During decomposition, humans release specific chemicals that essentially plume through the soil. If trained properly, dogs can detect these chemical plumes and only detect those human scentsnot mistaking them for other animal bones. Dostie and Smallwood then proceeded back to the truck to get the glass vials and tools to obtain a soil sample for Dr. Arpad Vass to analyze later. After analyzing Busters reaction, Dostie said it was clear there was human decomposition there. Peuvrelle said: 'Now you know where she was all along. A judge moved the trial to Monterey County in April over concerns that unbiased jurors could not be found in the county. Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. Sanger spoke about 'uncharged acts' witnesses that were presented, referring to the two women who came forward alleging Paul Flores raped or attempted to rape them. Despite over two decades without an answer, her heartbroken mother and father never gave up hope. 'This has been an agonizingly long journey, with more downs than ups, but we are grateful and appreciate the diligence and energy of the two juries to thoroughly review the facts and reach their decision.'. The trial got underway with opening statements on July 18 in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas. Smart was formally declared dead in 2002, and her body has never been found. Justice is coming. Flores is accused of killing Smart of Stockton, while attempting to sexually assault her after a party, when both were students atCalifornia Polytechnic State University in 1996. She said that she and the other girls in the dorm grew uneasy when none of them heard from Smart as they decided to make their first call to police on Sunday, May 26. 'It'd be nice to just preserve this idea that everything was fine and she was angelic, but the reality is she engaged in at-risk behavior and you have to interpret how that affects the events that may have transpired,' he said. He said the family's 'faith in the justice system has been renewed,' and thanked the jury and podcast maker Chris Lambert. 'They're trying to poke holes in the witnesses' credibility and they want to do it through me, and I think that's improper.'. Paul Flores was charged with murder, and Ruben Flores with being an accessory after the fact, accused of helping to bury her remains. Paul Flores deposition 1997 In June 2000, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office searched the Arroyo Grande backyard of Susan Flores, Paul's mother. After passing the tests, Noah and his team brought Buster and Dostie to some areas with known historical correlation to American graves, but no graves had been found yet. All Filters. Flores's father, Ruben Flores, is also on trial for allegedly helping dispose of Smart's body, which has never been found. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Four days after her disappearance, police filed a missing persons report. LaRoque had a similar testimony regarding her dog Torrey who alerted to the same areas, including Paul Floress trash can. nor a 1997 deposition in which . The trials began in July this year in Monterey, California. In a deposition with Attorney James Murphy, neighbors of Susan Flores said they noticed Paul and Ruben doing work in Susan's backyard not long after Kristin's disappearance. But you're here as jurors. Episode 06: Ongoing and Active. When you have a situation like this where you have dual court cases at each venue, if you cannot get him on a screen in front of a judge, then you are going to have a warrant of some kind in order for the court to obtain some kind of jurisdiction," Taylor said. Former student Ross Ketchum recalled speaking to 19-year-old Smart about surfing and school at the Memorial Day weekend party, held at 135 Crandall Way. The Sheriff's office has also been surveying Paul Flores' phone calls and text messages for the last two years, which officials said helped uncover "helpful" evidence. He then noted the $500,000 this case has cost the Flores family. Teschendorf said it was odd because although they weren't particularly close, Smart would usually tell her if she was going to spend the night out of their dorm. The next morning when Holman left for work, the SUV and the trailer were still at Ruben Flores home, Holman testified. The original Kristin Smart billboard sits on the lawn of Murphy's law office which is located in the Village of Arroyo Grande. Previous. Two of the warrants were served in San Luis Obispo, another in Los Angeles County and the fourth one in the state of Washington. This study sent seven . Ruben Flores was acquitted by a separate jury. During Rubens' trial in October, Deputy DA Christopher Peuvrelle said during the closing statements: 'Only one spot in that entire backyard happened to have a surface disturbance showing it had been dug down into. Schafer speculates that evidence was found at Rubens home because, after Kristins disappearance, the Flores family put her there, only to later move her to Susans home that summer when Paul and Ruben did the concrete work. Buster alerted under 12 inches of at least three burials in the site pictured. In the spring of 1996, Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old college student, left an off-campus party in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and walked home to her dormitory. He was doing a good deed.'