Paul Flores’ hopes to overturn murder conviction dashed

January 14, 2026

Paul Flores and Robert Sanger, photo by Dave Minsky

By KAREN VELIE

Paul Flores’ hopes that the California Supreme Court would overturn his murder conviction were dashed Wednesday when the court denied his petition for review.

A jury in 2022 found that Flores murdered Kristin Smart during an attempted rape following a 1996 frat party held near the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe sentenced Flores to 25 years to life in prison in March 2023.

The primary suspect in the case, Flores, was sporting a black eye when first interviewed by law enforcement who determined he lied repeatedly. Even so, it would be years before Flores faced charges.

Kristin Smart

In his appeal for a new hearing filed in Oct. 2024, Flores accuses the trial court judge of violating his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by repeatedly declining to remove a juror “who had lost her ability to remain neutral and abide by her oath,” for allowing victims of other alleged rapes to testify and for allowing evidence of intoxication and rape at his trial.

Flores lost his appeal for a new hearing on Oct. 24.

In their lengthy decision, the appellate court judges detail the evidence against Flores, including interviews, soil samples, searches by dogs trained and certified in the detection of human remains, and wiretaps.

In response to Flores’ argument that the trial court denied him his rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments by refusing to dismiss a juror, the appellate court dismissed his arguments.

Flores also argued in his appeal that the prosecutor committed misconduct by misusing evidence admitted for a limited purpose to advance an improper character inference.

Two witnesses testified Flores drugged and raped them. The appellate court found that there was ample evidence that he had a propensity for raping women that he knew were too intoxicated to resist.

After Flores lost his appeal for a new hearing, on Dec. 1, Flores’ attorney filed a petition for review with the California Supreme Court.

Following two attempts on his life, Flores is currently incarcerated at California State Prison in Corcoran, a high security facility.

After serving 15 years, in 2036 Flores will be eligible for a parole board review. It is unlikely he will be paroled unless he admits his crime and discloses the location of Smart’s remains.

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