Paul Flores’ guilty verdict brings sense of relief to Cal Poly: ‘Good to see justice’
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Kristin Smart murder trial
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After a jury found Paul Flores guilty of murdering fellow Cal Poly student Kristin Smart more than 26 years ago, students at the San Luis Obispo university expressed a sense of relief.
“It’s just good to see justice coming in right now,” Ava Diefenderfer, a first-year Cal Poly student, said Tuesday.
“This took way too long, though,” fellow first-year student Sienna Ritter said. “I think that that is super unfair for her family to have to have waited this long (for a verdict). And it’s scary, it’s sad; it’s just heartbreaking.”
All 12 jurors convicted Flores of first-degree murder on Tuesday in Monterey County Superior Court, finding that his murder of Smart was premeditated and willful.
The 45-year-old San Pedro man will be sentenced on Dec. 9. He faces 25 years up to life in prison.
A separate jury acquitted Paul Flores’ father, 81-year-old Arroyo Grande resident Ruben Flores, of accessory after the fact. Ruben Flores was accused of helping his son hide Smart’s body.
Kristin Smart case a ‘tragic part’ of Cal Poly history
Paul Flores was on trial for the murder of Smart, who went missing at age 19 following an off-campus party during Memorial Day weekend in 1996.
Flores, who was the last person seen with the Stockton freshman as she walked back to her residence hall, has long been the “prime suspect” in Smart’s disappearance.
“Kristin Smart’s disappearance is a tragic part of our Cal Poly community’s history, and our university has closely watched the case, hoping throughout for justice for Kristin and resolution for her family,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “Today’s guilty verdict is a welcome development in the pursuit of justice, and our university community hopes this brings some comfort and a measure of resolution to Kristin’s loved ones.”
“Our thoughts continue to be with Denise and Stan Smart and family,” Armstrong continued. “On behalf of the entire university community, I offer our thanks to Sheriff Ian Parkinson, all law enforcement investigators, District Attorney Dan Dow, and the prosecutors who have pursued the case. We also wish to join many across California and the U.S. in thanking Chris Lambert for his efforts.”
Cal Poly Safer, the university’s prevention, education and advocacy resource for sexual assault and domestic violence, also released a statement Tuesday about Paul Flores’ guilty verdict.
“Kristin Smart’s case has had lasting impacts on our Cal Poly community,” Safer said in a news release.
The release noted that Smart’s case — as well as the cases of college students Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford, who were abducted, sexually assaulted and killed by serial killer Rex Krebs — “sparked the creation of the Safer program during the fall of 1996.”
“The campus has since committed itself to create spaces where survivors can go to seek support and validation,” Safer said.
Students erected a small memorial for Smart on campus under a tree near Santa Lucia residence hall, where Paul Flores lived during his time on campus.
There are “no plans to discuss at this time” on whether the university will establish a more permanent memorial for the student, Cal Poly spokesman Matt Lazier wrote in an email to The Tribune.
A student-led vigil is being planned for Friday.
University response to student’s 1996 disappearance
Cal Poly has long faced criticism for its initial response to Smart’s disappearance.
According to Tribune archives, the university first received a report from Smart’s friend on May 27, 1996, that she was missing.
But Cal Poly university police surmised at the time that Smart likely took a Memorial Day holiday trip without telling anyone, and did not open an investigation, the Tribune reported around that time.
The following day, Smart’s friend called the San Luis Obispo Police Department to report Smart missing. The city police department referred the case to university police, which then began its investigation.
On May 30, 1996, Cal Poly police began searching campus for Smart. Nearly a month later, university police referred the case to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.
As a result of the missteps in the university’s handling of the case, the Kristin Smart Campus Safety Act was signed into law in 1998.
The law requires university and college campuses to enter into a written agreement with local law enforcement agencies relating to certain violent crimes. These agreements are required to designate the law enforcement agency that will have responsibility for the investigation of these crimes, according to the act.
It essentially provides a clear pathway for universities to coordinate the investigations of violent crimes on campus with local authorities.
The Smart family filed lawsuits against the university in the years following the student’s disappearance alleging that Cal Poly officials were aware of past assaults, rapes and other violent acts on campus — so they should have provided more lighting, closed-circuit cameras, call boxes and additional security, according to Tribune reporting in 1997.
Those lawsuits were dismissed.
The university’s attorney argued in 1997 that it’s nearly impossible for any “locale open to the public” to prevent a violent crime from occurring, the Tribune reported.
Cal Poly students react to Paul Flores’ guilty verdict
As news of the verdict in the Smart murder trial spread Tuesday afternoon, many students on Cal Poly’s busy San Luis Obispo campus said they didn’t know much about the case.
Students who were aware of the Smart case said they had heard the case briefly mentioned in a course about sexual assault during orientation, or were from the area and had grown up hearing about the case.
Several others said they’d listened to Chris Lambert’s podcast “Your Own Backyard,” which explores the investigation into Smart’s disappearance.
Some students mentioned walking past the small memorial for the murdered student on their way to class and doing an internet search for the name written on the placards.
Diefenderfer, Ritter and fellow first-year Cal Poly student Charlotte Graves, who all hail from San Luis Obispo, said they’d heard about the case before. They watched the reading of the Flores verdicts on KSBY-TV in a room at the yakʔitʸutʸu residence hall.
“I feel really relieved for her family,” Graves said of Smart.
Asked about the guilty verdict for Paul Flores, some students said they’d wished they knew more about Smart’s case and the circumstances around her murder.
“I feel a little concerned that we hadn’t heard about it. It just makes me rethink the safety of campus a little bit,” first-year student Hayley Morgan said. “While (the guilty verdict) is a step in the right direction, there’s definitely still a lot that Cal Poly can do.”
Lulu Harrington and Maia Keene, first-year students from the Bay Area, said they had learned about the case from Lambert’s podcast.
They heard the verdicts read on the radio while at the university’s swimming pool. They said they were both happy to hear Paul Flores was found guilty.
“I know a lot of people knew about this case and so everyone’s really, really conscious about being around campus real late,” Keene said. “Boys will always come up and ask if I want them to get a girl to walk me home if it’s super late. It’s really nice.”
Cal Poly offers resources for campus community
Cal Poly is providing support services for campus community members in the wake of the Flores verdicts.
Counseling Services will hold a drop-in support space from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday via Zoom.
Safer has same-day availability to meet with a confidential advocate or invite an advocate to an existing meeting.
In addition, Safer is offering information and chances to get involved with Dating Violence Action Month in October. For more information, visit safer.calpoly.edu/DVAM.
Students can also take advantage of a variety of other resources and caring staff from Safer, Counseling Services, the Office of the Dean of Students and other programs.
Employees can find information on the university’s Employee Assistance Program via https://afd.calpoly.edu/hr/employee-resources/work-life.
This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Paul Flores’ guilty verdict brings sense of relief to Cal Poly: ‘Good to see justice’."
