Lot 27. Noah uses several methods when searching for burial sitesall used to cross-reference each other. Flores . There was also a search warrant that was served at Pauls sisters home in Washington. She attended a party one night in May 1996, and was never seen again. Paul and Ruben Flores are being tried separately, but at the same time, with two different juries. 2, 2014, Paul Dosties cadaver dog Buster made his first hit for human decomposition around the perimeter of 529 East Branch Street in Arroyo Grandethe home of Susan, Paul Floress mother. All three handlers testified that they knew Kristin disappeared but did not know any further details on the case. On March 10, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, the maximum allowed. Paul is found guilty of first-degree murder. Paso Robles Magazine Buster himself is accredited with finding over 200 human bodies. So if Vass finds human-specific chemicals in the soil sample, that means there are human remains in the area. Kriti Mehrotra. Teschendorf said she and several other residents in the dorm contacted police two days after Smart failed to return to her room, and then, again, two days later when she didn't show up for class. Ms. Smart, who was from Stockton, Calif., was a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Kristin was coming back home from a fraternity party when this happened, and she was reported missing by her roommate two days later. Sanger argued the black eye, the cadaver dogs alerting at Paul Flores dorm and the blood found under Ruben Flores home were not evidence Paul Flores killed Kristin Smart. Ruben also answers to Ruben J Flores, and perhaps a couple of other names. The last person seen with her was Paul Flores. Ruben Flores Deposition Early this week the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department barricaded the road leading to the residence of Ruben Flores, the father of Paul Flores, the suspected killer of Kristin Smart. Together with Paso Robles Magazine, mailing 30,000 monthly copies to our community, we are the best-read, most-trusted news source for our community. Schafer speculates that evidence was found at Rubens home because, after Kristins disappearance, the Flores family put her there, only to later move her to Susans home that summer when Paul and Ruben did the concrete work. Buster then laid down, claiming that spot as an area containing human remains. Ty Roush Soil samples were then retrieved from the backyard corner bordering Susans home. 'The community moved Heaven and Earth to try to find her. The authorities stated that sometime in 2016, they had recovered evidence that had pointed towards Paul as being the prime suspect in Kristins missing case. 'And I wish the community who still feels that way would disabuse themselves of those feelings.' While several biofilm forming species, including Penicillium rubens, have been identified in spacecraft, the effect of microgravity on fungal biofilm formation is unknown. On May 25, 1996, friends dropped her off at an off-campus party. The Sheriffs Office investigators and forensic specialists assigned to Ms. Smarts case executed 18 search warrants, submitted 37 items that were collected in the early days of the case for DNA testing, recovered 140 new items of evidence and conducted 91 interviews from 2011 to 2020, the office said. 'You have a pretty straightforward job. DA may possibly offer either defendant a plea bargain before or during trial ,meanwhile hoping one of them will crack under pressure of a trial .In my opinion if none of the above occurs, and there is a conviction at trial it would be a conviction based on emotions with what evidence that has been made public so far .A trial could be an alternate plan of DAs office /county to avoid being sued for malicious prosecution against the suspects if proceedings were halted at this point based on the fact suspects attorney stated in court that he is billing his clients over $500k. Avila Beach Life Ruben Flores, 81, was acquitted of being an accessory to the first-degree 1996 murder his 45-year-old son, Paul Flores, was convicted of on Tuesday. Paul and Ruben Flores appear at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court for the first time, at which time Judge Craig van Rooyen denies Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle's request to. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record athttps://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow. Davis was going to walk her home with another student, Cheryl Anderson. Neighbors testified at the trial that Ruben Flores did yard work that year, after the podcast cast suspicion on his family. That lawsuit resulted in the. They had attended the off-campus frat party with other friends, and their dorms were close to each other. Ruben Flores was arrested as an accessory at his Arroyo Grande home, where sheriff's investigators conducted another search. A podcast launched by Chris Lambert, 'Your Own Backyard,' brought renewed attention to case. 