Nearly 25 years after Kristin Smart disappeared when she walked back to her dormitory in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, authorities on Tuesday arrested a longtime person of interest in the case, law enforcement officials said.
Paul Flores, long described by authorities as a “main suspect”, was arrested by sheriff’s officials in San Luis Obispo County. In the past, he has denied any wrongdoing.
Flores’ father was also arrested Tuesday morning, sources said.
San Luis Obispo sheriff said sheriff Ian Parkinson will announce a major development in the case during a news conference scheduled for 2 p.m.
Flores, who lives in San Pedro, was the last person she saw with Smart before disappearing in 1996. They were both students at the time.
Smart, 19, was on his way home from a party off campus. Flores was seen walking down a path to the residence’s dormitories the night she went missing.
Paul Flores was displayed in his home on February 5, 2020, when his house and car were searched by the sheriff’s deputy.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Flores was questioned at the time in Smart’s disappearance. He has lived in San Pedro for more than a decade while working in Orange County, according to sources. In 2016, federal investigators dug a hill near the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus and searched for remains. They also searched the garden of a house.
Smart’s family sued Flores in civil court. In response to the lawsuit, Flores denied the allegation. He invokes his 5th right of amendment against self-incrimination before a large jury and in a civil deposit.
Investigators have long been working on the theory that Paul Flores killed Smart, but that she could not get rid of her remains alone. For the past four years, they have been focusing on methods that they believe could be used to move the body. In the past year, investigators examined all vehicles owned by Flores and his father in 1996 and searched for DNA or other evidence. They recovered one truck that was sold and another that belonged to Paul Flores, which was stolen. Last month, an older VW Golf Cabriolet was taken from Ruben Flores’ garage.
In February, Flores was arrested by Los Angeles police on suspicion of a felony in possession of a firearm. The arrest stems from information from the sheriff of San Luis Obispo County, who Flores’ house searched in April accompanied by deputy sheriffs in Los Angeles County. Flores has convicted a previous offense of driving under the influence.
The April search followed another in February at home in the 900 block of West Upland Avenue and three other locations in the state of California and Washington. All the warrants were sealed.