Live updates: Paul Flores sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for murdering Kristin Smart
Update, 3:30 p.m.:
Reacting Friday to news of Paul Flores’ sentencing for the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow spoke of justice.
“Today, our criminal and victim justice system has finally delivered justice for Kristin Smart, for the Smart family, and for our San Luis Obispo County community,” Dow said in a news release. “Today, justice delayed is not justice denied.”
“We thank the Smart family and our community for the tremendous trust and patience they placed in the investigation and prosecution of this terrible crime,” Dow said.
“We recognize the jury for their focused attention to the evidence,” he said, and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office for their “tireless effort in building this case.”
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe sentenced Flores to 25 years to life in state prison for killing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart — the maximum sentence for first-degree murder.
Dow said Flores’ sentence is the result of “a tremendous collaborative effort of more than a dozen local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies over the span of 25 years, but most importantly, the perseverance of the Smart family.”
“After nearly 27 years of unspeakable anguish, the Smart family has finally seen their daughter’s killer sentenced. Their strength and determination serve as an inspiration to us all,” said Chris Peuvrelle, who prosecuted the case as a deputy district attorney with the District Attorney’s Office.
“The prosecution team is grateful for the support of the entire San Luis Obispo community during the case,” Peuvrelle said. “The community stood together, never gave up, and supported us to see that justice was done. We hope that victims everywhere know that there are people in the justice system who will stand up to make sure their voices are heard.”
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson also issued a statement about Flores’ sentence.
“It was a long time coming, but it is a decision that is right and just,” Parkinson said in the statement.
“Our thoughts right now are with the Smart family,” Parkinson continued. “Today is not about us and what we did, but about them and what they do now. How they move forward.
“We want to remind the community this case is not over yet. And it won’t be over until Kristin has been returned to her family.”
Update, 3 p.m.:
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe on Friday sentenced Paul Flores to 25 years to life in state prison for killing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.
“Mr. Flores, you have been a cancer to society,” Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe told Flores during Friday’s sentencing hearing.
“For 25 years you have lived free in the community” and continued to drug and assault women, she said. “This predatory behavior has spanned your adult life.”
“You deserve to spend every day you have left behind bars,” O’Keefe said.
Flores was ordered to pay a total of $10,000 in restitution to his victims.
He must also register as a sex offender for life, as he assaulted and killed Smart with the “purpose of sexual gratification and sexual compulsion,” O’Keefe said.
In addition, he must provide specimens of his saliva and blood to authorities.
Flores will be eligible for parole.
With time served and good behavior, he will be eligible for a parole board hearing in about 15 years. The parole board could grant or deny paroled release at that time.
Update, 2:45 p.m.:
Describing the man convicted of murdering Cal Poly student Kristin Smart as a “menace to society,” her brother on Friday called for Paul Flores to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
“Paul chose to take a life, my sister Kristin’s life, a beautiful life,” Matthew Smart said during a sentencing hearing for Flores in Monterey County Superior Court.” And now he must pay.”
Flores is set to be sentenced to state prison for killing Smart — more than 26 years after she vanished.
Before the judge decides Flores’ prison sentence, the prosecution, defense and Smart family members and friends are allowed to speak.
Although defense attorney Robert Sanger did not speak, prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle took the opportunity to address the crowd assembled in the courtroom.
Peuvrelle said that Flores, who was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Monterey County jury in October, “still maintains his innocence … but we know he lies.”
“Paul Flores is a true psychopath” who “takes perverse pleasure in raping women,” the prosecutor said, adding that Flores should never be released from prison. “He murdered Kristin with no remorse.”
Now, Peuvrelle added, “Kristin’s family will never see her again.”
Smart family members then had the opportunity to give victim impact statements to tell the judge how Smart’s murder has affected them and advocate for the sentence they feel is the most appropriate.
Before the impact statements, a video of home movies of Kristin Smart growing up in her 19 years of life was played for the court. They included pictures of her as a baby, videos of her playing with her siblings and her high school graduation.
The video brought nearly everyone in the courtroom gallery to tears, with Paul Flores’ jurors sobbing, the Smart family hugging one another in support, and other friends and family of the Smart’s passing tissues to one another.