'All that stuff they say is evidence, you look through it, and there is nobody against me or Paul,' Ruben said in his first public appearance since his arrest. Additionally, he alerted within three feet of 44 burials. The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. It is also where dogs alerted to the same spot a metal trash can sat that Ruben insisted on picking up while the Lassiters lived there. These tests search for chemicals specific to humans. Schafer was assigned to the Smart case. Chris podcast was, in part, responsible for bringing renewed attention to the case that eventually led to these arrests. When Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student Kristin Smart suddenly vanished without a trace left behind on May 25, 1996, no one could've ever imagined her case would span nearly three decades. We know when police interviewed Paul Flores on Jun. Kristin Smart, 19, of Stockton, California vanished. The only proper verdict, in this case, is not guilty.'. It has been almost 25 years since the disappearance of Kristin Smart; every day the Smart family continues to suffer; every day, Paul Flores has been looking over his shoulder. As a result, Buster became State Certified in Cadaver and Avalanche Rescue. 2am, May 26: Kristin is last seen alive walking towards her dorm room with Paul Flores, May 28: Kristin's family report her missing, June 1996: Paul Flores invokes his Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions about the case, 1997: Kristin Smart's family sue Paul Flores for wrongful death. Over the years, the separate homes of Pauls parents, Susan and Ruben Flores, were, Furthermore, the searches at the homes of Ruben, Susan, Paul, and his sister had led to enough evidence to warrant a second search of Pauls home. But the jury decided it was. Paul Flores was charged with murder, and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. When there is a possibility of a criminal case being brought, the person who is a witness can go on the record and say, 'I decline to answer that on grounds it could incriminate me,' Bosserman said. Peuvrelle asked the jury to find Paul Flores guilty of first-degree murder and summarized the evidence that had been presented during the trial that started on July 18. longtime person of interest in Smart's disappearance case, was named the prime suspect in the case. It was dropped when the father filed for bankruptcy. Paul and Ruben, they moved the dirt under their deck to hide her.'. By 2020, it had amassed thousands of listeners and, police suspect, spooked the Flores family. When Kristin Smart fell at the party, he helped her up. 2019: Your Own Backyard podcast airs on Spotify with host Chris Lambert. Both Paul and Ruben Flores' verdicts are reached. He had a black eye when he was questioned, but he told police it had come from a basketball injury. In opening statements last month, the prosecutionpainted a picture of the now 45-year-old Paul Flores as having hovered around Smart in the run-up to her disappearance, andas having later engaged in a pattern of non-consensual encounters with women. In the criminal case, [Simpson] was found to be not guilty and yet the civil case was able to proceed," he said. San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said that Smart was killed during an attempted rape by Paul Flores in his dorm room and his father helped hide her body. He said he went through the case files with a fine-tooth comb. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. For years, Dostie has done work on the Barker Ranch and even spoke to Manson throughout his investigations there. Judge van Rooyen announced in April that the trial would be moved to Monterey County, about 140 miles north of San Luis Obispo, after the defense team requested the change of venue because of extensive publicity around the case. Holman later met with Lambert and Murphy at Murphys office to tell her story, which did not include the later reports that she saw people under the home, she testified. He said: 'Sometimes we tell our kids monsters do not exist, but they do. 'But you're here as jurors. Paul Flores was the last person to have seen Kristin Smart on May 25, 1996. Dosties sister, who lives in Atascadero, mailed her brother a copy of The California Register and mentioned he should consider looking into the case. She was under their deck. The Smart family filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores in 1997, but he was not immediately charged criminally in the case. According to her college friend Margarita Campos, Smart was 'not under the influence at all' when she last saw her at around 10pm on the intersection of California and Foothill Boulevards. They said that they later dug up her remains and moved them when law enforcements returned to search the house in 2020. The authorities removed items from Paul Floress home in Los Angeles in February 2020. This search was done after FBI agent Jack Schafer gave the SLO police department a warrant to dig up Susan Floress backyard. Alexandra Wallace November 11, 2019. If you have any information, please call Murphy Law Corporation at 805-489-8929 or San Luis Obispo Sheriff at 805-781-4500. Together, Vass and Dostie have