|
A young woman vanishes from a college campus.
CASE DETAILS Eighteen year-old April Gregory and 19 year-old Kristin Smart never met. They were enrolled at different universities on opposite ends of the country. Yet within the same five hour period, they were both vanished with no warning and no explanation.  Why hadn’t Kristin called home? April Gregory took her schoolwork at Syracuse University very seriously. When she finished her freshman year, she immediately enrolled in the summer session. At 11:45 P.M., on May 24, 1996, April’s brother, Lamar, dropped her off at her dorm:
April walked up the steps, entered the doors under the watchful eyes of dorm officials, and went to her seventh floor room, then was never seen again. A short time later, police searched April’s room. They discovered that when she disappeared, she hadn’t finished unpacking. And in the closet, only one clue: her work uniform was missing. But April never arrived at work. April’s father, Herman, knew it could only be bad news:
 Paul Flores walked her home that night At almost the same moment that April Gregory disappeared, another young woman mysteriously vanished 3,000 miles away. Nineteen year-old Kristin Smart was a freshman at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo. About the time April should’ve been heading to work in New York, Kristin was returning to her dorm after a party. She wasn’t alone. Nineteen-year old Paul Flores was also a freshman at Cal Poly. He had offered to walk Kristin home after the party. An eyewitness saw Paul and Kristin on a street corner. Paul told police that Kristin went to her dorm, and he crossed the street to his. Denise Smart is Kristen’s mother:
 Police found clues in a dorm room Police and volunteers searched the campus for Kristin, but they didn’t find a clue. Then cadaver search dogs were taken through the dorms. According to Det. Sgt. Peter R. Bayer of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s office, the dogs earned their pay:
That male subject was Paul Flores. Det. Bayer said that authorities became suspicious of Flores’ statement that he and Kristin had gone home separately:
 Police became suspicious of Paul Flores Kristen’s mother Denise has not given up hope of finding Kristen alive. But she’s not optimistic:
April Gregory’s father is haunted by his daughter’s disappearance:
Update: In November of 1997, more than a year after she vanished, April Gregory’s former boyfriend was charged with her murder. Police claim that Terrance Evans killed April after an argument, dismembered her body, and then hid part of it in his house. The jury convicted Evans of second-degree murder. He is serving 25 years to life in prison. In April of 2021, Paul Flores was arrested in connection with Kristin Smart’s disappearance, booked for a single charge of murder. His father, Reuben Flores, has also been arrested on a single charge of being an accessory after the fact. On October 18th, 2022, Paul Flores was found guilty of murder in the first degree. His father, Ruben Flores, was found not guilty. In March of 2023, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Kristin Smart. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season nine with Robert Stack and in season four with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
martin
hehe
P F
It is unfortunate that Unsolved Mysteries did not give Kristin Smart’s case and the other girl’s case each the attention of a full story rather than combine them. Maybe with more time for more details in an Unsolved Mysteries broadcast, more people would have been compelled to come forward 20+ years ago to help solve this case back then. If you want a detailed, professionally produced account of Kristin’s case and what happened with the investigation of her disappearance and the 2022 court trials of Paul Flores and Ruben Flores, listen to Chris Lambert’s podcast called Your Own Backyard on Spotify., at iHeartradio.com, and maybe elsewhere. Lambert also has a Twitter account at https://twitter.com/YOBPodcast.
Unsolved
UPDATE! They arrested Paul Flores today
Eric
Why don’t Stella and any other atheists keep their non belief and hatred of God (That’s what atheism comes down to NOT their professed non belief in him. Nobody talks about God as much as an atheist. Why would you talk about something that you thought you was fictional? I don’t talk about Tinkerbell because Tinkerbell doesn’t matter and is fictional. God is real and matters more than anything.) to themselves and keep their hateful thoughts to themselves while someone is offering a prayer to God for closure? You think your hate is doing any good? Think again. Or maybe try thinking for the first time instead.
Mr. R
Why are you threatened by someone with an opinion different than yours? The person they were responding to was rambling off a bunch of religious mumbo jumbo that helps no one. If you really figure that the basis for atheism is a hatred for any higher power, you are a special kind of hypocrite, lecturing others that they need to “think”. Then again, hypocrisy is the foundation of religion so you’re just living up to the typical stereotype.
