California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) apologized for the first time since she went missing from the college campus 27 years ago.
The Stockton resident disappeared on the Cal Poly campus in 1996, and after campus police refused to file a missing persons report, the school told her family she had just gone camping.
In March, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the student’s murder.
Now the polytechnic has apologized to the family, with President Jeffrey D. Armstrong writing, “We are deeply sorry for what the Smart family has endured. What they have been through is unimaginably heartbreaking, and I feel for them in ways I can’t express in words.
“Although it’s a different administration now than it was in 1996, we recognize that things should have been done differently – and personally I wish they had.”
Kristin Smart disappeared on the Cal Poly campus in 1996, and after campus police refused to file a missing persons report, the school told her family that she had just gone camping. Earlier this year, Paul Flores was convicted of murder
Now the polytechnic has apologized to the family for the first time, with President Jeffrey D. Armstrong writing, “We are deeply sorry for what the Smart family had to endure. What they have been through is unimaginably heartbreaking, and I feel for them in ways I can’t express in words.
Armstrong went on to say that ‘Kristin’s story is something that is always with us and weighs heavily on our hearts’ and that the school is ‘committed to doing everything we can to ensure the safety of all our students now and in the future . ‘
“While we will never be able to control what a person with bad intentions decides to do, we are constantly working to make sure things like this don’t happen again at Cal Poly,” he wrote. “Cal Poly places the highest priority on the safety of members of the campus community. The university has robust programming aimed at providing public safety services to all our students, staff and visitors.’
Smart disappeared in 1996. The case went unsolved for decades, but a 2020 true crime podcast shocked local law enforcement.
In March, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the student’s murder
Smart and Flores were both students at California Polytech University in San Luis Obispo. Flores, now 46, was arrested as a result. Although the police never found her remains, they believe Flores raped her in his dorm room and then killed her
Smart and Flores were both students at California Polytech University in San Luis Obispo. Flores, now 46, was arrested as a result. Although the police never found her remains, they believe Flores raped her in his dorm room and then killed her.
Smart left an off-campus party on May 25, 1996 around 2 a.m., accompanied by Flores.
He claimed he took her to her dorm room, but she was never seen again.
Three days later, a missing persons report was filed.
Friends said she was drunk and Flores repeatedly said he would escort her home.
He was identified as a ‘person of interest’ early on in the case, but to this day maintains his innocence.
On Friday, the judge said he was a dangerous predator.
“This predatory behavior has spanned your entire adult life,” Judge Jennifer O’Keefe said. “You deserve to spend the day that you’ve been left behind bars.
‘Mr. Flores, you have been a cancer to society.
Smart left an off-campus party on May 25, 1996 around 2 a.m., accompanied by Flores. He claimed he took her to her dorm room, but she was never seen again. Three days later, a missing persons report was filed
Friends said she was drunk and Flores repeatedly said he would escort her home
“For 25 years you lived freely in the community” and continued to drug and assault women, she said, according to the San Luis Obispo Grandstand.
Flores was ordered to pay a total of $10,000 in restitution to his victims. He must also register as a sex offender for life, as he attacked and killed Smart for “the purpose of sexual gratification and sexual coercion,” O’Keefe said.
Flores and his father, Ruben, were both charged in connection with her death. Prosecutors say Ruben helped his son by hiding Smart’s body under their backyard patio for years.
The pair are suspected of moving her remains as suspicion began to grow in 2020.
Flores was found guilty of murder last October.
A jury found Flores guilty of first-degree murder in October. A separate jury acquitted 81-year-old Ruben Flores of complicity.