Unexpected sickness delays trials of Paul and Ruben Flores in disappearance of Kristin Smart
SALINAS (CBS13) - The trial of Paul and Ruben Flores, the father and son duo accused of the murder and cover-up of Stockton native and Cal Poly student Kristen Smart, has been delayed until Thursday.
An unexpected sickness led to the 48-hour delay, that was set to resume Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. with opening statements from Ruben Flores's attorney, Harold Mesick. Monday marked the first time jurors heard from the prosecution, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle and both Flores's attorneys, Mesick and Robert Sanger, who represents Paul.
The two cases are being heard together, but will be tried separately, and nearly 40 jurors are called each day, including alternates, as part of what is expected to be a three-month trial.
Tuesday would have marked the first day of witness testimony and evidence as part of the prosecution's case, they say, will prove that Paul Flores attempted to rape, then murder Kristin Smart and buried her body in his father, Ruben's backyard. Ruben, on trial for what prosecutors say is his role in helping his son hide the evidence.
Monday, Peuvrelle began his opening statements to jurors with a number: "1,359" the number of Sundays, he said, the Smart family has been without Kristin Smart. The 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman was last seen on Memorial Day weekend 1996 leaving an off-campus party.
Peuvrelle outlined the timeline the prosecution said was Smart's final hours and that the last person to see her alive was Paul Flores. At the time, May 25th 1996, Paul was also a Cal Poly freshman. Sanger, Paul's attorney, denied the prosecution's take on the series of events 26 years ago and told jurors the last time Paul saw Smart alive she was walking towards her on-campus dorm.
In July of 1996, Paul was named a key witness, then a person of interest. In 2002, Smart was declared legally dead exactly six years after her disappearance. Then, in 2016, investigators excavated a Cal Poly hillside looking for remains. Four years later, in 2020, more search warrants were served at the homes of Paul Flores and his parents, in Arroyo Grande.
Paul Flores was arrested in February 2021 on unrelated gun charges. Investigators searched his father's home a month later, and named Paul a suspect for the first time. Then, in April 2021, Paul and Ruben were arrested in connection with Smart's disappearance.
The trials are expected to resume Thursday morning.
