Parties are accused of murder and accessory to murder of 19-year-old Kristin Smart

SAN LUIS OBISPO — San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow and the District Attorney’s office filed a felony criminal complaint against Paul Flores (44) and his father Ruben Flores (80) on Wednesday, Apr. 14.

They both are on the San Luis Obispo Superior Court calendar to be arraigned this morning at 8:30 a.m.

The lead prosecutor on the team will be Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle who stated at Wednesday’s press conference that the DA’s office will be requesting a higher bail amount for Ruben Flores which is currently set at $250,000. Paul Flores is held on zero bail for felony murder.

It is customary that legal counsel for both Paul Flores and Ruben Flores will announce how they intend to plea to the charges brought against them for the murder of Kristin Smart.

The charge against Paul Flores is the murder of Kristin Smart. It is alleged that Flores caused Smart’s death while in the commission of or attempted rape, which is first-degree murder under California law.

Ruben Flores is charged with accessory after the fact to murder; it is alleged that he helped to conceal Smart’s body after the murder was committed.

Kristin Smart was a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman who was in the last few months of her freshman year at Cal Poly. Smart was last seen on May 25, 1996, at approximately 2 a.m. near Perimeter and Grand Avenue’s intersection on the Cal Poly campus as she walked home to her dorm from an off-campus party. Smart was last seen with Paul Flores, who at the time was a 19-year-old male Cal Poly freshman who walked home from a party with her. 

Coverage of the arraignment: No Plea Entered, Arraignment Continued to Monday, Apr. 19 in Smart Case