AFP, published on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 07:35
She disappeared after a college party and was never found: 26 years after the facts, American justice found a man guilty of the murder of Kristin Smart, whose disappearance California is still haunting.
After a 12-week trial, former student Paul Flores, now 45, was unanimously found guilty by the Monterey grand jury.
He was accused of killing Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old woman whose disappearance from the University of San Luis Obispo campus in 1996 traumatized that region of central California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
His body was never found and his face has long been plastered in public places. A podcast was even dedicated to the mystery surrounding this “cold case”.
The American justice system “finally did justice to Kristin,” San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow hailed the press, emphasizing the “profound impact” the young woman’s disappearance had caused “on the Smart family.” about our fellowship, for a quarter of a century.”
But the mystery of the corpse’s fate remains intact. Paul Flores’ father, suspected of helping to hide the body, has been found not guilty.
“Without Kristin, there is no joy or happiness in this verdict,” said Stan Smart, the victim’s father. “Our quest for justice for Kristin continues.”
At the time of the disappearance, Paul Flores, like Kristin Smart, was a student at the Polytechnic University of California, San Luis Obispo. He was the last to see her and explained that he had walked her to her dorm ten minutes after a party.
According to prosecutors, he raped or attempted to rape the young woman before hiding her body under the terrace of her father’s house and then taking her to another location.
Prosecutors also stated during the trial that the defendant followed his victim closely for months. According to them, Paul Flores may have put drugs in his drink at the student party on the night of the murder.
After more than two decades without a result, the investigation had bounced back in 2019, when a witness asserted that Paul Flores had confided in him that he had committed the murder.
The man now faces life imprisonment. His sentence, which has yet to be determined, is due on December 9th.
The verdict “is still pending,” his lawyer Robert Sanger told AFP in an email, without commenting on a possible appeal.
On Tuesday, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson promised to continue the search for the body.
“Although Paul was sentenced today, this case is not closed. This investigation will not be completed until Kristin returns home,” he said.