used each other almost as a cross-reference. Sanger also told the jurors that they needed to question whether the expert witnesses who testified for the prosecution are actually experts. Paul Flores deposition 1997 In June 2000, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office searched the Arroyo Grande backyard of Susan Flores, Paul's mother. They used ground-penetrating radar and a cadaver dog during the probe. On Jun. Lambert was one of the few journalists and members of the public who have been privy to what is happening inside the court room. By 2007 Dostie began training his new black labrador, Buster, in detecting human remains. He says, I put my heart and soul into that case, and I thought we were going to get the body. The civil attorney for Kristin Smart's family is suing Ruben Flores for emotional damages in connection to the Cal Poly student's 1996 disappearance. In another deposition with Murphys Office, Joe Lassiter said one of the planter boxes measured six feet long by three feet wide. Closing statements in the case against Ruben Flores begin and end. Ruben Flores stares down the Google Street View car. The last person seen with her was Paul Flores. 'We had talked about possible scenarios of why she would not have come back to the dorms,' Teschendorf said of the concerned students. He must have made a lot from the drug dealers. The GPR search geologist said he found an anomaly under the cement but told police he thought it was likely naturally made. The authorities have stated that Kristin's remains have not yet been found. Ian Parkinson became the San Luis Obispo County sheriff. Paul was then named a person of interest in Kristins disappearance. Prosecution, defense lay out case as Paul Flores trial opens in death of Kristin Smart, 24 years from the Cal Poly student's disappearance to a suspect's arrest, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. That changed Tuesday when San Luis Obispo County sheriff's detectives arrested Flores, 44, on suspicion of murder. The East side of the home was not properly searched because of this. Kristin's cheerful call home was a weekly ritual, she said. 'Conspiracy theories can be fun. As of this date, I have not yet learned the results of the search at Ruben Flores home. For my friend @Dsjmnz thank you for the request :)I APOLOGIZE in advance for the really low volume on Flores' deposition. They claimed that he was then helped by his father to bury the girl's body under the deck behind his home inArroyo Grande, California. He condemned what he said was a rush to judgement. Ruben Flores' deposition, November 14, 1997 (courtesy James Murphy/Garin Sinclair) Alexandra Wallace October 28, 2019. Thats one case that got away.. Teschendorf said it was odd because although they weren't particularly close, Smart would usually tell her if she was going to spend the night out of their dorm. In total, over 100 American remains were found where Buster alerted. He faces a minimum of 25 years in jail. Now, partly thanks to the podcast and its hostChris Lambert, Smart's family have finally received some measure of the closure they have been seeking after their daughter's death. 'Conspiracy theories can be fun. San Luis Obispo teen killed in Highway 101 crash, Comparing COVID-19 death rates in California, to other states, Pismo Beach traffic stop nets gun and two arrests, Most of California out of drought, find reservoir levels, Donations raised, but not delivered to Los Osos mudslide victims, Teen arrested for assault, robbery and shooting in SLO, UCSB student dies from fentanyl exposure at Deltopia, Santa Maria man accused of threatening to shoot people, Man airlifted to hospital after Lompoc shooting, Four takeaways from the Paso Robles school board race, Holocaust Remembrance Day, lest we forget, SLO County gas prices increasing, find the lowest prices. He used the OJ Simpson trial as an example. They called him 'Chester the molester' and 'Psycho Paul', they said. Missing-person posters and billboards offering rewards appeared along roads and in other public places. 19, 1996, he left early to finish concrete work at his mothers home on Branch Street. He liked to play pool and he liked to drink. March 31, 2023. Javascript is required. Over the years, he was considered the prime suspect in her disappearance and was arrested in April 2021, along with his father, Ruben Flores. Paso Robles Press Closing statements conclude and jurors are dismissed for deliberations. FAX: (805) 489-0663, If you have any information, please call Murphy Law Corporation at, James R. Murphy, Jr. And John D. Barron, A Law Corporation. He added that Zoom court appearances could give Paul a chance to waive his right to a speedy trial in that case. While an expert said it was human blood, the test used did not rule out the possibility it was from a ferret or primate, though court records said no remains of either such animal were found there. He will be sentenced on December 9, at 9am. He said cadaver dogs play a significant role for them and are used frequently in their searches. 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