A Monterey County Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced Paul Flores to 25 years to life in state prison for killing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart — the maximum sentence for first-degree murder.
“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 told Flores.
A Monterey County jury convicted the San Pedro man of first-degree murder on Oct. 18 after hearing evidence in a 3-month-long trial. A separate jury acquitted Flores’ father, Arroyo Grande resident Ruben Flores, of helping his son conceal the crime.
Paul Flores had been a person of interest in Smart’s disappearance since 1996, the year she disappeared. He was the last person to see the Cal Poly freshman alive as she walked home to her dorm from an off-campus party in San Luis Obispo.
Prosecutors believe Flores took Smart back to his room in order to have sex with her, and allege he murdered Smart during a rape or attempted rape.
Smart’s family kept her memory alive ever since, advocating for justice for their daughter and posting billboards around the county.
One of those billboards sparked curiosity in Orcutt resident Chris Lambert, whose “Your Own Backyard” podcast explores Smart’s case.
Law enforcement and the Smart family have credited Lambert with bringing forth new witnesses and reigniting interest in the case.
SLO County DA, sheriff react to Paul Flores sentencing
Reacting Friday to news of Flores’ sentencing, 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.”
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.”
Chris Peuvrelle, who prosecuted the case as a deputy district attorney with the District Attorney’s Office, paid tribute to the family and thanked the community for its support.
“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,” Peuvrelle said.
“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 Friday 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.”
Kristin Smart’s family speaks out
Before the sentence was handed down, family and friends offered impact statements, and 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 O’Keefe for the maximum sentence allowed by law.
Stan Smart talked about how his daughter’s disappearance following an off-campus party during Memorial Day weekend in 1996 “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,” Smart’s 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.
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 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.
The Smarts said that their family is 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.
Judge denies motions for new trial, acquittal
Before issuing the sentence, O’Keefe denied a total of three motions filed by defense attorney Robert Sanger.
The first was a motion seeking a new trial for Flores based on newly discovered evidence regarding cadaver dogs’ behavior.
According to Sanger, that new evidence revealed that cadaver dogs could “(react) to blood, old bones or human vomit. It could be any combo of these things.”
O’Keefe said Friday that “everything that (Sanger’s) request is being based on is pure speculation,” and denied his request for a new trial.
O’Keefe also denied Sanger’s motion 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.”
Finally, O’Keefe denied Sanger’s other motion that requested a new trial for Flores.
Sanger had argued that Peuvrelle made a prosecutorial error during his closing argument and alleged that Peuvrelle misstated the standard for reasonable doubt.
O’Keefe decided that Peuvrelle, now a Monterey County assistant district attorney, 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.
She also explained that the witnesses and evidence presented by the prosecution were credible.
The courtroom gallery was completely full with Smart’s family and friends.
Dow, Parkinson, San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth 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.
What happens next?
For first-degree murder, Flores faced a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison or life without parole.
Flores faced a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life with parole because he committed the crime before he turned 25, triggering the California Youthful Offender law.
If he had been over 25 when the crime occurred, he would not be eligible for 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.
Flores has been detained in San Luis Obispo County Jail since he was convicted.
Flores will be next 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.
On Friday, 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 in about 15 years with the time he’s already served and if he has good behavior.
At that time, a parole board will 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.
