Where is Kristin Smart’s body? SLO County investigators think they have a good idea
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With Paul Flores and his father now in custody, the biggest remaining question is: Where is Kristin Smart’s body?
On Wednesday, District Attorney Dan Dow revealed that investigators believe they know where her remains are located and will continue investigating.
Dow addressed the question during a news conference following the arrests of Paul Flores on suspicion of murder and Ruben Flores as an alleged accessory to the crime.
Smart was 19 years old and a first-year Cal Poly student when she went missing on Memorial Day weekend in 1996 after last being seen on campus walking home to her dorm with Paul Flores.
“We have evidence where we believe there’s a location where Ms. Smart was taken,” Dow said Wednesday.
Asked about any more specifics on the location of Smart’s remains, and whether her body is at Ruben Flores’ family property, Dow responded by saying that Paul’s father “assisted in secreting the body after the homicide” and thus was charged with accessory after the fact.
“We do believe we have the location where the body was buried,” Dow said. “We looked at multiple properties. I want to stay away from specifics.”
On Wednesday, investigators continued to search Ruben Flores’ Arroyo Grande home for a second day. It was also the site of a two-day search in March.
Cal Poly dorms and physical evidence key to case
Dow said the case includes physical evidence and witness statements that in the totality “brought us to the point where we believe we can go forward and prosecute.”
Dow said he won’t talk about the manner of death, which will be dealt with in court: “What I’ll say to that is what’s generally out in the public. The last place Kristin was seen was close to the dorms and near Mr. Flores’ dorms. We certainly believe Mr. Flores’ dorm room was a crime scene.”
The District Attorney’s Office hopes to recover Smart’s body but could proceed with prosecution the murder case anyway and has done so before.
The DA’s Office successfully prosecuted a “no body” homicide in the murder of Dorothy Vivian Autrey, an 84-year-old woman whose grandson killed her in her Cayucos home in 2008, then stuffed her into a suitcase and dumped it over a guardrail north of Ragged Point.
The body was never found.
But in that case, Matthew Levine confessed to investigators, saying he had accidentally killed Autrey.
Superior Court Judge Roger Randall sent Levine to prison for 25 years to life, requiring him to serve at least a quarter of a century before he is eligible for parole.
This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Where is Kristin Smart’s body? SLO County investigators think they have a good idea."
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