Dateline: 5 key details about Kristin Smart's murder, revealed

Dateline NBC episode titled "Justice for Kristin Smart" revisited the disturbing disappearance and murder of a 19-year-old California Polytechnic State University student, Kristin Smart, back in 1996. More than two decades after the harrowing incident, California still recalls it as one of the biggest horrors the state has ever witnessed. The investigation went on for years until a man named Paul Flores (then in his mid-forties) was arrested in 2021 in connection with Kristin's murder.

According to Dateline, Paul Flores was charged with murder in the first degree and attempted sexual assault. Consequently, the trial began in 2022 with major complications in the case, and later in the same year, Paul was found guilty of manslaughter and sent to prison. Here's an official synopsis of the Dateline episode "Justice for Kristin Smart," per IMDb:

"The parents of 1996 Cal Poly murder victim Kristin Smart speak out in their first network exclusive interview since the recent conviction and sentencing of Paul Flores, their daughter's killer, who had been under suspicion the entire time."

---

5 harrowing details about Kristin Smart's murder revisited on Dateline

(1) The night Kristin disappeared, she took up a different identity before going to a birthday

West Germany-born Kristin Smart moved to California along with her parents and siblings, and later in 1995, she graduated from Lincoln High School, Stockton. According to Dateline, she disappeared on May 24, 1996, which was the weekend of Memorial Day, and the victim had earlier headed out to hang out with her friends on the occasion.

However, Kristin planned to attend a nearby birthday party somewhere around Crandall Way, and according to reports, none of her friends were willing to accompany her. According to Kristin's friend Margarita Campos' statement to the San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, just a year after the incident:

"I can still see her standing there after we dropped her off, a little mad I think that I wouldn't go with her."

However, the strangest revelation was the identity that Kristin took up for the night of the Memorial Day weekend, and the truth came to light when the detectives found proof of different nicknames on her email, one of which was Roxie. As confirmed by eyewitnesses, Kristin attended the party and returned to campus, but the fact that she went missing after that did not come to light until May 27.

---

(2) Kristin Smart was last seen with her murderer, according to eye eyewitness

As seen on the Dateline episode "Justice for Kristin Smart", the then 19-year-old college goer was last seen with a freshman from California Polytechnic State University, Paul Flores. To quote Dateline reporter Josh Mankiewicz's exact words:

"She’d last been seen walking off into the night with her classmate Paul Flores."

According to statements from an eyewitness, Kristin was in an intoxicated state when she left the party in San Luis Obispo. Moreover, two college mates were accompanying her while she was on her way out at around 2 in the morning - Cheryl Anderson & Tim Davis.

While it was initially only the three of them, per Cheryl's statement to the Los Angeles Times, Paul made an appearance "out of nowhere" and offered to help Kristin return to her dorm as she was drunk. As per Dateline, Cheryl was the last person to witness Kristin and Paul walking away somewhere on the campus (after reaching her dorm), as Tim had already headed to his room earlier.

---

(3) The first missing report of Kristin Smart came three days after the night of the party

According to Dateline, on May 28, 1996, the first missing person's report on Kristin Smart was filed three days after the birthday party. The first statement came a day prior from Kristin's then roommate, Crystal Calvin, who found the deceased's belongings lying in the room exactly the way they were when she left last weekend.

The University Police issued a document on the missing persons cases that reportedly read:

"Smart appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on Friday night. Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. Smart lives her life in her own way, not conforming to typical teenage behavior."

---

(4) Paul Flores was a major suspect in the initial investigation until the Kristin Smart case went cold

According to Dateline, Paul Flores did not have a decent social circle during his college days and had also engaged in creepy behavior, as per the statement of a female student to the local police. Moreover, official sources said that Paul was also infamous for his reckless approach when drunk.

The case further got some light when his senior in college, Tim Davis (mentioned earlier), made a statement that Paul and Kristin were spotted by him at the end of the party, with the latter being drunk and almost passed out near a neighbor's house. As per sources, Paul was trying to help and comfort her in the cold, and further search parties led the police to Paul's campus room with the help of scent dogs.

However, the police found no major breakthrough in the case for years, and eventually the investigation went cold. But Kristin's parents did not lose hope and carried on the search while trying to get in touch with the authorities, including federal agencies.

Back in 1998, Denise mentioned in a statement to the Examiner, saying:

"It's been like having an open wound and having someone continually pouring salt in it."

---

(5) After a long wait of more than a decade, the Kristin Smart case sees the light of hope, followed by Paul's arrest

With the police getting no clues to keep the investigation ongoing, the "Justice for Kristin Smart" chapter went on for years amidst a full-fledged social media turmoil. However, the first major breakthrough in the case materialized following the 2019 podcast named Your Own Backyard by Chris Lambert.

To quote the musician's statement, per Dateline:

"I started asking, 'Do you remember the Kristin Smart story?'"

According to Dateline, the Sheriff from San Luis Obispo County, Ian Parkinson, mentioned in a statement saying:

"Chris told a story that people didn’t know."

Following Chris Lambert's podcast, the Kristin Smart case once again got the limelight, and old connections to the initial suspect, Paul Flores, started emerging. The police, per Dateline, eventually found past criminal records of Paul, who had a disturbing history of assault against women.

According to Dateline, a friend of Kristin Smart, Margarita Campos, further confirmed the same, saying:

"My worst nightmare was the volume of women."

Following all the new leads, it was not long until the investigators obtained "specific items of evidence" from Paul Flores' home in Los Angeles. Per Dateline, the police arrested Paul on April 13, 2021, following which charges of assault and first-degree murder were placed against the 45-year-old.

Paul's father, Ruben Flores, was also found involved in the incident as an accessory to murder, as he was the one who helped his son hide Kristin's body in the backyard of his house. According to Dateline, Paul Flores was found guilty of murder in 2022 following a complicated trial and was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment.

However, due to two consecutive attacks on Paul by fellow inmates, he was sent to California State Prison, Corcoran, and is presently being detained there. The case got full closure thanks to San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson and his team's tireless efforts, and Kristin Smart's parents also offered their gratitude to the former, saying:

"We have kept the faith; never given up; and fully placed our trust and support with him and his team. The task he and his team accepted was unprecedented in volume and scope, yet they met every setback and challenge with resolve and an unequaled commitment to Kristin and our family."

---

Stay tuned to Soap Central for regular updates on daily soaps, TV shows, and movies.