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A Californian man suspects authorities of killing Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old student who disappeared 25 years ago, and her father can stand trial for her presumed death after prosecutors presented sufficient evidence, said a judge Wednesday.
Paul Flores, 44, is charged with first degree murder in connection with the alleged murder of Smart in 1996 after an off-campus party at the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo, 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Prosecutors said he killed Smart while trying to rape her in her dorm.
Her father, Ruben Flores, 80, helped dispose of her body, authorities said. He is accused of aiding and abetting murder.
THE BODY OF 19-YEAR-OLD KRISTIN SMART, WHICH DISAPPEARED IN 1996 MAY HAVE BEEN “RECENTLY” MOVED FROM UNDER HOUSE: REPORT
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office
Wednesday’s decision closed a 22-day preliminary hearing that included testimony from witnesses, experts and detectives.
In a tweet, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said a “judge has determined that sufficient evidence has been presented for the two to stand trial.”
“We continue to support Kristin Smart’s family as we work for justice,” he wrote.
Harold Mesick, lawyer for Ruden Flores, told Fox News his client plans to plead not guilty to the charges against him when he appeared on October 20.
“There is a very low burden at a preliminary hearing and apparently the judge thinks the prosecution respected it,” he said.
Fox News has also contacted Paul Flores’ attorney and a representative of the Smart family.
Paul and Ruben Flores were arrested in April in connection with Smart’s disappearance. She was declared legally dead in 2002. Authorities said Paul Flores, who was a 19-year-old freshman at the time, escorted Smart home on May 25, 1996 and was the last person seen with her. .
This undated photo released by the FBI shows Kristin Smart, of the California State Polytechnic University, a student from San Luis Obispo who disappeared in 1996. On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Paul and Ruben Flores could stand trial for her presumed death. (FBI via AP, file)
(FBI via AP)
He has been accused by several women of sexual assault and other types of predatory behavior in the years since Smart’s disappearance.
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During the hearing, investigators said they believed Smart’s body may have been buried behind Ruben Flores’ house and then moved. Traces of human blood were found under the bridge along with stains in the ground and a disturbance of the earth the size of a human body, witnesses said.
With a lack of DNA, “nothing definitively links it to Ms. Smart,” the judge said, but this leads to “a strong suspicion that these were Ms. Smart’s remains.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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