Where is Paul Flores now? Maps track Kristin Smart killer from arrest to prison
On May 25, 1996, Paul Flores and Kristin Smart left a house party together in San Luis Obispo.
Joined by another Cal Poly student, Cheryl Anderson, the classmates headed back to their respective residence halls.
Anderson parted ways with Flores and Smart once they reached the residence halls. Smart was never seen again.
More than 25 years later — after numerous interviews, searches and forensic tests — Flores was convicted of murdering Smart.
To help readers better visualize Flores’ involvement in the Smart case, The Tribune has created interactives map tracking his whereabouts since his arrest in 2021.
When was arrest in Kristin Smart murder case?
Paul Flores, now 49, was arrested at his home in Los Angeles’ San Pedro neighborhood on April 13, 2021, and booked at San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of murder, The Tribune previously reported.
His father Ruben Flores, was arrested at his Arroyo Grande home on the same day and charged with being an accessory to a crime.
Preliminary hearings started at San Luis Obispo County Superior Court that August.
However, presiding Judge Craig van Rooyen granted a change of venue in March 2022 on the grounds that Paul Flores and his father would not receive a fair trail in San Luis Obispo.
The judge ruled to move court proceedings to Monterey County.
Where was Paul Flores murder trial held?
In June 2022, Paul and Ruben Flores made their first appearances in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas before presiding Judge Jennifer O’Keefe.
The trial against Paul and Ruben Flores started in July 2022, and closing arguments were heard that October.
On Oct. 18, 2022, Paul Flores was convicted of murdering Kristin Smart, while his father was acquitted of helping his son conceal the murder.
On March 30, 2023, Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Where is Paul Flores incarcerated?
Following his arrest in 2021, Flores spent time behind bars at county jails in San Luis Obispo and Monterey.
After being sentenced in 2023, he was transferred to a series of state prisons across California.
Here’s where Flores has been incarcerated:
- April 13, 2021: San Luis Obispo County Jail
- June 6, 2022: Monterey County Jail
- October 2022: San Luis Obispo County Jail
- March 30, 2023: North Kern State Prison in Delano
- August 2023: Pleasant Valley Prison in Coalinga
- June 6, 2024: California State Prison, Corcoran
While serving time at Pleasant Valley Prison, Paul Flores was stabbed twice by other inmates in the span of about eight months.
He was then transferred to California State Prison, Corcoran, where he was serving his time as of Tuesday, May 12.
