Investigators detected evidence of human remains at a property connected to Paul Flores, the man convicted of killing college student Kristin Smart nearly three decades ago, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson announced Friday.
The discovery came after law enforcement conducted soil testing at a home in Arroyo Grande occupied by Flores's mother, Susan Flores. Parkinson stopped short of confirming the remains belong to Smart, whose body has never been recovered since her 1996 disappearance.
"We can't call it Kristin, but there's evidence to support human remains at one time," Parkinson said during a news conference.
Smart, a student at California Polytechnic State University, vanished in May 1996 after attending an off-campus party. Flores was the last person seen with her. Prosecutors alleged he killed her during an attempted rape.
Flores was convicted in October 2022 and sentenced to 25 years to life. His father, Ruben Flores, was arrested alongside him in 2021 on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact, but was acquitted. Prosecutors had alleged Smart's remains were initially buried on Ruben Flores's property before being moved elsewhere.
Smart was declared legally dead in 2002. Last year, a judge ordered Flores to pay her family over $350,000 to cover expenses they incurred following her disappearance.
The Your Own Backyard podcast, which played a role in reopening the case by bringing new witnesses forward to investigators, first reported the search at the Arroyo Grande residence.
Parkinson said the investigation remains ongoing despite the latest findings. He acknowledged that previous searches of locations may have missed areas where remains could be hidden.
"Even if we've searched it once, we might have missed an area 10ft away from it," he said, adding that authorities will continue their work "until we absolutely have no where to go."
Author James Rodriguez: "After 28 years without a body, any forensic breakthrough matters, but this news also underscores how hard it is to close a case when the victim hasn't been found."
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