He was the last person seen with her. She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone. Chris Lambert says, two days after that, when Flores was interviewed by campus police, they asked how he got his black eye as well as scratches on his hands and knees. . Join Facebook to connect with Ermelinda Thomas and others you may know. He grabbed me down there and while Im yelling at him my girlfriend threw a piece of gum at his face and he pushes her down., At this point every male at the party joined in to jump Flores, who fled, she said, adding, Boom, he disappeared., That same year, Sarah said, Flores pursued her again at a friends birthday party. Back then, Jane remembered Flores pulling up to her on multiple occasions behind the wheel of a green pickup truck. After the four students had walked about halfway back to the dorms, Paul Flores told Davis and Anderson, Dont worry I got her, Ill take her from here, according to prosecutors. James Murphy: There's no way to get evidence back once you've lost it. That's when Denise Smart learned her daughter had not been seen all weekend, and all her belongings were still in her dorm room. Nineteen-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared Memorial Day weekend of 1996. But I've seen it. but I knew that I could try to do a small part. Not at all. The only thing that she remembered next was being dragged in the barely lit street by her alleged rapist on one arm and his pal on the other. When The Daily Beast tracked Flores down outside his home last month, he didnt mount much of a defense. Ann-Marie Christian: Her parents reminded me of my parents. The accusations didnt stop with classmates: Flores allegedly couldnt restrain himself around his own kin. The murder trial began on Monday with opening statements from prosecutors and Flores defense attorney. Jonathan Vigliotti: How significant was that? People who were there have said she was intoxicated. And I was screaming. To declare to the public if you stay quiet, you will get away with this. ), A sheriff offices spokesman said his agency couldnt say if investigators working Smarts cold case had been made aware or not of the new alleged victims, citing refusal to comment on an open and active investigation.. Like what may have been discovered in March 2021 when investigators searched Ruben Flores' house using cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar. James Murphy: To see them in custody was a feeling of great joy for me. Chris Lambert's podcast,"Your Own Backyard," has become a big hit attracting millions of listeners eager to hear every detail surrounding this unsolved case of Kriistin Smart. The day after my sister disappeared, Paul Flores had a black eye and scratches on him. Little is known since the proceedings are kept secret, but no charges were ever filed. San Luis Obispo County sheriff's officials gather under a coroner's tent in the backyard of Ruben Flores' house in the 700 block of White Court in Arroyo Grande on April 13. Just five months before Kristin disappeared, San Luis Obispo Police received a call from a student living off campus. By this point Sarahs ex-boyfriend arrived and he and his friends scared Flores and his pal, trying to make sure they never showed their faces again. The Smart family. In April 2021, investigators charged Paul Flores, left, with Kristin Smart's murder, and his then-80-year-old father Ruben, as an accessory after the fact. And it all came back to me. Jonathan Vigliotti [with Lambert outside of the the dorms]: Paul and Kristin then make their way here. She spotted an ad for a rental that a woman named Susan Flores had put in. There's no question about it. FBI via AP, File. So before leaving, Margarita handed over her keys to get back into Muir Hall. Paul Flores and his father both pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment. James Murphy: And it's 2:30 and 3 o'clock in the morning at Cal Poly this is not a a location from which Paul alone could easily move a body without a vehicle. A popular true-crime podcast, Your Own Backyard, revived public interest in Smarts disappearance. So, when they were invited to a party that Friday night, Kristin was excited to go. Margarita Campos: they were, like, "are you sure she didn't go out of town?" Lindsey Smart Stewart: I think they're, like, carrying boulders on their back. Despite identifying a prime suspect for her murder, law enforcement did not arrest Flores until 2021. Murphy immediately filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Flores in civil court. The sheriff's office still wasn't convinced they had enough evidence against Flores. Ermelinda Macarthur currently lives in Kenmore, WA; in the past Ermelinda has also lived in Long Beach CA, Arroyo Grande CA and Bothell WA. Now several women say they were victims before and after her, too. Kristin Smart went missing from Cal Poly in 1996. In his mug shot, a black eye can faintly been seen. I know I didnt have any pants on and he was in me and I could feel him, she said of the three seconds she managed to wake from the slumber that took hold of her. It is also what the Smarts have been waiting for for more than a quarter of a century. D.A. But Margarita says, the police did not seem concerned. It's been a long night for the Smart family and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's detectives as they continued to investigate an Arroyo Grande property belonging to Ruben Flores. If you use a windshield cover, you can at least forget about scrapping the ice off your windshield to save some time and hassle. Paul Flores was lying through his teeth to law enforcement, Peuvrelle told the jury. Im good, he said in response to questions about Smarts disappearance. Mary Lassiter