Kristin Smart hearing: ‘Your Own Backyard’ podcast creator called to testify as witness
The creator of the podcast “Your Own Backyard” — credited with renewing interest in the case of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart — has been called to testify in the preliminary hearing for the men accused of killing Smart and hiding her body.
On Tuesday, the defense team for murder defendant Paul Flores served podcaster Chris Lambert with a subpoena to serve as a witness in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Aug. 30.
Robert Sanger, one of Flores’ two defense attorneys, said Lambert could be called as a witness in the hearing for Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, due to his interviews with several witnesses before they spoke to law enforcement.
Prosecutors allege Smart was murdered by Paul Flores during a rape attempt in his residence hall room more than 25 years ago.
Paul Flores, 44, is the last person known to have seen the 19-year-old freshman alive after walking her back from the party toward the Cal Poly campus residence halls on May 24, 1996.
Smart, a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman, went missing after a house party Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Prosecutors believe Paul Flores, who was also a student at the time, murdered Smart during a rape attempt in his dorm room.
Smart’s body has never been found but investigators believe her remains were buried at the Arroyo Grande home of 80-year-old Ruben Flores and recently moved.
Over the course of recording “Your Own Backyard,” which debuted in September 2019, Lambert has interviewed several previously unheard-from witnesses about Smart’s disappearance.
When the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Paul Flores and his father on April 13, the Smart family issued a statement thanking Lambert and crediting him with breakthroughs in the investigation.
Paul and Ruben Flores are currently appearing in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court in a marathon preliminary hearing in which Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen will rule whether prosecutors established probable cause — a lesser standard of proof than guilt beyond a reasonable doubt — to proceed the case toward trial.
On Tuesday, defense investigator Ramona Messina told Lambert he would not be allowed back inside the courtroom, where he is covering the hearing for his podcast, because he is a potential witness.
Other witnesses in the hearing have been barred from the courtroom until their testimony to prevent bias, but van Rooyen said Tuesday that there are exceptions to this rule.
For example, J.T. Camp, lead investigator for the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, could testify in the hearing but has also been allowed in the courtroom.
”Just because (Lambert’s) been served does not necessarily mean he should be excluded,” van Rooyen said. “I’m not going to exclude a member of the media (for doing their job).”
Lambert told The Tribune he suspected the defense would call him to testify in the case.
“I suspected it could happen,” Lambert said.
Kristin Smart murder case at a glance
After a decades-long investigation, Paul and Ruben Flores were arrested in connection with Smart’s disappearance on April 13 in San Pedro and Arroyo Grande, respectively, and the District Attorney’s Office announced the criminal charges against the men the following day.
Paul Flores, a San Pedro resident, is charged with one count of murder. Ruben Flores, who lives in Arroyo Grande, is charged with felony accessory after the fact.
Paul Flores and his father pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on April 19, when van Rooyen ordered Paul Flores be held without bail.
Paul Flores remains in San Luis Obispo County Jail, where he’s being held without bail for the remainder of proceedings.
Ruben Flores was released from County Jail on April 22, hours after Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen significantly lowered his bail because he is not a flight risk or a risk to public safety.
Ruben Flores remains out of custody.
Paul Flores faces a sentence of 25 years to life if convicted of first-degree murder.
Ruben Flores faces a maximum of three years if convicted of the accessory charge, though it is not clear if that sentence would be served in County Jail or state prison.
This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 4:07 PM.
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