Kristin Smart

A San Luis Obispo County judge on Wednesday approved a motion to move the Kristin Smart trial elsewhere in California, citing a likelihood that jurors will not be fair or impartial for the defendants charged in her death and disappearance.

The case against two men accused in the 1996 murder of Kristin Smart should not be moved out of San Luis Obispo County Superior Court because the defendants haven’t proven bias against them from potential jurors, according to an opposition filed by District Attorney’s officials on Friday.

The defendants accused in the 1996 death and disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart have requested a change of venue for their upcoming trial, believing that they won't get a fair or impartial jury, according to a San Luis Obispo County Superior Court filing.

A judge on Friday denied a motion to dismiss murder charges against the father and son defendants accused in the death and disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, who went missing in 1996.

The attorney for a defendant accused in the death and disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart has filed a motion to dismiss murder charges, citing a lack of probable cause from testimony and evidence presented at a 2021 preliminary hearing, according to court records. 

The father and son defendants charged with the death and disappearance of Kristin Smart appeared Monday during a pretrial conference in San Luis Obispo to confirm their trial start date for April and work out details regarding discovery.

The father and son charged in the 1996 death and disappearance of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart pleaded not guilty for a second time during a hearing Wednesday in which a judge also set a trial start date for April.

A judge's ruling on Wednesday to uphold murder charges against a father and son accused in the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart moved the case "one step closer to justice," according to a statement released by her family on Thursday.

A judge on Wednesday upheld murder charges against a father and son accused in the death of 19-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, citing the “totality of circumstances” that started when she went missing in 1996 and included evidence obtained from an alleged Arroyo Grande burial site earlier this year.

Attorneys rested their cases Monday in the weekslong preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores, who are charged in the death Kristin Smart, the 19-year-old Cal Poly student who went missing on May 25, 1996.

Attorneys for Paul and Ruben Flores on Thursday continued their cross-examinations of a crime scene technician and her process of excavating several locations at an Arroyo Grande residence, where investigators believe the remains of 19-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart were buried.

A former Cal Poly Police officer and a forensic serologist testified in court Wednesday during the preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores, who are charged in the disappearance of former student Kristin Smart in 1996.

An archeologist Tuesday testified about her findings at two excavated sites, including one which contained an “odd stain,” during searches for Kristin Smart's remains at the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores in March and April.

A forensic specialist and two K-9 handlers testified in court Thursday on details of their searches that occurred earlier this year under the deck of an Arroyo Grande home, where San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office investigators dug for evidence of missing 19-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.

A 2020 search of a trailer seized as part of the Kristin Smart investigation revealed a stain “similar” to a human body after the inside was sprayed with a chemical used to detect bodily fluids, according to testimony Wednesday from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s detective who is leading the case.

A third K-9 handler testified in court Tuesday about the alerts his cadaver dog gave on the morning of June 29, 1996 during a search of Cal Poly’s Santa Lucia Hall dorm, where investigators attempted to locate evidence indicating the whereabouts of 19-year-old student Kristin Smart, who went missing a month earlier.

A second K-9 handler recalled in court on Monday the alerts her cadaver dog gave while searching Paul Flores' Santa Lucia Hall dorm room on the afternoon of June 29, 1996.

A judge on Wednesday rejected a motion to recuse an entire district attorney’s office over accusations of bias from alleged statements and purple clothing worn in court during the preliminary hearing for Paul Flores, who is charged in the death and disappearance of 19-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.

A retired police detective took the witness stand Monday and provided details on the FBI’s use of a jail informant to investigate Paul Flores’ alleged role in the May 1996 disappearance of 19-year-old Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.

A retired investigator on Friday testified about two interviews he had with Paul Flores 25 years ago, recalling the version of events given to him immediately surrounding the May 26, 1996 disappearance of 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart.

A judge on Wednesday declined to set bail for Paul Flores and temporarily paused his preliminary hearing for a second time this week to allow attorneys to prepare for several motions that are scheduled to be heard on Friday.

A judge on Monday approved a two-day pause in the preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores, who are charged in the death and disappearance of Kristin Smart in 1996.

An attorney defending Paul Flores against a murder charge connected to the death and disappearance of 19-year-old Kristin Smart in 1996 filed a motion Wednesday asking state officials to disqualify prosecutors over purple clothing worn in court.

