Human blood found in soil under Ruben Flores’ home, unsealed Kristin Smart records show
Traces of human blood were found in a patch of disturbed soil underneath the Arroyo Grande home of Ruben Flores, who is accused of helping his son Paul with concealing the body of missing Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart, according to newly unsealed court records.
A summary of what investigators found during several searches of the property over the past two years was included in a San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office Statement of the Case.
It was among several records unsealed by a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge on Wednesday.
According to the document, written by deputy district attorney Christopher Peuvrelle, a March 2021 search of Ruben Flores’ property at 710 White Court showed “significant soil disturbance” underneath the home in an area enclosed by lattice.
The records also show that a longtime tenant at the property told investigators that Ruben Flores kept the area padlocked, and even turned away a plumber who asked for access under the home.
Paul Flores was the last person seen with the then-19-year-old Smart before her disappearance in 1996. Her body has never been found, although investigators believe it was buried at Ruben Flores’ Arroyo Grande home and “recently” moved, according to court documents.
Paul Flores, 44, of San Pedro is accused of murdering Smart, while his 80-year-old father is charged with criminal accessory.
Both men appeared in Superior Court on Wednesday ahead of a marathon preliminary hearing set to begin Aug. 2 in which evidence will be presented.
A civil lawsuit filed by Smart’s family against Ruben Flores for infliction of emotional distress alleges that a witness saw Ruben Flores, his ex-wife Susan Flores, and Susan Flores’ boyfriend Mike McConville remove something from the back yard with a trailer shortly after officials carried out a search of Ruben and Susan Flores’ properties in February 2020.
That account is also confirmed in the records unsealed Wednesday.
.jpg "Image from iOS (34).jpg")
What was found under Ruben Flores’ house?
On March 15, Sheriff’s Office officials returned to Ruben Flores’ home with a search warrant, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) equipment and cadaver dogs.
The dogs “showed a subtle change in behavior in the left northwest side behind the lattice under the deck” of the house, according to Peuvrelle’s statement of the case.
A senior archaeologist and ground-penetrating radar director for Natural Investigations Co. used his GPR equipment in a grid formation under the house, according to Peuvrelle’s statement.
He found the soil underneath the home to be what one would expect, with the exception of a “large approximately 4-foot-by-6-foot anomaly located at the western end of the grid,” the statement said.
“This anomaly showed significant soil disturbance from the surface to a depth of approximately 4 feet below the surface with the most soil disturbance between 1.5 feet to 3.5 feet below surface,” the document reads.
Another archaeologist with Natural Investigations Co. told investigators there was a “major disturbance” in the soil not found anywhere else under the house, as if “someone dug the soil out and put it back,”Peuvrelle wrote.
She said there was “significant staining” within the anomaly, similar to cases “where someone poured chemicals on a body because of the strange shape of the staining,” according to the statement.
She said the “soil itself is a mess. There is nothing left intact because it has been turned over at least once,” according to Peuvrelle.
“This is the exact scenario where someone would dig the hole, put in the body, then re-excavate the hole to remove the body, then fill it back in once the body has been removed,” Peuvrelle wrote.
The records also show that likely human blood was found in the soil.
A forensic serologist present at the search “found four samples that tested positive for human blood located in the deeper soil,” Peuvrelle wrote. The expert could not rule out primate or ferret blood, however, the record says.
Investigators could not extract DNA from the sample due to petrification of the blood, Peuvrelle wrote.
A soil expert at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office’s forensic lab also found that a soil sample from the disturbed soil contained fibers of various colors including red, blue, brown, black, and light-colored or no color, according to the statement.
“Ms. Smart was wearing red Puma shoes, black shorts with white stripes, and a light grey top (when she disappeared),” Peuvrelle wrote.
Arroyo Grande tenant said under the deck was ‘perfect’ to hide a body
David Stone rented a room at Ruben Flores’ Arroyo Grande home for about 10 years, before moving out in January 2020 as the investigation into Smart’s disappearance intensified.
Stone told investigators that Ruben Flores would refer to Smart as a “dirty slut.”
Stone also told investigators that there was an access door leading under the house that was always locked by a padlock, adding that, during his decade there, he never saw Ruben Flores open that door.
About seven years ago, there was a leak in the kitchen, according to Peuvrelle’s statement. A plumber told Ruben Flores that he needed to go under the deck in order to repair the leak.
“Ruben Flores said no and that he would take care of the problem himself,” Peuvrelle wrote. “Stone said this was odd and (noted) the area under the deck (behind the lattice) would be the perfect place to dispose of something where nobody could see you due to the location of the avocado trees and lattice.”
Witness says Ruben Flores moved something from under house
In February 2020, a neighbor of Ruben Flores — who The Tribune is not identifying — told investigators she was pulling up to her driveway when she saw Ruben and Susan Flores as well as McConville “trying to back an enclosed travel trailer to the back of the house near the deck.”
The next day, the neighbor again saw Susan Flores and McConville at Ruben Flores’ house, which she told investigators was odd since they lived very close by. They had never spent the night before at Ruben’s house that she knew of, she said.
“She had never seen trailers at Ruben’s house before and yet on this night there were two trailers brought to the house,” Peuvrelle wrote. “She has not seen Susan Flores or Mike McConvile spend the night at 710 White Court since.”
Father of murder defendant faces 3 years if convicted
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 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.
His father 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 July 15, 2021 at 2:31 PM.