Several members of the Smart family gave emotional impact statements, including her parents and siblings, her siblings’ spouses, her cousin and her childhood best friend.
The judge also said she received several impact letters from the San Luis Obispo community, who said Kristin’s murder incited fear and stripped innocence from San Luis Obispo County.
Stan Smart, Kristin Smart’s father, was among the family members who asked for the maximum state prison sentence allowed by law: 25 years to life without parole.
Stan Smart talked about how his daughter’s disappearance “negatively impacted each family member’s outlook on life” — putting “considerable stress” on his marriage to Denise Smart, Kristin’s mother, and leaving her siblings, Matt and Lindsey, “scarred emotionally.”
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare — the disappearance and death of their child,” Stan Smart said, describing it as “devastating to our whole family.” “We shared her hopes, her dreams, her aspirations as she became a beautiful young adult, and now she will never be able to have a full life.”
“Kristin was destined for great things,” her brother said. “She was building her legacy ... until she was taken away from her friends and family far too soon.”
Matthew Smart said the family has been waiting “more than 26 unthinkable years” for justice to be done.
“For 26 years there’s only been one suspect,” Smart said. “There has never been a need for a lengthy trial, only a confession from Paul Flores.”
As such, “There’s been no joy in Paul’s conviction,” Smart said, or his sentencing.
“We have waited long enough for this day,” he said.
He and his father said they’re still determined to locate Smart’s body, which has never been found.
“We continue to fight to ensure that justice is served for Kristin, that she is brought home to rest,” Matthew Smart said.
Lindsey Smart, Kristin’s sister, broke down when speaking about how the murder affected her.
She was only 14 when her sister disappeared. Two weeks later, there was an empty seat at her middle school graduation, Lindsey Smart said.
She’s struggled with how to tell her children about their aunt, and has continued to deal with the post-traumatic stress that was compounded during the trial.
“I have full body reactions on the street, often prompting me to sprint home,” she said after breaking down in tears. “When the worst thing happens to you, it feels like its impossible to subject yourself to something else.”
Denise Smart, Kristin Smart’s mother, spoke about how frustrating it was when it seemed like no one cared about her daughter after she went missing.
She said the days that followed her daughter’s disappearance were “gut-wrenching,” and chastised Paul Flores and his family for hiding the location of Kristin’s body and never taking accountability.
“Watching Paul Flores sit stone-faced and remorseless behind his mask was emblematic of the hiding he has done for the last 26 plus years,” she said. “Torturing a family by continuing to withhold the location of their sister and daughter is a cruel and visceral pain that no one should ever have to bear,” she said.
For first-degree murder, Flores faces a sentence of 25 years to life in state prison or life without parole.
Under the current penal code, the death penalty is also a sentencing option. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom put a moratorium on capital punishment sentences in 2019.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe is slated to pass sentence on Flores once victim impact statements are finished.
Update, 11:20 a.m.:
The man convicted of murdering Cal Poly student Kristin Smart will not get a second trial, a Monterey County Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
A Monterey County jury found Paul Flores guilty of first-degree murder on Oct. 18 while a separate jury acquitted his father, Ruben Flores, of helping his son conceal the crime.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe denied the motion by Paul Flores’ defense attorney seeking a new trial for his client.
Robert Sanger had argued that Chris Peuvrelle, who prosecuted the case as a deputy district attorney for the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, made a prosecutorial error during his closing argument and alleged that Peuvrelle misstated the standard for reasonable doubt.
O’Keefe decided that Peuvrelle didn’t misstate the reasonable doubt standard.
She noted that attorneys are allowed to make “fair comment” on the evidence, including “reasonable inferences” during closing statements.
O’Keefe said that Peuvrelle made appropriate statements during his closing argument, and that the jury had already received instructions about the reasonable doubt standard.
She also explained that the witnesses and evidence presented by the prosecution were credible.
Also on Friday, O’Keefe denied a separate motion by Sanger asking the judge to overturn the jury’s guilty verdict.
“The court finds that substantial evidence supports the conviction in this case,” O’Keefe said. “Acquittal is denied.”
The courtroom gallery was completely full with Smart’s family and friends.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow, San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson and several members of Paul Flores’ jury were also in attendance.
