Paul Flores sentenced for killing Kristin Smart
A major milestone in a more than 25 year old murder case, the case of Kristen Smart. She's the Stockton native and student who disappeared while attending college on the Central Coast. The man convicted of killing her was sentenced to day. Tonight we hear from her family and find out why the case isn't closed yet. Today is a day not really of joy, it's a day of relief. That Kristen's voice was heard. We are very fortunate that her voice was heard today, but it's not the voice any parent hopes to hear on the courtroom steps or in a courtroom.
Paul Flores is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The sentencing comes about five months after a jury found Flores guilty of killing 19 year old Kristen Smart. Her family spoke after the sentencing today, where her father stands smart, thank police and the community for their support. We're not happy because we don't have our daughter. We don't know where her remains are and so as the judge pointed out, you know, it's a sentence but it doesn't bring back your loved one. In that aspect, Kristen's father says they don't have closure. She disappeared in 1996 while attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Flores was one of the last people seen with her. California has enacted earlier parole and is paroling more and more murders. So realistically in about 15 years you might be eligible for parole. I will personally appear at every single parole hearing as long as I'm alive. The trial had been held in Salinas where a jury found Flores guilty of first degree murder in October. A separate jury acquitted Ruben Flores, Paul's father, of being an accessory. A renewed attention to Smart's case emerged from a podcast launched in 2019 by journalist Chris Lambert titled Your Own Backyard.
He was also at today's sentencing. I was eight years old when she went missing. This has been my entire life. It is obviously the best possible outcome short of finding Kristen. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson says he agrees with today's sentencing in Smart's murder, saying in a statement, quote, it was a long time coming but it is a decision that is right and just. Our thoughts now are with the Smart family. Her voice was heard and that brings us a sense of peace knowing that there will be no more victims.
Sheriff Parkinson says the case is not over yet, not until Kristen's remains have been found and returned to her family. The district attorney's office says they will continue to look for her body. Smart was declared dead by authorities in 2002.
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