Paul Flores has long been the sole person of interest in Smart’s 1996 disappearance.
The father and son were arrested and charged last week in connection with the 19-year-old Lincoln High School student’s death more than 25 years after she went missing from the Cal Poly University campus in San Luis Obispo. Both Paul and Ruben Flores pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing Monday.
Paul Flores is facing first-degree murder charges in the commission of a rape, while Ruben Flores is charged for accessory after the fact for allegedly assisting in hiding Smart s body after she was killed.
The judge in the case, Craig B. van Rooyen, granted the prosecution’s request Monday to hold Paul Flores in custody pending the outcome of the trial, determining that he was both a flight risk and posed a danger to the community. However, van Rooyen scheduled an additional bail hearing after ruling that Ruben Flores was neither and should be allowed bail.
Meet the prosecutor and attorneys in the Kristin Smart case
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Kristin Smart case: Paul Flores pleads not guilty to first-degree murder
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Stockton college student Kristin Smart went missing in 1996 from the Cal Poly University campus in San Luis Obispo.
Former fellow Cal Poly student Paul Flores was arraigned Thursday morning on first-degree murder charges in connection with her death. His father, Ruben Flores, was also arraigned on charges as an accessory to murder after the fact.
Both men appeared before a San Luis Obispo County Courtroom from jail via livestream. The judge in the case, Craig B. van Rooyen, approved a request from defense attorneys to continue the arraignment to Monday afternoon when there will be arguments over bail and pleas entered into the record.
Paul Flores will face first-degree murder charges in the 1996 murder of Stockton college student Kristin Smart.
Authorities say that Paul Flores, now 44, killed the 19-year-old Lincoln High graduate in his dorm room while raping or attempting to rape her. Both Paul and Kristin were students at Cal Poly.
His father, 80-year-old Ruben Flores, is also charged with accessory to murder after the fact for allegedly helping to conceal Kristin’s body.
On Tuesday morning, San Luis Obispo County sheriff s deputies made simultaneous arrests of Paul Flores at his home in San Pedro and Ruben Flores at his home in Arroyo Grande. The arraignment is set for Thursday.