Detective in Kristin Smart case says body-shaped stain was found in Ruben Flores’ trailer
A San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office detective testified Wednesday that he didn’t have any “inappropriate contacts” with a female witness in the case against two men accused in the disappearance of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart.
The detective, Clint Cole, also said some of his communications with the witness, Jennifer Hudson, were automatically deleted from his phone and were not available to provide the defense.
Cole later testified about blood found under a deck as well as “suspicious activity” at the Arroyo Grande property of defendant Ruben Flores involving a utility trailer.
Testimony resumed Wednesday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court in the preliminary hearing for Flores and his son, Paul Flores.
Paul Flores, now 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’s body has ever been found but investigators said in court documents that her remains were buried at the Ruben Flores’ White Court home but recently moved.
Flores is charged with felony accessory after the fact, while his son, San Pedro resident Paul Flores, is charged with one count of murder.
Wednesday marked the 16th day of proceedings as the evidentiary hearing reaches the halfway point of its fifth week. The hearing, which began Aug. 2, is now tentatively scheduled to conclude by Sept. 10; both parties said on Monday that proceedings are behind schedule.
At the conclusion of the weeks-long preliminary hearing, 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.
Here’s what happened in court Wednesday.
Detective defends communications with witness
Jennifer Hudson testified Aug. 12 that she was hanging out with friends in San Luis Obispo in 1998 when a public service announcement about Smart’s disappearance came on the radio.
Hudson said Paul Flores, who was also in attendance, said out loud, “That b---h was a d--k tease and I’m done playing with her and I put her under my ramp in Huasna.”
Hudson testified that she didn’t tell the police about the interaction, but did tell a roommate, Justin Goodwin, in 2001. Goodwin called the anonymous tip line set up for the investigation into Smart’s disappearance.
Goodwin has not testified in the preliminary hearing, but was a fixture on local social media pages dedicated to Smart.
Cole took the stand briefly Tuesday afternoon to testify about an alleged confession given by Ruben Flores when Cole and an investigator came to his home in May to take a DNA test.
On Wednesday, Cole was cross-examined by Paul and Ruben Flores’ defense team.
Robert Sanger, representing Paul Flores, questioned Cole on the stand about “inappropriate contacts” he allegedly had with Hudson and an unnamed administrator of one of the several social media pages dedicated to Smart’s case. That second person was not identified in court and Sanger indicated through his questioning that the judge in the case is not allowing her name to be mentioned in open court, as she has not been called as a witness.
Though he did not specifically say it Wednesday morning, Sanger in past questioning has referred to “late-night phone calls” Cole allegedly made to Hudson.
Sanger asked Cole if he ever invited Hudson to have “whiskey and dinner after the case was done.”
“She may have asked if it was appropriate to have lunch after the case is done,” Cole replied.
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Cole testified that he used the encrypted communications application WhatsApp to communicate with Hudson — per her request, he said — and said the two had fewer than 10 conversations that were either not recorded or were deleted from Cole’s personal cell phone.
Cole said that he had set his phone to delete messages automatically every 30 days unless he manually preserved them.
The detective was asked whether he would periodically call to check in on Hudson, who, according to records and past testimony, once had a drug addiction.
“Obviously, because of her testimony and her background, which you are aware of, I would keep in touch with her, and that’s not uncommon here,” Cole told Sanger.
Sanger asked if Hudson ever reached out to him at 4 a.m. because she couldn’t sleep. Cole said he didn’t know, but said he probably wouldn’t have answered.
Cole was also asked about his communications with Goodwin, who he called a “loose cannon” and said was being vocal about insider information on the case on social media. Cole said he had to tell Goodwin in an email to restrain himself from speaking publicly about the case.
Cole said he preserved some of his communications with Goodwin because he said Goodwin was “attacking me, attacking the Sheriff’s Office.”
Through his questioning, Sanger implied that Goodwin in late 2020 became upset about “inappropriate contacts” with Goodwin and an unnamed person who moderated a social media page dedicated to Kristin Smart.
Sanger said the unnamed individual was so upset they took the issue directly to Sheriff Ian Parkinson. It’s unclear what became of that complaint.
Asked whether Goodwin had accused Cole of inappropriate communications with Hudson, Cole replied: “Yes, he did say that.”
Despite the issue making its way to his boss, Cole testified that he “was never worried” that the issue would impact his investigation or the prosecution’s case.
Sanger again made a verbal request for any records of Cole’s communications with the two individuals that haven’t already been provided to the defense.
“What counsel says simply does not exist and the court should shut this down,” Deputy District Attorney Christopher Puevrelle said.
Investigators found ‘very suspicious stain’ in utility trailer
After the lunch recess, Harold Mesick, Ruben Flores’ attorney, questioned Cole about his testimony late Tuesday that Flores made an inadvertent admission of guilt in May when he and an investigator went to his Arroyo Grande home to collect a cheek swab.
When Ruben Flores learned that they had secured a warrant for similar swabs for his ex-wife, Susan Flores, and her boyfriend, Mike McConville, Flores asked why, stating, “They didn’t commit a felony, I did.”
The detective testified that he quickly corrected himself and said, “I mean, I’m the only person that’s been arrested.”
Mesick asked Cole if it was possible he misheard Flores.
“I know what I heard,” Cole said, noting that the interaction was audio recorded.
Asked how he came to the conclusion that a crime had occurred on the White Court property, Cole said that blood was found in disturbed soil four feet deep underneath Ruben Flores’ porch.
Previously unsealed court documents from the prosecution allege that a forensic serologist “found four samples that tested positive for human blood located in the deeper soil,” but the expert could not rule out primate or ferret blood.
Cole also testified that a witness provided a photograph of “suspicious activity” at the White Court property in March 2020 following a law enforcement search. The witness reported seeing a utility trailer parked at the house and activity occurring under the back deck involving Susan Flores and McConville.
Cole said a fence had to be removed to fit the trailer where they parked it. The fence partly concealed the trailer from view from the roadway, the detective said.
Investigators seized that trailer and used chemical agents to discover a “very suspicious stain” near a side door that was “similar to a human body laying on its side,” Cole said.
The detective continued that a tenant of 10 years at the property, David Stone, told him that Ruben Flores blocked access to underneath the deck with a padlock and refused to let anyone down there, including a plumber.
That lock remained when law enforcement searched the property in March 2020, Cole said. But it was gone during a subsequent search in April 2020.
Cole said numerous witnesses have reported that Ruben Flores “is very unusually protective” of his property “as if he’s overly protecting something on that property.”
“I believe that the family did assist (Paul Flores) using one of their vehicles at their disposal,” Cole said.
General contractor testifies about building White Court house
Edward Chadwell, a retired general contractor, testified Wednesday afternoon that he previously owned the White Court property and built the house for Susan and Ruben Flores.
He was at the property every day during work on the six-month project, Chadwell said, and there were no injuries suffered by any worker, nor did crews discover any human, primate or ferret remains while laying the foundation.
Under cross examination, Chadwell revealed that Susan Flores reported him to the contracting board after he completed the house.
Chadwell acknowledged that he told investigators that Susan Flores was “vicious.” According to Sanger, Chadwell told investigators that “It had to be Susan running this.”
“If there’s justice in this world, I hope she’ll be held accountable,” Chadwell told Cole, according to Sanger’s reading of a transcript of the phone call.
Susan Flores, who is not facing charges and has attended every hearing seated in the audience behind her son, stared straight ahead without any visible emotion at the contractor’s words.
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Detective in Kristin Smart case says body-shaped stain was found in Ruben Flores’ trailer."
