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Defense attorney for Kristin Smart’s alleged killer has asked convicted killer Scott Peterson to testify based on a tenuous connection that he may have known her in college.
Paul and Ruben Flores are charged with the disappearance and murder of Smart in 1996. During preliminary hearings, their defense team tied Peterson – who was sentenced to death in 2005 for the murder of his wife Laci and their child unborn – to Smart, noting that they both frequented California. Polytechnic State University in the 1990s.
Lawyers for the Flores family have questioned former Cal Poly Campus Police investigator Lawrence Kennedy on why authorities failed to prosecute other potential Smart-related suspects, KEYT reported.
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Smart was last seen with Paul Flores on his way home from a party on May 25, 1996, when they were both in freshmen. When the party ended around 2:30 a.m., Flores returned with Smart, who was drunk, and one of her friends to Smart’s dorm, the store reported.
Prosecutors say Flores killed Smart after attempting to rape her in her dorm. The case remained cold for more than two decades, but investigators raided Flores’ home last year and arrested him in April.
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Prosecutors also alleged that Ruben Flores, Paul’s father, helped his son bury Smart’s body in his backyard. They claim blood was discovered under the Ruben Flores Bridge in an area where the ground had recently been disturbed.
Linking Peterson to Smart seems like a desperate ploy and tenuous at best, according to some legal experts: The court is unlikely to summon Peterson from jail without proof he was aware of Smart’s disappearance, KTVU reported.
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Legal analyst Michael Cardoza noted that Peterson could take the Fifth Amendment, and a judge would then prevent testimony.
“You cannot call a witness to the stand in a trial that is going to take the Fifth Amendment,” Cardoza explained. “A judge would prevent that because it would create the illusion that the person taking the fifth actually committed the crime. So they won’t be allowed to testify.”
The defense team has yet to provide evidence that Peterson is directly related to the case, and Cardoza said a judge and district attorney would likely block the petition.
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The preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue on Monday. Paul Flores has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Paul Best of Fox News contributed to this report.
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