Witness who said Paul Flores admitted he killed Kristin Smart back in court
SALINAS -- The eighth week of testimony began Monday as jurors heard from a witness who said Paul Flores admitted to killing Stockton teen and Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart in 1996.
The witness, Jennifer Hudson, took the witness stand at the end of last week and shared an experience that, she said, has haunted her for more than two decades. Hudson said when she was 17 she attended a social gathering with Flores, after Smart disappeared. On radio commercial breaks there were public service announcements about Smart's disappearance that, Hudson said, led to Flores admitting he killed Smart.
She recalled the look on his face that she said included "dead eyes" when she said Flores spoke of Smart.
On Monday, she continued cross-examination by answering questions asked by the Flores' attorneys, Robert Sanger for Paul and Harold Mesick who represents Ruben Flores, Paul's father.
Sanger asked about Hudson's involvement in the case since 1996, specifically, her interest in Smart's disappearance on social media and through the "Your Own Backyard Podcast", credited with reigniting public interest in the case.
Sanger asked about Hudson's alcohol use and how much she may have been drinking at the time, she said, Flores admitted her killed Smart. She didn't report the incident to law enforcement until 2019.
In 2002, years after the interaction with Flores, Hudson told her friend, Justin Goodwin, what happened. Goodwin was asked, more than a decade later, to participate in the podcast cited in court and created by Chris Lambert.
Goodwin encouraged Hudson to share information she had about Flores with Lambert as part of the podcast. By the time Hudson spoke to law enforcement, it's established through questioning, that she had already spoken to Lambert.
Sanger: "At the time that you had the encounter with the person you're referring to as Paul Flores, you told [Detective] Clint Cole that you were on drugs. You remember that?"
Hudson: "The day I met him I was not on drugs. That time period, yes."
After questions from the defense, San Luis Obispo District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle asked Hudson about her feelings about the interaction she said she had with Flores and how it may have impacted the investigation into Smart's disappearance.
Peuvrelle: "You mentioned you feel responsible for the misery of the Smart family."
Hudson: "If I was not a coward I would have come forward then." She started crying on the stand, visibly emotional.
Peuvrelle asked Hudson if she had any regrets not talking to law enforcement until 2019, and to this question, Hudson agrees, she feels this way.
Hudson remains emotional for the next few questions, asked by Peuvrelle, to clarify her statements about what she said Flores admitted. She confirmed Flores said he was at a party "with this bitch" referring to Smart and added, "all she did was lead me on." Hudson said Flores would continue, "That bitch was a dick tease" and so he had to "take care of her."
Goodwin followed Hudson on the witness stand Monday. He echoed Hudson's story about the experience she said she had with Flores when she was a teen.
"It's hard for me to recall exactly how it was stated, just that she said, you know, he said something along the lines of 'I got tired of it and I buried her.'" said Goodwin.
After Hudson left the area and moved away from the Central Coast, Goodwin said he reported the tip about what Flores said to a website created to find Smart, in either 2003 or 2004, he said. He also sent the tip to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It wasn't until 2019 that he shared the tip with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office.
The last witness to take the stand on Monday was Angela Butler, a Forensic DNA Analyst who conducts body fluid identification. Peuvrelle began to lay the foundation that allowed her to be accepted as an expert witness in DNA and fluid identification.
Her testimony, and its connection to the trial, will continue Tuesday when court resumes at 10:30 a.m. in Monterey County.
Nicolás Viñuela is a CBS contributor to this post and is a general assignment reporter for the Mustang Daily News.
