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Paul Flores found guilty of Kristin Smart's murder
The last man seen with Kristin Smart was convicted Tuesday of killing the college freshman, who vanished from a California campus more than 25 years ago, but his father was acquitted of helping him conceal the crime.
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. - The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday morning that it is searching an Arroyo Grande home in connection with the disappearance of Kristin Smart nearly 30 years ago.
What we know:
The sheriff's office said it was investigating a property in the 500 block of East Branch Street after obtaining a search warrant from a judge.
Authorities did not say what prompted the search at the Arroyo Grande home, and said the sheriff’s office "will not be making any additional comment regarding this investigation."
When did Kristin Smart disappear?
The backstory:
Kristin Smart vanished in 1996 at the age of 19 after attending a party near California Polytechnic State University, where she was a student.
Smart was declared legally dead in 2002, though her body was never found.
Paul Flores arrested in 2021
Paul Flores was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of murdering Smart, with prosecutors alleging the man killed her during an attempted rape on May 25, 1996, in his dorm room at the university, where both were first-year students.
Authorities also arrested Flores’ father, who was accused of helping hide Smart's body.
Flores was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while his father was acquitted of being an accessory after the fact.
Dig deeper:
According to contemporaneous reports, a dorm neighbor called university police the morning after Smart disappeared.
However, other students told authorities they thought Smart had gone camping, so officers didn’t declare her missing for three days.
A California law, the Kristin Smart Campus Safety Act of 1998, now requires campus police to spell out exactly when they will call in outside authorities to investigate a violent crime.
The Source: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, previous KTVU reporting