Post by Scumhunter on Sept 17, 2015 8:23:42 GMT -5
(Pictured Above: Kristin Smart, circa 1996)
Missing Person Profile as of September 17th, 2015: (Based on Charley Project website)
Missing Since: May 25, 1996 from San Luis Obispo, California
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: February 20, 1977
Age: 19 years old (at time of disappearance, would be 38 as of this posting)
Height and Weight: 6'1, 145 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Dark blonde hair, brown eyes. Smart's nicknames are Roxy and Scritter. She had a tan at the time of her May 1996 disappearance.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A light gray cropped t-shirt, black nylon surfing or running shorts, and red and white Puma sneakers.
Who to call if you have information: San Luis Obispo County (California) Sheriff's Department at 805-781-4500 or the FBI's Los Angeles Office at 805-934-2444
Kristin Denise Smart was a 19-year old college student who went missing off-campus in 1996. Her case was aired on the March 6th, 1999 episode of America's Most Wanted. Below is the Charley Project description of the case:
Smart was a student at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California in 1996. She majored in architecture. She departed from an off-campus party and headed for her dormitory at approximately 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. on May 25, 1996. At the party, Smart was acting as if she was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. When she left the gathering, she was having trouble walking.
Smart was accompanied by a female acquaintance and another student from the university, Paul Flores, when she left the party. Photos of Flores are posted below this case summary. He was a food science major at Cal Poly in 1996. Smart apparently met Flores at the party earlier in the evening. Her friend separated from Smart and Flores at the intersection of Perimeter Road and Grand Avenue on the college campus. Flores allegedly told Smart's friend that he would see Smart to her home. She was last seen walking north on Grand Avenue with Flores. She was headed towards Muir Hall, which was her dormitory. Smart has never been heard from again. She was not carrying any identification, cash or personal belongings at the time she vanished.
Flores was reportedly seen with a black eye later in the day on May 25. When questioned about Smart's whereabouts by authorities, Flores claimed that he continued walking to his own dormitory and last saw Smart on Grand Avenue shortly after her other friend departed. Flores told several different stories to law enforcement regarding how he received his injury. At one time he claimed he had hurt his eye playing basketball with a friend, but the friend told authorities Flores had had the bruise when he arrived at the game. When confronted with the lie, Flores changed his story and told police he had hurt his eye while working on a truck at his father's home. He allegedly told another friend that he did not know how he got the black eye and that he "just woke up with it."
Smart's roommate contacted police later in the morning of May 25, worried because Smart had not returned to her dormitory. The roommate had been at the room the night Smart was last seen, and never saw her get back home. Her clothing, toiletries, cosmetics, medicine and identification were left undisturbed in her room; there is no evidence that she made it back there. Authorities refused to take the missing persons report for four days, however, because Smart disappeared on Memorial Day weekend and college students often take impromptu vacations at that time. Smart's parents have criticized authorities for not getting involved in the case sooner, saying they probably lost valuable evidence because of it. Police admit the delay hampered the investigation.
Flores dropped out of Cal Poly shortly after Smart disappeared. He had been making very poor grades and was in danger of failing out of the university, and he had also gotten arrested for driving while intoxicated and lost his driver's license. He removed his belongings from his dormitory room at Santa Lucia Hall prior to a search of the premises by law enforcement. Cadaver dogs utilized by authorities led them to Flores's mattress in his former room during the investigation, but no additional evidence was located at the time. Investigators have repeatedly questioned him regarding Smart's case since 1996, but he has invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer. They offered him a plea deal where he would plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and reveal the location of Smart's body in exchange for a six-year prison term, but he refused the offer. Flores is the prime and only suspect in Smart's disappearance, but authorities do not have enough evidence at their disposal to charge him in the case.
The Smart family has persisted in their efforts to get investigators to come up with evidence against Flores. A friend of the Smarts, Dennis Mahon, has published a website which gives Flores's address and tracks him whenever he changes residences. The Flores family has a restraining order against him and he was jailed at least once for violating it. In 2005, Flores's mother and her boyfriend sued Smart's parents and Mahon, alleging harassment, severe emotional distress and lost income as a result of their behavior.
Smart's case is open and unsolved. Her family held a memorial service for her in May 2001, and again in June 2003. She was declared dead in May 2002. Smart's family attempted to pursue a civil suit against Flores for Smart's wrongful death, but dropped the case in 1996 after Flores pleaded his Fifth Amendment rights during the proceedings. Smart's family has since revived the suit, which has yet to go to trial. They continue to place pressure on Flores to speak to authorities regarding any possible knowledge he may have about their daughter's disappearance. He has no record of violent crimes, but has been charged with drunk driving three times since Smart disappeared, in addition to the charge from before she vanished. People who knew him while he was a student at Cal Poly stated he drank heavily in 1996 and had a tendency to become obnoxious when intoxicated, and that he was not popular with the other students.
In 2003, suggestions were made that Scott Peterson might be linked to Smart. Scott Peterson's wife, Laci, disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002, and her torso was found in the Pacific Ocean in May 2003. Scott was later convicted of murdering her. Both Laci and Scott Peterson attended Cal Poly; they were seniors at the school when Smart disappeared. Police investigated possible ties between Scott Peterson and Smart and announced that there was nothing to link him to Smart's disappearance.
Smart is described as friendly and generous and a competitive swimmer. She has traveled to many places, including Hawaii and South America. She originally enrolled at the University of California at Santa Barbara, but transferred to Cal Poly early in her freshman year. Her case remains unsolved. Foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.
Thoughts? Obviously, it seems foul play is involved. And I feel a lot easier criticizing a suspect when they don't cooperate, and not only has Flores went silent, but when he did talk, he changed his story multiple times as well. How the heck do you "wake up" with a black eye? Punch himself in a dream?
In addition to everything else- in 2014, the California Register stated new leads indicate that Kristin’s body was likely buried in concrete behind the Flores home at 529 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, but wrapped in a carpet and moved to an area South of Lake Lope
Last time I read, the Smarts were still trying to have their civil suit in court, but perhaps there may be finally some movement in regards to the problem in these past nearly two decades which was a lack of evidence.
(Pictured: Above: Left: Flories in 1996, Right: Flores circa 1996 Photo Credit: Charley Project)
www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/smart_kristin.html
web.archive.org/web/20040210015739/http://www2.amw.com/site/archives/19990306/ksmart.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Kristin_Smart
www.californiaregister.com/kristin-smart/
www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/02/05/2910516_kristin-smart-missing-cal-poly.html?rh=1
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