Did Paul Flores assault a woman at a party in 1996? Here’s what unsealed documents say
Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of stories examining hundreds of improperly sealed documents in the Kristin Smart trial. The Tribune obtained the documents by joining with three other media companies to form a coalition that took the issue to court. The coalition won its argument, and the documents were unsealed.
This story contains descriptions of sexual assault and may be troubling to some readers.
Murder defendant Paul Flores sexually assaulted a woman in a bathroom at an off-campus Cal Poly party in 1996 — the same year that Kristin Smart went missing — the woman’s friend said in unsealed court documents.
Melinda Miller was willing to take the stand in the trial against Flores, who’s accused of killing Smart and hiding her body with the help of his father, Ruben Flores, according to a court motion.
However, the woman who Flores allegedly assaulted — identified as January Doe by the court — was unavailable to testify in the Smart murder trial, the motion said.
The motion is one of hundreds of documents that were made public after a Tribune-led news coalition challenged improper sealing in the case.
The motion to enter Miller’s testimony was denied during the pretrial motions in early July, with Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe only allowing three women who say Flores raped them to testify.
The women were allowed to speak on the stand because the circumstances of their alleged assaults were the most similar to what may have happened to Smart, the judge said.
Only two women ended up testifying, with the third, referred to as Rachel Doe by the court, not taking the stand after a defense motion to exclude her testimony, court documents show.
The documents pertaining to exactly why Rachel Doe’s testimony was excluded are awaiting redactions, and are expected to be public once the woman’s identity is protected.
What happened to January Doe?
Miller, who also spoke with “Your Own Backyard” podcast host Chris Lambert, was living in Santa Maria and attending Allan Hancock College in 1996.
She would visit her boyfriend — who went to Cal Poly — often to attend football games and parties, the motion said.
Miller remembered talking to her friends at the time about “being drugged, girls being drugged, to keep your drinks close, put a napkin over (your drink) when you leave,” documents say, urging them, “Don’t accept drinks from people.”
According to the documents, Miller attended one party around the time Smart went missing that has stuck with her for more than two decades — the party where she found Doe on “death’s door.”
She had seen Doe around 9 or 10 p.m. at the party, the motion said. Miller told investigators Doe was sober at the time, according to the motion.
About 45 minutes later, Miller said she saw Flores come out of the bathroom at the party in a “sheer panic,” asking for help.
When Miller looked into the bathroom, Doe was reportedly on the ground.
“(Doe) had no pants on and there was vomit everywhere and she had defecated on herself,” court documents say.
Miller told investigators she went into the bathroom and told Flores to leave, which he did, the motion said. She remembers telling her boyfriend to guard the bathroom door and not let anyone in so she could help Doe and keep her privacy.
Miller said Doe’s face was “a gray color” and “she had foam coming out of the edges of her mouth,” according to the motion.
Miller said she regretted not calling 911 for help.
Miller was able to pick up her friend and put her in the bathtub, the motion said.
Miller said she called her friend’s name and hit her on her side until Doe began to come around.
At some point, Flores returned to the bathroom and asked if Doe was OK, the motion said. Miller said she told Flores there was soiled toilet paper in the trash and he took the bag and left, the documents say.
When Flores returned to the bathroom offering more help, Miller said, Doe was saying “no” over and over again, according to the documents.
Miller then got her friend dressed and took her to her friends, telling them to take Doe home, according to the documents.
When Miller asked Doe if she knew the guy from the bathroom, Doe responded, “What guy?” according to the documents.
“(Miller) said (Doe) did not know the guy in the bathroom,” court documents read. “(Miller) is positive that the guy at the party that evening was Paul Flores.”
Miller said Doe was not the type of person to “hook up” with a guy at a party, especially one she didn’t know.
She believed Doe was sexually assaulted that night because of the placement of Doe’s feminine napkin when she found her on the ground, the motion said.
Miller remembers Doe’s alleged assault being at the time Smart vanished because, she said, “Oh my God, that could have been January. That could have been me at the party,” court documents say.
Miller said she and Doe have since connected on social media and often recall that night, the documents say, adding that her boyfriend from that time passed away 10 years ago.
Prosecution pushed for testimony from sexual assault witnesses
The prosecution attempted to enter testimony from several women who say they either witnessed an alleged sexual assault or were assaulted themselves by Flores.
The prosecution argued evidence of uncharged sexual offenses is “especially compelling” when the victim was killed and cannot testify themself, court documents show.
The defense argued there is no evidence that Smart was assaulted in the first place, and that allowing testimony of any witness who says they were assaulted would “evoke an emotional bias against the defendant as an individual” and has little effect on the issues actually on trial.
Two women who allege Flores raped them were ultimately allowed to testify in the trial, one who said she was raped in Redondo Beach and the other who said she was raped near San Pedro.
Both shared a similar story — testifying that they met Flores at a bar, exchanged small talk, then ended up at his house.
Once there, they said, he gave them a drink. After that, the women said, their memories are blurry.
Unsealed documents reveal more women who say they were assaulted by Flores, as well as the alleged discovery of child pornography and homemade rape videos on Flores’ computer.
The joint trial against the Flores men began July 18.
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday, and the defense will continue to call witnesses to challenge the prosecution’s story when court resumes Monday.
This story was originally published September 23, 2022 at 4:03 PM.
