On May 25th 1996, a 19 year old student at Cal Poly state university attended a party to let her hair down just like any normal student does . However, this night was not going to end in a normal way for Kristin Smart. In fact,it would be a party that many of the students in attendance would remember for the rest of their lives. But only for tragic reasons … In the early hours of the morning, Kristin seemed uncharacteristically intoxicated and unable to walk home alone. This is when a student at the party steps out of the shadows & offers to escort her to her dorm which was apparently en route to his. Her friends agreed & sadly after this, Kristin was never seen alive again. Ever since her disappearance, & despite her being declared legally dead years later the location of her remains are still unknown to this day. Initial searches for her proved fruitless not helped by the fact her college took a long time to report her missing or take her disappearance seriously . For years Kristin’s case remained cold, & it seemed like it was nearly all but forgotten in the public eye & by investigators as it was becoming ‘just another’ unsolved missing persons file collecting dust on the shelf. Strong suspicions had rightly fallen on the student who insisted on walking her home ,Paul Flores. Investigators believed he had sexually assaulted Kristin & killed her, & that his parents helped him cover up the crime afterwards . But due to lack of evidence, police had left it at that, only strong suspicion…. Not giving up hope her parents put up billboards & posters in the hope of keeping their beloved daughter’s disappearance & story alive. It wasn’t until a journalist who grew up locally to Kristin took an interest in the case that suddenly his podcast series made her case finally soar back into the headlines. And now everyone was taking notice . After years people across the world were now talking about her disappearance again , desperately wanting to bring Kristin home & finally get her the justice she so deserved . Due to the public & media outcry evidence was reinvestigated, & the number one suspect was re-interviewed leading to Paul Flores & his father Ruben facing charges in court. Now with Paul finally found guilty of murder & languishing in prison the burning question still remains….. What happened to Kristin Smart on that fateful walk to her dorm, where does she lay to rest today? Today’s case takes a look at how an innocent night out can go tragically & horribly wrong, especially when there are sexual predators around like evil Paul Flores.

This is episode 52: The case of Kristin Smart pt1…….

Crime talk timestamp: 11:22 mins

Sources:NY Times article/ KSBY.com/ sanluisobispo.com/ Wikipedia/ The Independent/ The Atascadero News/ Your Own Backyard Podcast by Chris Lambert / NPR.Org/

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