Anonymous
Back in May 1996, Kristin Denise Smart, 19, suddenly disappeared after an off-campus party. Despite a massive manhunt that included the likes of helicopters and horses, she was never found. Now, more than 20 years after she vanished, authorities revealed there was one place they forgot to check. This could change everything.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/more-20-years-after-kristin-smart-disappeared-authorities-just-made-shocking-revelation?Fb=wt
anonymous
This case is weird. Kristin was 6’1″. I believe she is in Flores yard…..All these sites about her and you can’t leave comments. I finally came across this site. Anyway… OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN, please solve this case . You are all powerful. May the person that did this come forward. GOD look what you did for Saw who became Paul, God look what you did to Jonah when he wouldn’t do what you asked him to do. , GOD whoever killed Kristin or knows what happen , please put a heavy burden on them to come forward. In JESUS name we pray . AMEN
Stella
Pls keep your religious ramblings off this board-no one really wants to hear it.
Valerie
I agree with Stella…. “God” has nothing to do with this…if there was a God why would he allow horrible things to happen to innocent people? And why do you religious zealots give praise for things you deem to be blessings….I.e. Remission after tge cancer, Sunshine after floods and rain after fire, but where is the logic? Who brought the cancer, the flood? Who brought the fire?
Jackie
Anyone can post a prayer. Don’t like it? Scroll on pass.
Anonymous
What a beautiful prayer- prayers for the family that they will solve this case!!
ginger
NEWEST UPDATE SAD TO SAY BUT :
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/10/remains-found-in-search-for-college-student-who-vanished-in-1996.html
ginger
NEW UPDATE :
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-starts-dig-seeking-calif-student-kristin-smart-missing-20-years/
no name
i just want to know what happened to kristinnnn so badlyy
PaulF
Duh. You & everyone else…
The murder
Hello
Case 1996
I am trying to solve this case and I was wondering if you know any very important details of this case anyone
Scott
I was a friend of Kristin’s while we were there. I don’t remember many of the details, or names and never knew what happened after she and her girl friends (one of which I was sort of seeing) went to the party on the same night she went missing. I didn’t find out she was missing until a week or so later.
What I know is that the friend I was seeing, was rude to her before they left together. Later that year she had two guys come to my room to threaten me in the middle of the night. And one other time she and the same two guys stopped me with their truck to say talk some more crap.
I can’t verify that Paul and Scott Peterson knew each other there and they were different in age, but not so different in their urges to kill. I want to know if they knew each other from a fraternity or anything like that because one of the two that came to my room was definitely older than myself or the other guy with him. I also never saw her friends name in any of the newspaper articles after that. She was the one that had told me about Kristin being missing. I wished at the time someone would’ve questioned me and that I could’ve possibly helped her family have some peace. She was a very nice person and trusted someone she shouldn’t have. I didn’t know Paul, or don’t remember him if I did, but it really sounds like he was stalking her, or her roommates/ friends. Also, from stories in Arroyo Grande, it sounds like he was no stranger to date rape after drugging women. And why the black eye the day after? Apparently he thought about how to get rid of the evidence after he almost got caught the first time. I would bet he and Scott Peterson had similar thoughts on that and that Kristin was buried in the Pacific Ocean and no one will find her as they got lucky in finding Laci so soon after she disappeared. They also both did it near national holidays to create a longer delay in it being called a missing persons case.
Glooscap
Scott probably murdered both women
Helene
Maybe it’s not too late to help. You can still contact the authorities and recall to them what you remember.
Lauren Loyson
Watching this on tv in South Africa right now….I cant believe that Paul got away with this. Its so clear that he is guilty. Its a shame that with all the technology and sciences available – that no one can come up with some actual physical evidence to pin him. As for his arrogant family, its a shame. Hope his day comes.
Anonymous
Dats a shame dey killed those young ladies. My heart goes out to their fsmily
this needs a end.
So sad that the cops can’t get this done. Why do the dogs hit on his room and his moms back yard. Get it together SLO. Please finish this and let the family try to get back to life the best they can. enough free time for Paul. Well other than his dui jail time. peace and love. Hope this is over soon.
Anonymous
Thank god there was an update on one girls. Very sad though in both cases. What did the police find in the dorm of that guy Paul??? This is my theroy on Kristin smart she went to the party. Walked back to the dorm with that guy Paul. He offered for her to come to his dorm room. She probably agreed giving she was feeling pretty good at the time. When they got there he tried to put the moves on her. She probably said no and then he presisted. Then that’s when things turned ugly. He probably forced his way on her and killed by accident or in the heat of the moment. He then got rid of her body. He then lied to police about her walking back to her dorm. He did it… Its so sad but true. My heart goes out to both families.