Two witnesses recounted in court Thursday details of individual encounters they had with Paul Flores, who is accused in the death and disappearance of 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart, who went missing in 1996.

A K9 handler on Wednesday recounted on the witness stand how both of her cadaver dogs alerted her to a strong scent emanating from a particular room during a search of Cal Poly’s Santa Lucia Hall dorm on the morning of June 29, 1996.

A former girlfriend of Paul Flores on Tuesday described the experience she had with him years ago when she walked out the backdoor of Ruben Flores’ White Court residence in Arroyo Grande and into the backyard, where a patch of avocado trees was located.

A San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office detective investigating the disappearance of Kristin Smart testified Monday that it was the initial 1996 interviews with Paul Flores and statements made by his mother, including in wiretaps more than 20 years later, that elevated him from "person of interest" to "suspect" in the case.

After Margarita Campos and some friends contacted the Cal Poly Police Department on May 25, 1996 to report Kristin Smart missing, Campos remembered the flurry of information given to the responding officer during the group interview.

Attorneys for the father and son charged in the death of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart have asked to quash evidence from what they believe has been the product of a botched investigation.

Witnesses Tuesday in the preliminary hearing for the father and son charged in the death of Kristin Smart were asked to recall the 25-year-old details leading up to her disappearance just before Memorial Day 1996.

The preliminary hearing for two men charged in the death of Kristin Smart started Monday in San Luis Obispo with the cross examination of the Cal Poly freshman’s parents, who recounted the last correspondence they had with their daughter in the months leading up to her disappearance in 1996.

Court documents unsealed on Tuesday in the 25-year-old Kristin Smart murder case revealed details from the investigation, including the discovery of sexually-graphic videos at Paul Flores’ San Pedro home and human blood found in the the soil around Ruben Flores’ residence in Arroyo Grande.

A judge on Wednesday denied a request by the prosecution to charge Paul Flores, who accused of killing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, with rape. 

A judge on Wednesday denied a request by Paul Flores in a decades-old civil case to extend a gag order prohibiting an Arroyo Grande attorney representing the parents of Kristin Smart, the Cal …

A judge on Tuesday approved a tentative preliminary hearing start date for the two suspects charged in the Kristin Smart murder case.

A preliminary hearing for the two suspects charged in the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart has been delayed. 

A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge on Monday confirmed a July 6 start date for the preliminary hearing in the Kristin Smart murder trial and approved the use of photo news coverage inside the courtroom.

The parents of Kristin Smart visited close friends and supporters in San Luis Obispo County recently to mark a quarter century since their daughter disappeared from Cal Poly after returning fr…

Attorneys in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on Monday confirmed the July preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores, the father and son defendants who are charged in the death of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.

Susan Flores, mother of Paul Flores, and her boyfriend are accused of relocating the remains of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in an amended lawsuit filed by Smart's family.

The parents of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart filed a lawsuit Thursday against three individuals, including an Arroyo Grande man accused by prosecutors of hiding their daughter’s body and moving the remains following a search of his residence in 2020.

Ruben Flores, 80, of Arroyo Grande left jail after Judge Craig Van Rooyen lowered his bail from $250,000 to $50,000 on Wednesday. Terms of release require Ruben Flores to wear an electronic ankle monitor, give up his passport and stay within San Luis Obispo County.

A judge on Wednesday reduced bail for a man accused of helping his son hide the body of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart from $250,000 to $50,000.

The father and son charged in the 1996 disappearance and suspected death of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart pleaded not guilty to murder charges Monday in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.

The father and son charged in the suspected 1996 death of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart made their first appearances in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on Thursday, but did not enter pleas.

San Luis Obispo District Attorney Office officials on Wednesday have charged Paul and Ruben Flores with murder-related charges in the disappearance of Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly freshman who went missing on May 25, 1996

For over twenty-four years, we have waited for this bittersweet day. It is impossible to put into words what this day means for our family; we pray it is the first step to bringing our daughter home. While Kristin’s loving spirit will always live in our hearts, our life without her hugs, laughs and smiles is a heartache that never abates.

Nearly 25 years after Cal Poly student Kristin Smart disappeared from the college campus, prime suspect Paul Flores was arrested on suspicion of murder Tuesday, and his father was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder, according to sheriff's officials.