. Dostie and Buster went on seven History Flight missionsthree in Tarawa and four in Europe. After excavation, Noahs team realized they found the largest missing grave recovered since WWII. It was now about 11:00 p.m. Ms. Smarts family said they had faith in the justice system, comforted in the knowledge that Kristin has been held in the hearts of so many and that she has not been forgotten.. In his closing, defense attorney Sanger blamed Your Own Backyard podcast, the media and billboards for promoting Paul Flores guilt without sufficient evidence. For my friend @Dsjmnz thank you for the request :)I APOLOGIZE in advance for the really low volume on Flores' deposition. Cadaver dogs were sent into Paul Floress dorm room. That stunt resulted in a murderer going free. Not the Flores boys. March 31, 2023. Ruben Flores is the father of Paul Flores, who "remains the prime suspect" in Smart's disappearance in 1996, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release. You cant dispute it.. Here, DailyMail.com examines the mystery that's gripped the US for nearly three decades. The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. This search was done after FBI agent Jack Schafer gave the SLO police department a warrant to dig up Susan Floress backyard. At the time of their arrest, the Smart family said in a statement: 'It is impossible to put into words what this day means for our family. Murphy told KSBY News he also filed a lawsuit against both Ruben and Susan Flores in 1997, but it was dropped when the Flores family filed for bankruptcy. He says, I put my heart and soul into that case, and I thought we were going to get the body. He was updating his followers on the closing statements via his Twitter account. The Barker Ranch investigations were how Dostie got in touch with Dr. Arpad Vass, a world-renowned research scientist and forensic anthropologist specializing in human decomposition. "Defendant Ruben Flores and Doe defendants 1 and 2, through their actions in removing the remains of Kristin Smart from its location, and moving same to an undisclosed location or locations, committed acts of such viciousness, depravity and cruelty as to, by their very definition, cause severe emotional distress to Plaintiffs, the natural mother and father of Kristin Smart," Murphy said in the lawsuit. 'We like to watch shows, and you think, 'I bet I know what happened'. Buster then laid down, claiming that spot as an area containing human remains. San Luis Obispo County district attorney's officials interviewed Flores in June 1996, but he later invoked his Fifth Amendment right before a grand jury, and then again during a civil disposition. Paul Dostie retired in 2009 from Mammoth Lakes Police Department, where he worked as a detective sergeant on the narcotics task force. In April 2021, the Smart family lawyer James Murphy filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores alleging that 'under cover of darkness,' the father and unnamed accomplices moved the body four days after investigators searched his house in 2020. Smart was declared dead in 2002. Paul Flores and Ruben Flores plead not guilty in connection with Smart's disappearance. In his closing arguments, Sanger said the prosecution's case was not to showcase evidence, but rather to evoke an emotional prejudice against Paul Flores by using phrases like 'guilty as sin' and quoting witness testimony that says Paul Flores called Smart a 'd*** tease.'. Soil samples were then retrieved from the backyard corner bordering Susans home. He also concludes they could not search the West side of the home because of too much stuff in the way. and and They were both 19 at the time. At the trial, several other women testified that Paul Flores spiked their drinks then sexually assaulted them in the years after Kristin's disappearance. The Superior Court judge, Jennifer OKeefe, was blunt in her remarks, telling him that he had been a cancer to society who deserved to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Kristin was coming back home from a fraternity party when this happened, and she was reported missing by her roommate two days later. For years, Dostie has done work on the Barker Ranch and even spoke to Manson throughout his investigations there. Paul was charged with the murder of Kristin Smart while Ruben was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The Flores' defense teams have argued throughout the trial that they are the scapegoats of a police department and prosecution that are more eager to satisfy the public appetite for a conviction than they are to find the true killer. Avila Beach Life The civil attorney for Kristin Smart's family is suing Ruben Flores for emotional damages in connection to the Cal Poly student's 1996 disappearance. The Outback Steakhouse in Irvine, where Paul . He said that during the trial, defense attorneys have said 'a number of times' that the podcast was 'designed to convict Paul Flores.'. In addition, Morris said both her dogs, Cholla and Cirque, strongly alerted to the mattress and desk on the left side of the room. Teschendorf said she and several other residents in the dorm contacted police two days after Smart failed to return to her room, and then, again, two days later when she didn't show up for class. Soon after her disappearance, a sheriffs search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, archival video from KCRA-TV shows. 'We now put our faith in the justice system and move forward, comforted in the knowledge that Kristin has been held in the hearts of so many and that she has not been forgotten.'. Ruben Flores is 'relieved' after being acquitted of helping son Paul Flores bury Kristin Smart's body under decking in his backyard - but slams his son's murder conviction: 'It was about. The last witness on Monday, Jamilyn Holman testified she contacted Your Own Backyard podcast creator Chris Lambert after seeing Ruben Flores, Susan Flores and McConville having trouble backing a trailer down Ruben Flores driveway on Feb. 9, 2020. Closing statements conclude and jurors are dismissed for deliberations. The search for Ms. Smart, who was nicknamed Roxy, took many forms. Davis and Anderson walked with Flores and Smart, but parted ways before reaching their dorm buildings. 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