You're listening to a special bonus series of the your own backyard podcast titled people versus Flores, a weekly recap of the murder trial of Paul and Ruben Flores.
Since filming and audio recording aren't currently allowed inside the courtroom, these episodes will recount handwritten notes taken by host Chris Lambert, breaking from our typical documentary format in an effort to get updates out as regularly and succinctly as possible.
These recaps will likely contain subject matter that may be graphic and disturbing to some listeners.
Listener discretion is advised.
In August 2021, San Luis Obispo Superior Courthouse hosted a preliminary hearing where a judge would determine whether the district attorney's office had enough evidence to hold over Paul and Ruben Flores for a trial.
Paul was charged with murdering Kristen Smart after walking her home from a party in 1996, and his father, Reuben, was charged with helping to dispose of her body after the fact.
Preliminary hearings in California usually last between an hour and a few days.
The prosecution asked the court for twelve days to present their case.
In the end, the preliminary lasted a mind numbing 22 days and covered the testimony of 31 witnesses.
In this context, the word witness doesnt mean they witnessed the actual crime taking place, only that they testified to some aspect of the prosecutions case, from people who saw Kristen Smart and Paul Flores together on the night she disappeared to the forensic serologist who said that soil samples taken from under Reuben Flores's deck in 2021 tested positive for the presence of human blood, blood that was too old and degraded to yield a DNA sample.
During the course of the preliminary hearing, defense attorneys filed a motion to recuse the entire district attorney's office for wearing purple ties to court several times during the first two weeks of hearings.
Purple was Kristen Smart's favorite color, and Paul Flores's defense attorney, Robert Sanger, argued that it was a concerted effort to show solidarity with the smart family and a dog whistle to supporters who wanted to see Paul Flores convicted of murder.
Judge Craig Van Royan denied that motion.
Sanger then sent a letter to the California attorney general's office, who sent a representative to San Luis Obispo to argue that the defense had not met their burden of proof to show that the DA's office was biased against their clients.
Expressing support of a victim, said Deputy Attorney General Seth McCutcheon, is in the realm of prosecutorial discretion.
At the end of the prelim on day 22, Judge Van Royan ruled that enough evidence had been presented to hold over the Floreses for a murder trial.
Ruben Flores, 80 years old and facing a maximum of three years in prison if convicted was allowed to return home with an ankle monitor and instructed not to leave San Luis Obispo County.
Paul Flores remained in jail without bail despite Sanger's request that he be released until the trial.
In his ruling, Judge Van Royan said that the prosecution had presented enough evidence to create a strong suspicion that the defendants are responsible for the crimes they have been charged with, as well as a strong suspicion that a human burial site existed underneath the deck of Reuben Flores house and a strong suspicion that they were the remains of Kristen Smarteenen.
Following the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, Paul Flores, defense attorney, filed a 995 motion challenging the judges ruling and requesting that it be reviewed by another judge.