Attorney for Paul Flores files for dismissal of charges, new trial in Kristin Smart murder
SALINAS — The attorney for Paul Flores has filed for a new trial in the 1996 disappearance and murder of Stockton native Kristin Smart, according to CBS affiliate KION in Monterey County where the trial was held.
Flores, Smart's former Cal Poly schoolmate, is also asking for the October 2022 jury decision that convicted him of first-degree murder to be dismissed ahead of a sentencing hearing set for March 10.
His attorney, Robert Sanger, claims "there is a reason that a case against Paul Flores was not brought for 25 years."
Flores' father, Ruben Flores, was charged as an accessory in Smart's murder but was acquitted by a separate jury.
The trials were heard together for nearly three months, but Paul and Ruben were being tried separately. Ruben was accused of helping his son cover up the crime.