CNN
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The man convicted of killing fellow faculty pupil Kristin Smart in 1996 was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison without parole Friday in a California court docket, in accordance to CNN affiliate KSBY.
Paul Flores, 46, was found guilty in October of the first-degree murder of Smart, whose physique has by no means been situated.
Smart vanished in May 1996, when she and Flores have been each attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in central California. Flores was the final particular person to see Smart alive and prosecutors argued he raped or tried to rape Smart after which killed her in his dorm room.
Smart’s disappearance rattled the city of San Luis Obispo, with little progress being made in the case for greater than twenty years. Smart was declared lifeless by authorities in 2002.
A podcast launched in 2019 from journalist Chris Lambert titled “Your Own Backyard” then introduced renewed consideration to Smart and her household’s plight, which her household later credited for shining a highlight “in our darkest hours by sharing Kristin’s voice and story.”
In 2021, new proof led authorities to arrest Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, in reference to Smart’s demise. Investigators at Ruben Flores’ residence used ground-penetrating radar, dug on the property utilizing hand instruments and recovered items as evidence, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office instructed CNN on the time.
Prosecutors accused Flores’ father of helping with shifting Smart’s physique to his residence in Arroyo Grande and hiding her stays below his deck for a interval of time. A jury later discovered Ruben Flores not responsible of being an adjunct to Smart’s murder.
Following Paul’s conviction and Ruben’s acquittal on October 18, 2022, Smart’s household expressed blended feelings and thanked prosecutors and investigators for their efforts.
“Without Kristin, there is no joy or victory with this verdict, we all know it did not have to be this way,” an announcement from the Smart household learn. “After 26 years, with today’s split verdicts, we learned that our quest for justice for Kristin will continue.”