Soil testing at a property linked to the man convicted in the murder of California college student Kristin Smart has turned up evidence of human remains, a state sheriff announced on Friday. Smart disappeared in 1996 and her body has never been found.
“We can’t call it Kristin, but there’s evidence to support human remains – there at one time,” said Ian Parkinson, the San Luis Obispo county sheriff, at a news conference.
The property searched this week is a home in Arroyo Grande occupied by Susan Flores, mother of Paul Flores, who was convicted of Smart’s murder in 2022. The search was first reported by the Your Own Backyard podcast, which helped crack the case.
Smart went missing from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996 after an off-campus party. Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that Paul Flores was the last person seen with her. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Prosecutors had alleged Smart’s remains were buried on the property of Paul’s father, Ruben Flores, and later moved. Ruben Flores was acquitted of accessory charges. In 2024, a judge ordered Paul Flores to pay over $350,000 to Smart’s family.
Parkinson said: “Until we have Kristin, everything is still wide open,” adding that even previously searched areas might have been missed. Smart was declared legally dead in 2002.
