SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A California judge has ordered the man last seen with Kristin Smart before she vanished from a college campus 25 years ago on the Central Coast to stand trial for murder.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen said Wednesday there was probable cause that 44-year-old Paul Flores killed his classmate at California Polytechnic State University in 1996. Flores's 80-year-old father, Ruben Flores, was ordered to trial on a charge as an accessory for allegedly helping bury Smart.
Probable cause is a lower standard of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defense attorneys say there is not enough evidence to support the criminal charges. However, prosecutors say Paul Flores killed Kristin Smart, a fellow freshman at California Polytechnic State University, and his father, Ruben, helped hide her body.
Both men have pleaded not guilty.
The family of Kristin Smart released a statement Thursday following the judge's ruling.
The statement reads in full:
"Yesterday was a very good day and we want to take this opportunity to thank all of Kristin’s supporters in San Luis Obispo and beyond. So many people have played such important roles over the past 25 years, and we are humbled by the amazing support and generosity we have received. We want to especially thank the District Attorney’s Office for their relentless efforts.
Our family has always known that this was going to be a long, difficult, and emotional journey. We are now one step closer to justice for Kristin. She – and all who have worked so hard toward this day – deserve nothing less."
Retired Cal Poly Police Detective Lawrence Kennedy’s testimony on Aug. 5 revealed Paul Flores has been regarded as a person of interest in Smart’s disappearance almost since the beginning of the investigation.
“We continued to follow up on any lead we received,” Kennedy said in his testimony.
Kennedy added that from May 31, 1996 to the present, the San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office focused on Paul Flores and Cal Poly’s investigation continued into Smart as a missing person.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department just started referring to Paul Flores as a prime suspect in April 2021 after he was arrested at his San Pedro residence.
Paul and Ruben Flores’ preliminary hearing began on Aug. 2 and started its seventh week of proceedings on Sept. 20, when Judge van Rooyen announced he would make his decision on Sept. 22. More than a dozen witnesses have testified over 22 days of proceedings in the preliminary hearing.
Witness Tim Davis, who helped walk Smart part of the way to the dorms, said in his second day of testimony on Aug. 12 that he warned prosecutors not to pursue a weak case.
“It will piss a lot of people off, even more than they’re already pissed off,” Davis said.
In his closing statement on Sept. 20, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle argued there are inconsistencies in Paul Flores’ statements to law enforcement regarding a black eye he was seen with after Smart’s disappearance.
In his closing statement, Defense Attorney Robert Sanger, representing Paul Flores, argued that investigators did not examine other potential suspects and questioned the validity of the cadaver dog alerts in Flores’ dorm room.
Both Paul and Ruben Flores are scheduled to appear in San Luis Obispo Superior Court for their arraignment on Oct. 20, 2021.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: Extended Interview: Kristin Smart's brother talks about new scholarship in her name