The Disappearance of Kristin Smart
Missing persons cases can be an extremely long and arduous process and in some instances, nothing ever turns up. The time frame in which a person can usually be found after they are confirmed to be missing is extremely short and it is crucial that authorities handle these cases with all seriousness, care and respect. This is where the case of Kristin Smart becomes notable. Declared missing in 1996, the initial stages of her case were critical and have perhaps largely contributed to there being no satisfactory conclusion. After twenty years there has been no body, no arrests and no closure for the family. Despite being legally declared dead in 2002, the case still remains unsolved.
So let me outline the events that led up to her disappearance. It was Memorial Day 1996 and Kristin Smart, who was 19 at the time and studying at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, attended one of the usual college parties at 10:30 P.M. The party was at an ‘unofficial’ fraternity house near the campus. Approximately three and a half hours later two other students from the party, Cheryl Anderson and Tim Davis, noticed Kristin passed out on a neighbours lawn and presumed she was drunk. Note that friends and family declared Kristin was never a heavy drinker. Anyway, the two students helped Kristin up and began walking her back to her dorm. At some point during the walk they are met by another student Paul Flores who offered to take her the rest of the way home as their dorms were fairly close. Anderson agreed to this and watched them walk away up the hill that the dorms were located on. This was the last time anyone besides Flores saw her.
She had vanished without a trace. All of her belongings, including her ID and prescription medication, remained in her room. Despite this, campus security neglected her as a missing person and instead chose to believe she had simply taken a quick vacation. In my opinion that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard and I think it pretty much ruined what could have been a potentially quick recovery of Kristin. Anyway, two days after the party Kristins dorm neighbors contacted her parents and the San Luis Obispo Police, which led campus police to finally open a missing persons case.
Of course, Flores was the prime suspect as he was the last person to be seen with her and when interviewed his story was filled with inconsistencies and suspicious points. He even showed up with a black eye and scratches that he lied about the origins of twice. You can watch it below. Oh and quick side note, he had already been under investigation after another girl had accused him of stalking her.
So the police then bring in cadaver dogs as the interrogation leads them to absolutely nothing. The dogs identify Flores’ room straight away as a spot containing traces of human remains. They actually identified his bed as the key spot. To further strengthen this they even brought in multiple dogs to corroborate it. They all identified Paul’s bed. Even Paul’s roommate testified that Paul had stated he had killed Kristin and took the body to his mums house.
Pretty damning, but still more evidence is needed. So onto the mother's house. A neighbour actually gave a witness statement that he had seen two men at the mother’s house digging out holes in the yard, placing a heavy object in it, and then filling it with concrete. The witness didn’t mention this immediately as he was unaware of the case proceedings but then when Paul’s mugshot was broadcast on TV, the neighbor quickly gave police his testimony as he realised that was one of the people digging the holes.
Again, this unfortunately still isn’t enough.
Another quick side note which again points out how terribly this case was handled; a neighbour later discovered a blue earring on her driveway covered in what appeared to be blood. Kristin’s parents after viewing the earring were certain it was from Kristin’s favourite pair. Perfect right? They now potentially have blood from Kristin near Paul’s mum’s house which means a warrant could be made to dig up the yard! Nope. The police, rather than bagging this critical piece of evidence decide instead to leave it in a drawer somewhere. And they LOST IT.
Later on March 3 1997 they again bring in cadaver dogs, this time to check out the mother's house. The dog alerted police to a raised concrete garden area in the back but could not conclusively identify human remains. In my opinion, that was probably the spot she was buried but since they covered her with concrete it masked the scent to the dogs. Then a private contractor comes in to search the yard using radars. Initially police actually declined this from happening as they said Mrs. Flores did not reside at the house at the time of Kristins disappearance. Wrong again police, she did and so they eventually allowed the search. The contractor discovered many pieces of broken concrete around the yard and stains on the side of the house from dirt being piled up against it. So now the contractor is ready to dig up the yard to find the body. Police again intervene as they didn’t want to pay the family for the damages in case nothing was found. This part is so extremely frustrating to me as they never let the search happen!
Fast forward to 2002, authorities declared Kristin Smart legally dead on May 25, the sixth anniversary of her disappearance. In 2005, Smart’s parents, Denise and Stan Smart, filed a wrongful death suit against Paul Flores, but they dropped it after Flores pleaded the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has stated that they are still actively investigating the case and have never stopped looking for Smart. The FBI have offered a reward of $75,000 for information leading to the location of her body.
In the end, this case is so frustrating to me as there were so many lost opportunities. I think it was handled poorly and Kristin’s parents were right in that there was gross negligence in the proceedings and we have that to thank for the case remaining unsolved today.
I recommend you check out the video by the California Register who strongly scrutinise the way the case was handled. I must note the speaker is pretty blatant and the parents of Smart have advised they prefer to discuss the case in much softer terms.
References:
- http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/13/is-kristen-smart-buried-in-this-backyard-neighbors-and-a-wonder-dog-say-yes.html
- http://www.kristinsmart.com/chapters.html
- http://crimefeed.com/2016/09/where-is-kristin-smart/
Bronte Tomaino 44914784
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