Officials announced on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, that the California Supreme Court denied Paul Flores’ petition for them to review his conviction of the 1996 murder of Kristin Smart. San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced the denial, relieving the Central Coast community after a decades-long case.
Conviction and Appeal
Kristin Smart was a 19-year-old freshman attending California Polytechnic State University when she went missing in May 1996. Her disappearance went unsolved for 25 years until Flores was arrested in 2021. His trial by jury was held in Monterey County Superior Court after his defense was granted a change of venue from San Luis Obispo County. He was still convicted the following year of first-degree murder, and in March 2023, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Flores appealed his conviction to the Second District Court of Appeal, affirming his conviction in October 2025. This most recent denial effectively exhausts his direct appeals; however, he still has other discretionary options, but they are more difficult to achieve.
“While we are very pleased that this decision brings a stronger sense of finality for all involved, we will always remember Kristin Smart and will continue to do all we can to honor the memory of her vibrant life,” Dow said. “Our hearts go out to Mr. and Mrs. Smart and their entire family for all that they have endured for the last 30 years.”
Disappearance of Kristen Smart
Kristen Smart, 19, was last seen on May 26, 1996, when she left a party on Cal Poly’s campus supposedly intoxicated. Around 2 a.m., she was found passed out on a neighbor’s lawn by fellow students who began to help her walk home to her dorm. At the time, one student was Paul Flores.
He joined the group helping her home and offered to take her home alone due to the proximity of their dorms. He was always a suspect in her disappearance, and it was not until years later that they discovered new evidence leading to his arrest.
In February 2020, authorities obtained search warrants for Paul’s and his parents’ home, as well as a separate property in Washington State. During their follow-up search of the homes, police discovered “biological evidence” under Rueben’s backyard deck. According to the AP, the soil contained traces of human blood and stains.
Flores’ Men Arrested
Paul, 45, and his father, Ruben Flores, 80, were arrested on April 13, 2021, for the murder of Smart. Flores was arrested on suspicion of murder as he was the last person to be seen with the young college student, while his father was accused of being an accessory. However, both men maintain their innocence to this day.
Smart’s disappearance became one of California’s most high-profile cold cases. It garnered national attention, and Flores’ arrest led to a weeks-long trial. Testimony lasted 34 days beginning on July 18, 2022, and concluding on October 5, 2022. It was an extremely spread-out trial, lasting 3 months, but only 34 days of testimony.
The two were tried simultaneously but had different juries, which rotated in and out. On October 18, a jury convicted Flores of first-degree premeditated murder, and his father, who was accused of helping hide Smart’s body, was found not guilty.
Paul Flores Now
Justice served is better late than never. Flores was always suspected of being responsible for the disappearance and assumed death of Kristen Smart. After his conviction, he was sent to Pleasant Valley State Prison, but after a few attacks from his fellow inmates, who made homemade weapons, he was transferred to the California State Prison in Corcoran to serve the rest of his sentence.