Paul Flores’ parents, Ruben and Susan Flores, were in the gallery with Ruben Flores’ lawyer, Harold Mesick.
Court will resume at 1 p.m. for sentencing.
For first-degree murder, Flores faces a sentence of 25 years to life in state prison or life without parole.
Under the current penal code, the death penalty is also a sentencing option. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom put a moratorium on capital punishment sentences in 2019.
On Friday, the Smart family is invited to give victim impact statements and explain what sentence they prefer for Flores.
Update, 10:55 a.m.:
A Monterey County Superior Court judge on Friday denied a motion seeking an acquittal for Paul Flores, who was convicted of murdering Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.
A Monterey County jury found the San Pedro man guilty of first-degree murder on Oct. 18 while a separate jury acquitted his father, Arroyo Grande resident Ruben Flores, of helping his son conceal the crime.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe noted that a motion of acquittal authorizes a court to grant judgment in favor of the defense only when substantial evidence shows that the jury couldn’t convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
She then went through a summary of the facts in the Smart case. The 19-year-old freshman disappeared following an off-campus party during Memorial Day weekend in 1996.
“The court finds that substantial evidence supports the conviction in this case,” O’Keefe said. “Acquittal is denied.”
Defense attorney Robert Sanger filed a total of three motions: two seeking a new trial for Flores, and another asking the judge to overturn the jury’s guilty verdict.
In one motion, Sanger claimed that prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle made several prosecutorial errors during his opening and closing arguments.
Peuvrelle’s “blatant mischaracterization of the burden of proof” was one of the “most egregious errors,” Sanger said in the motion, particularly in his rebuttal to Sanger’s closing arguments.
In his closing arguments, Sanger called the prosecution’s case a conspiracy theory.
Peuvrelle, who is now a supervising attorney for Monterey County, replied in rebuttal that it was “absurd” for more than 50 witnesses, six cadaver dogs and the media to be in on a grand conspiracy theory.
Sanger also argued the prosecution’s expert witnesses were not experts and testified authoritatively without a scientific basis.
The motion called forensic evidence presented by the prosecution “junk science.”
Finally, Sanger argued in the motion that Jennifer Hudson, who testified that Flores told her in 1996 that he killed Smart, perjured herself on the stand.
The defense attorney alleged the prosecution allowed Hudson to do so, even though San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office detectives failed to corroborate her story.
Sanger also claimed the prosecution “concealed” the fact that one of the women who testified she was raped by Flores, Rhonda Doe, went to Cal Poly in 1996, “during the drama and accusations against the defendant.”
In addition, Sanger said the judge “erroneously excluded” defense evidence, including testimony from a man who claimed Smart was stalking him, one of Smart’s ex-boyfriends and another man who claimed Smart told him she was pregnant with his child.
Smart’s psychological report was also not admitted into the trial but should have been, the motion said.
Peuvrelle said Friday that he believes all six witnesses that the prosecution put on the stand were telling the truth.
The prosecutor noted that Hudson was cross-examined by Sanger at a preliminary hearing for Flores.
Peuvrelle asked the court to deny Sanger’s motions.
Deputy District Attorney Crystal Seiler from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office also spoke on the behalf of the prosecution on Friday.
“Calling something prosecutorial misconduct … without facts, without law does not make it so,” she said.
Friday’s hearing was attended by several people with ties to the Smart case.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson walked into the courtroom during Sanger’s testimony at about 10:20 a.m.
Paul Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, sat in the front row of the audience watching the hearing, while San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow was seated on the other side of the aisle.
Update, 9:45 a.m.:
A Monterey County Superior Court judge on Friday denied a new motion seeking a new trial for Paul Flores, who is scheduled to be sentenced for the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.
A Monterey County jury convicted the San Pedro man of first-degree murder on Oct. 18 while a separate jury acquitted his father, Arroyo Grande resident Ruben Flores, of helping his son conceal the crime.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe started Friday’s hearing at 9:23 a.m.
She’ll rule on two motions filed by defense attorney Robert Sanger earlier this month: one seeking a new trial for Flores, and another asking the judge to overturn the jury’s guilty verdict.
O’Keefe said that the court received a declaration Thursday from Robert Sanger with a new motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence regarding cadaver dogs’ behavior.
