Live updates: Paul Flores found guilty of murder; Ruben Flores found not guilty
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Kristin Smart murder trial
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For further updates on the verdict, visit our story here: BREAKING NEWS: Paul Flores guilty of murdering Kristin Smart
Update, 2:15 p.m.:
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office will hold a press conference on the verdicts inside the Monterey County courthouse at 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.
The press conference will also be livestreamed online.
There will also be an informal gathering at Smart’s Dinosaur Caves memorial in Shell Beach at 6 p.m., sources say.
Update, 2 p.m.:
Ruben Flores was found not guilty by a separate jury of helping his son conceal the murder of Kristin Smart.
A jury acquitted Ruben Flores of charges of accessory to murder after the fact. He was present for the reading of the verdict.
Jurors in the Ruben Flores trial were thanked and can now discuss the case.
“You are fulfilling an extremely important role in our judicial system,” O’Keefe told the jurors. “Please accept our thanks for your time and our effort.”
Ruben Flores has been released from electronic monitoring and is discharged.
Update, 1:57 p.m.:
Prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle asked O’Keefe if she intended to lift the gag order preventing parties to the trial from speaking about the case, but the judge said she was considering leaving it in place until sentencing.
O’Keefe added she would review the gag order during the recess while court awaits the reading of Ruben Flores’ verdict.
Update, 1:50 p.m.:
The verdict for Ruben Flores will be read at 2 p.m.; court is still waiting on one juror to arrive.
Update, 1:40 p.m.:
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe thanked the jurors for their service after the guilty verdict was announced.
“I wish to express to you the appreciation and that of the parties for your service in this case,” she said. “It is a great personal sacrifice to serve as a juror... you have been very attentive and conscientious throughout this case.”
Jurors are now allowed to discuss or not to discuss their deliberations or verdict with anyone, the judge said.
The discussion must occur at “a reasonable time and place.”
Update, 1:35 p.m.:
A jury has found Paul Flores guilty of murdering Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in 1996. Ruben Flores’ verdict is expected to be read next.
After months of court proceedings, 12 jurors in a Salinas courtroom unanimously agreed Tuesday to convict Paul Flores of first-degree murder, capping a San Luis Obispo mystery that has been unsolved for more than 26 years.
All jurors confirmed this is their “true verdict.”
Counsel waived the reading of the verdict.
Update, 1:22 p.m.:
Parties are beginning to file into the courtroom for the reading of the verdicts at 1:30 p.m.
Update, 1:20 p.m.:
The District Attorney’s Office announced it will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. outside the Monterey County Courthouse in Salinas.
Update, 1 p.m.:
The Paul Flores verdict will be read first at 1:30 p.m., a court official confirmed Tuesday afternoon. The reading of Ruben Flores’ verdict will occur shortly after.
Update, 12:10 p.m.:
Court officials have confirmed verdicts have been reached in the trials of Paul and Ruben Flores.
The verdicts will be read at 1:30 p.m.
Original story:
The jury deciding whether Paul Flores murdered Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in 1996 reached a verdict Tuesday morning, according to an anonymous source with San Luis Obispo County.
The verdicts for both Paul Flores and his father Ruben Flores will be read at 1:30 p.m. at Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas.
The decision comes one day after the jury for Ruben Flores came to its verdict Monday. Ruben Flores is accused of helping his son hide his crime.
Paul Flores’ jury deliberated for about four days.
The two Flores men have been on trial since July 18, and jurors for both men had about three months of evidence to review before coming to their decisions.
Paul Flores is alleged to have killed Smart, who disappeared after leaving an off-campus party during Memorial Day weekend in 1996. He has long been a person of interest in the case, as he was the last person to see Smart alive and lied to investigators about how he got a black eye.
Smart’s body has never been found, and she was declared legally dead in 2002 — six years after her disappearance.
Paul Flores’ jury has three ways to find him guilty
Paul Flores’ jury has three ways to find him guilty of one of two murder counts.
For murder in the first degree, jurors have to find that Flores planned to kill Smart in a premeditated way or killed Smart while raping or attempting to rape her. For second-degree murder, they have to find that he intended to kill Smart in the moment.
Jurors deciding Flores’ fate only have to agree on the degree of murder.
Ruben Flores’ jurors had to first decide whether a murder occurred in the first place, and if it did, they had to decide whether there was enough evidence to show that Ruben Flores knowingly helped his son conceal the crime.
Paul Flores faces 25 to life or life in prison, while his father faces a maximum of three years in county jail or state prison.
To stay up on the latest details in the Smart case, sign up for our news alerts by clicking on the three lines in the upper left of the sanluisobispo.com homepage, selecting “Stay connected,” then “Newsletters,” and then checking the box for “News alerts.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, there are ways to get help. If you’re a Cal Poly student, you can get help and find resources through Cal Poly Safer at safer.calpoly.edu. All San Luis Obispo County residents can reach out to RISE SLO at riseslo.org or 805-226-5400. National organizations that support sexual assault victims include the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or rainn.org, the Anti-Violence Project hotline at 212-714-1141 and the Safe Horizon hotline at 1-800-621-4673.
This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Live updates: Paul Flores found guilty of murder; Ruben Flores found not guilty."
