Kristin Smart murder trial canceled for 2 days, court officials say. This is why
Court proceedings in the Kristin Smart murder trial will be delayed for two days, Monterey County Superior Court officials said Tuesday.
Superior Court spokesperson Norma Ramirez-Zapata told members of the media on Tuesday morning that the trial against Paul and Ruben Flores was canceled for Tuesday and Wednesday because of an “unexpected health concern.”
It was unclear Tuesday what time court proceedings would resume on Thursday.
Chris Ruhl, Monterey County Superior Court executive officer, told The Tribune in an email that the only thing he can confirm is “the Flores trial has been unexpectedly continued to Thursday,” and plans to send an email Tuesday or Wednesday with more information.
Paul Flores, 45, is accused of killing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart after leaving an off-campus party in May 1996, and hiding her body with the help of his 81-year-old father, Ruben Flores. The two men were arrested in April 2021.
The trial against Paul and Ruben Flores was moved to Salinas after San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen ruled they would likely not receive a fair trial because of pretrial publicity.
There will be two juries deciding two verdicts — one for Paul Flores and one for Ruben Flores.
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe is presiding over the case.
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Kristin Smart murder trial: Opening statements begin
In opening statements Monday, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle laid out the evidence he plans to present to the juries throughout the four-month long trial.
Evidence played for the juries included a video of Paul Flores shot days after Smart went missing, where someone asked him what happened to “the missing girl.”
In response, Peuvrelle said, Flores was quiet and “hung his head in shame.”
Jurors also watched a video of a 1996 interview between investigators and Flores.
In the video, investigators asked Flores “If anybody lies as much as you have about something as serious as this is, what are you going to think?”
Flores replies in the video: “It’s not really lies, it’s a fib. I guess you could call it little white lies. I have no idea about any lies.”
Finally, the juries listened to a recording of a 2020 phone conversation between Flores and his mother.
Susan Flores can be heard telling her son to listen to the podcast “Your Own Backyard,” which explores Smart’s disappearance, to see if they can “poke holes” in it, because he is the only one who knows where they can poke holes.
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Robert Sanger, Paul Flores’ attorney, then addressed jurors —saying Smart often engaged in “at-risk behavior” such as lying about being a model and having a job and “going off with men.”
Sanger also questioned the reliability of witnesses in the case and said there is no evidence against Flores that proves that he killed Smart.
Sanger said he plans to call experts and witnesses that will discredit the forensic evidence and witness testimony Peuvrelle plans to present.
Harold Mesick, Ruben Flores’ counsel, did not have time to give opening statements to his client’s jury on Monday.
Mesnick is now expected to make those statements on Thursday, when court resumes. After Mesick’s opening statements, both juries are expected in the same room for the first day of presentation of evidence.
This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Kristin Smart murder trial canceled for 2 days, court officials say. This is why."
