Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. Thursday marked the conclusion of the presentation of evidence for the Kristin Smart murder trial. “You have now heard all of the evidence in this case,” Judge Jennifer O’Keefe told both […]
Category: Crime and Courts
Posted inCrime and Courts
Kristin Smart murder trial: Defense rests case, juries to return to court Thursday
Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. After excusing his last witness on Tuesday, Robert Sanger rested his case on behalf of his client, Paul Flores. “We, as well, rest, Your Honor,” Harold Mesick said on behalf of […]
Posted inCrime and Courts
Kristin Smart Murder Trial: Forensic DNA consultant resumes testimony, calls prosecution’s witness into question
Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. Thursday’s proceedings resumed with testimony from the defense’s second witness: Elizabeth Johnson, a forensic DNA consultant working through a private practice. During Johnson’s direct examination, Paul Flores’ attorney, Robert Sanger, referred […]
Posted inCrime and Courts
Forensic specialist contradicts previous witness testimony: ‘I don’t see any data that confirms the presence of human remains’
Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. Wednesday’s proceedings began with the defense’s first witness: David Carter, a forensic specialist whose PhD dissertation focused on Forensic Taphonomy. Carter described the study of taphonomy as “all of the processes […]
Posted inCrime and Courts
Prosecution in Kristin Smart murder trial rests case after contentious hearing, defense motions for mistrial
Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. On Tuesday at 3:50 p.m., the prosecution for the Kristin Smart murder trial called their last witness and rested their case. “The People have rested, subjected to rebuttal evidence,” Judge Jenifer […]
Posted inCrime and Courts
Kristin Smart murder trial: DNA analyst confirms human blood in soil from Flores’ home
Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. The trial for Paul and Ruben Flores continued Monday with testimony from a forensic DNA analyst who confirmed the presence of human blood in soil samples from the Flores’ property. After […]
Posted inCrime and Courts
Witnesses say Paul Flores admitted to burying Kristin Smart, reported to police years later
Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. A witness who testified that Paul Flores admitted to killing and burying Kristin Smart continued her testimony in court on Monday, recounting why she went to the police 23 years later. […]
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SLO local says Paul Flores admitted to killing Kristin Smart: ‘There was nothing alive behind his eyes’
Thursday’s proceedings for the Kristin Smart murder trial consisted of testimony from a trace evidence specialist and a witness who recounted what Paul Flores told her in 1996. Faye Springer, a private contractor for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office who specializes in trace evidence, was first on the stand. Springer described trace evidence to […]
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Forensic specialist verifies more staining in Flores’ backyard and trailer from 2021
Following last week’s testimonies including archeologists and cadaver dog handlers, forensic specialist Shelby Liddell took the stand on Wednesday, describing the excavation process which ensued at Ruben Flores’ home, 710 White Ct., in March and April 2021. Liddell has been a forensic specialist with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department for “close to four […]
Posted inCrime and Courts
‘I’m saying ‘no’ and screaming’: Another woman testifies that Paul Flores raped her
Content warning: This article includes graphic detail of rape described in court testimony. On Friday, a woman assigned the name “Sarah Doe” by the court testified that Paul Flores raped her in 2011. Paul Flores is on trial for the murder of Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly freshman in 1996. Doe described the evening to […]
Posted inCrime and Courts
Kristin Smart murder trial: Defense argues soil stain evidence, court breaks for emotional jury
Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial is covered each day by Mustang News. Follow @CPMustangNews on Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Read previous articles about the trial here. Thursday’s proceedings consisted of testimony from Cindy Arrington, an archeologist who performed a search of Ruben Flores’ home at 710 White Ct. on March 21, 2021. Prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle asked Arrington […]