Sanger’s written motion said that, according to a new source, dogs were called to search a Mercedes vehicle in Atherton on October, a few days after jurors reached a verdict in the Flores case.
The Atherton police commander said dogs had a reaction to the vehicle, Sanger wrote in his request, and said they could be “reacting to blood, old bones or human vomit. It could be any combo of these things.”
Dog handler Adela Morris was asked during the Flores trial if a cadaver dog could alert falsely on vomit.
Morris said at the time that she could speculate about that but she didn’t know.
During Sanger’s argument, one of Paul Flores’ jurors whispered to an other, “There was only a little vomit in his mouth, right?” to which another responded, “Yes and he took a shower after that.”
Paul Flores told investigators in 1996 that the night of the party Smart was last seen, he went back to his dorm, vomited in his mouth and took a shower.
Another dog handler, Wayne Behrens, also testified in court, but he wasn’t asked about vomit.
Sanger subpoenaed Behrens in his motion for a new trial, saying that the dog handler refused to talk to the defense team but was recorded speaking to Chris Peuvrelle, who prosecuted the case as a deputy district attorney for the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.
If Behrens communicated to the prosecution, but not the defense, that K9s could detect vomit, Sanger said Friday, that would be proof of a prosecutorial error.
O’Keefe said Friday that “everything that (Sanger’s) request is being based on is pure speculation.”
“There is no new evidence,” the judge said, so the court won’t grant a new trial based on new evidence.
Cadaver dogs, also known as human remains detection dogs, were a key piece of the prosecution’s case against Flores.
Three dogs trained to detect human remains reacted when searching the former residence hall room of murder defendant Paul Flores, their handlers testified in August in Monterey County Superior Court.
But defense attorneys questioned the handlers’ expertise, with one lawyer dismissing them as merely “volunteers.”
After denying the new motion, O’Keefe moved on to Sanger’s other two motions: a motion for a judgment of acquittal and a motion for a new trial.
Original story:
Paul Flores is scheduled to be sentenced for the murder of Kristin Smart on Friday, more than 26 years after the Cal Poly student disappeared.
A Monterey County jury convicted the San Pedro man of first-degree murder on Oct. 18 while a separate jury acquitted his father, Arroyo Grande resident Ruben Flores, of helping his son conceal the crime.
Before the sentencing, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe will decide if Flores should get a new trial at 9 a.m.
His attorney, Robert Sanger, filed his 10th motion for a new trial earlier this month — claiming that Flores did not receive a fair trial. Sanger also filed a motion asking the judge to overturn the jury’s guilty verdict.
On Monday, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office called for the court to deny the defense attorney’s request for a second trial.
O’Keefe could rule on the motions based on the written arguments from the prosecution and defense, or she could make her decision based on oral arguments.
If the judge grants the motion for a new trial, legal proceedings will start over again. If she overturns the jury’s verdict and acquits Flores, he cannot be tried again for Smart’s murder.
If both motions are denied, Flores’ sentencing will take place immediately after.
What jail sentence does Paul Flores face?
For first-degree murder, Flores faces a sentence of 25 years to life in state prison or life without parole.
Under the current penal code, the death penalty is also a sentencing option. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom put a moratorium on capital punishment sentences in 2019.
On Friday, the Smart family is invited to give victim impact statements and explain what sentence they prefer for Flores.
Flores has been detained in San Luis Obispo County Jail since he was convicted.
If he is sentenced, Flores will be sent to a “reception center” for processing. There, he will receive a classification score that weighs length of sentence, stability, education, employment and behavior.
That score would determine the type of facility to which Flores could be sent. The score can change over time depending on behavior and other factors, which could cause him to be transferred to a different state prison.
If Flores is sentenced to 25 years to life, he will be eligible for parole in about 15 years with the time he’s already served and if he has good behavior.
At that time, a parole board would then hold a hearing to decide whether Flores should be granted parole. If he is not granted parole, the board will review his case in the coming years at intervals it will determine: three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years.
This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 8:49 AM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe denied a motion by Paul Flores’ defense attorney seeking a new trial. She denied a new motion from Robert Sanger seeking a second trial for Flores.
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