The jury in the Kristin Smart murder trial can hear a taped phone conversation between Paul Flores and his mother about a true crime podcast on the case, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The conversation, recorded in January 2020, includes Susan Flores telling her son to “listen to the podcast” to find places “where we can poke holes in it,” the prosecution says. The podcast in question is likely “Your Own Backyard,” created by Chris Lambert; the popularity of the podcast catapulted the case back into the national spotlight.
Around 2 a.m. on Memorial Day weekend 1996, Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman, headed back to her residence hall after attending a frat party. Smart was accompanied by three fellow students. Two peeled off before reaching her dorm, walking back to their own residences. The third, Paul Flores, later told police he dropped her off on campus at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Perimeter Road in San Luis Obispo. Smart was never seen again.
Prosecutors say Paul Flores, 45, killed her. His father Ruben Flores, 80, is accused of helping him cover up the crime and bury Smart’s body under the family’s Arroyo Grande home. Paul and Ruben Flores have pleaded not guilty to murder and accessory to murder, respectively. They are being tried simultaneously with separate juries.
The long-awaited trial for one of San Luis Obispo County’s most infamous crimes had multiple pretrial motion rulings this week. Due to the defense’s argument that a fair trial wasn’t possible in San Luis Obispo County, proceedings are in Salinas. Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe ruled Wednesday that prosecutors are allowed to submit Paul and Susan Flores’ conversation into evidence; the prosecution says when Susan Flores said, “Only you know that” in reference to “holes” in the podcast, Paul was silent. The judge ruled that Paul Flores’ lack of a reply is as evidentiary as a spoken response.
The defense also filed a motion to dismiss evidence obtained with a February 2020 search warrant, arguing the warrant was illegally obtained due to public pressure to solve the case. O’Keefe ruled the warrant was legal and the electronics owned by Paul Flores seized with it are admissible. In addition, interviews conducted by a detective with Paul Flores in 1996 can be heard by only Paul’s jury.
A motion regarding the admissibility of soil and cadaver dog evidence will be weighed by O’Keefe today. A preliminary hearing last year focused largely on the testimony of experts who took part in the excavation of the Arroyo Grande home. An area underneath the home’s back deck was dug up, and a number of experts testified lab results showed traces of human blood in the dirt. Because of the degraded status of the sample, no DNA was able to be extracted.
Although Smart’s body was never found, she was legally declared dead in 2002.
Opening statements are expected to start on July 18. Paul Flores’ trial is anticipated to stretch into October.