Arroyo Grande, California – Authorities plan to update the public on Friday about the reason for searching a home connected to the man convicted with the murder of 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996. Her body was never found.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office in California planned to hold a news conference at 9 a.m
The office Submit a search warrant Wednesday at the home of Susan Flores, whose son Paul Flores was convicted in 2022 of Smart’s murder. Authorities did not respond to questions about the reason for the research, but scientists specializing in human decomposition and soil took samples from the ground.
Tim Nelligan, an expert in soil vapor testing, confirmed by phone Thursday that he was in the building, collecting samples from the yards of Flores and a neighbor. Overall, he said, the team “came up with a methodology to evaluate soil vapor” and its relationship to “decomposition of human bodies,” but he could not discuss the current investigation.
Smart disappeared from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996 after returning from an off-campus party. Prosecutors claimed she was killed during an attempted rape, and that the last person she was seen with was Paul Flores, a fellow student. She was declared legally dead in 2002.
This decades-long case has captured public attention, fueled in part by a blogger who assisted investigators by providing additional witnesses. Chris Lambert “Your backyard” The podcast first reported the search of the home in the central coastal town of Arroyo Grande, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
Attempts to reach Susan Flores for comment on Wednesday and Thursday were not successful. She never faced criminal charges related to the case.
Nelligan and other scientists stuck tools into the soil and pulled out long tubes. Soil vapor sampling, an evolving science, involves collecting underground gas samples to detect volatile organic compounds associated with human decomposition.
Lambert, the podcast host, said he doesn’t know much about the search, but he’s optimistic investigators will be able to locate Smart’s body. He said previous inspections of Susan Flores’ home were not comprehensive at all.
“This property in particular has been overlooked for quite some time,” he said Thursday in front of the house.
Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested in 2021.
Prosecutors alleged that Smart’s remains were buried on Ruben Flores’ property and later removed. He was acquitted of accessory charges. This property is different from the one currently being searched.
It was Paul Flores convicted In March 2023 to the prison where he was He was physically attacked At least twice. In 2024the judge ruled that he must pay just over $350,000 to Smart’s family for costs incurred after her death.
The family said they would forgo compensation if Flores told them where the woman’s body was. Flores’ attorney, Harold Messick, said in 2024 that the defense did not know where her remains were. Flores maintains his innocence.