says the earring she found in the driveway matched the necklace Kristin Smart is seen wearing on this billboard. And for the first time clues about what may have happened to Kristin Smart. How could she have gone out of town? San Luis Obispo County. She was gone. But you have to understand, she was a really independent free spirit. Remember, Flores's room had been emptied and thoroughly cleaned. James Murphy: If it was, in fact, a piece of jewelry that matched Kristin's jewelry, it would have been blockbuster evidence. JAMES MURPHY: Does your son have any information as to where Kristin Smart's body is located? I was throwing up and they were saying Oh this bitch! and This bitch better not throw up on me.. During opening statements of Flores murder trial this week, prosecutors played a video of Flores stumbling over questions from Cal Poly campus police detectives inside an interrogation room. Just weeks later, Kristin's frustrated parents contacted James Murphy, a local civil attorney. Empresa. Chris Lambert: So much was lost in those first few days where if that very first phone call was taken seriously answers might have been uncovered the first week. I remember thinking: If my moms not home Im going to die right here.. They were after Paul Flores for an outstanding DUI warrant. Susan P Flores Age 71. They might have found evidence in those vehicles. And very chilling. For more than two decades, her family, friends, and supporters searched for answers and for justice. A now-retired FBI agent believes those remains were once buried at the home of Floress mother. Lindsey Smart Stewart: "You should go to Cal Poly. Jane said she took Flores up on carpool offers to and from high school whenever she would be walking solo from her mothers home in Arroyo Grande, California. What's going on? That turned out to be college. It wasnt like some older guy or anything.. It's, like, she has nothing on her. The lawsuit claims they were moving Kristin's remains. After almost 25 years of suspicion, on April 13, 2021, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson announced the arrest ofPaul Flores in the disappearance of Kristin Smart. and I was like, "Noooo.". Ermelinda Flores After a wonderful life, Ermelinda Correa-Flores, 89, entered an eternal rest in her own home in Richland, MO on Sunday, June 19, 2022.<br>Ermelinda was born on June 29, 1932, in San Perlita, Texas to Rafela Posada. But Parkinson acknowledges it hasn't been easy. Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, Sneak peek: The Disappearance of Kristin Smart. Ian Parkinson: I committed to them that I was going to go back to the beginning and re-examine every piece of evidence that we had. She has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the case. Kristin's mother, Denise Smart, spent Memorial Day weekend at a swim meet with her two younger kids. Alicia Tejada is the field producer and Addison Briley is the associate producer. SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON [at press conference]: Forensic physical evidence was located. LOS ANGELESShe remembers being dragged down Elm Street as she vomited, propped up by a young man and his pal who snickered and cursed her. He later argued that the biological evidence found under the deck was not conclusively human blood. First, he told detectives that Smart was having difficulty walking on her own. Meanwhile, three other women told The Daily Beast that Flores sexually assaulted them after Janes assault and Smarts disappearance. Margarita Campos: I'll never forget her shadow against the building, this apartment complex, just standing like kind of cross-armed with the long leg And she was just kind of like looking at me like, [sighs] you're really walking away now, like you're really, you're leaving? Please come with me." Two days after Kristin Smart vanished, Paul Flores went to the Arroyo Grande Police Department because of an outstanding DUI warrant. Smart was talking with and socializing with several different males at the party. Despite Flores sporting a black eye the next day (which he admitted to investigators he lied about) and despite police dogs picking up the scent of human decay in his dorm room, Flores was never charged. Jonathan Vigliotti: Is there any doubt in your mind that Paul Flores is responsible for the disappearance of Kristin Smart? When Lambert later told Kristin's mother, Denise, about those early morning beeping sounds in Susan Flores's backyard, he said her reaction was "shock we just kind of stared at each other for a good long time I think it took a while to settle in, that this could potentially be huge." In October 2022, Paul. James Murphy: He lied to the police about everything. More critical evidence was seized when investigators used ground-penetratingly radar that found a grave where Smarts body was once buried in the Flores familys backyard, according to prosecutors. Chris Lambert: As they describe it, Paul Flores just sort of appears out of nowhere. Eventually they moved in together along with a male roommate in a two-bedroom apartment in nearby Lawndale. DAN DOW [press conference]: The allegation against Ruben is that he helped to conceal Kristen's body after the murder was committed. Denise Pearce: The phone call never comes. One late night at a Hermosa Beach bar Flores courted a 21-year-old student whom well call Laura. And they told Lambert they weren't surprised when they heard about Flores's connection to Kristin's disappearance. I would hear many of my friends tell me Oh he grabbed my butt but I never believed them, Laura said. Way here producer and Addison Briley is the associate producer ermelinda flores arroyo grande and they were moving 's! 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