Kristin Smart case: Preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores begins today
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A preliminary hearing in the case of missing Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart was scheduled to begin Monday morning in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.
It’s expected to last at least 12 full days.
The hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores, originally scheduled for early July, had been postponed several times as the defense continued to gather alleged evidence in the case from the prosecution.
The hearing will likely feature a series of witnesses including investigators, archaeologists and cadaver dog experts, as well as women who are expected to testify to Paul Flores’ past sexual assaults and predatory behavior.
The hearing is not being live-streamed and members of the media in attendance are under strict rules prohibiting the use of electronic devices in the courtroom.
At the conclusion of the 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.
Paul Flores, 44, is the last person to see the 19-year-old Smart alive after walking her back from the party toward the Cal Poly campus residence halls on May 24, 1996. He is accused of raping or attempting to rape Smart in his dorm room before killing her.
Smart’s body has never been found, but investigators believe it was buried at the Arroyo Grande home of Flores’s father, Ruben Flores, and “recently” moved, according to a San Luis Obispo County probation report.
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 San Luis Obispo County 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, 80, 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 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.
Court records related to an unsuccessful prosecution attempt to charge Paul Flores with two counts of rape involving female victims in Los Angeles were unsealed in court last month.
In addition to information from 29 women about Flores’ alleged sexually predatory behavior, the District Attorney’s Statement of the Case also showed that investigators found video evidence of rape of an intoxicated person against Flores at his San Pedro home, as well as traces of human blood in disturbed soil underneath Ruben Flores’ home.
This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Kristin Smart case: Preliminary hearing for Paul and Ruben Flores begins today."
