Paul Flores was the last person seen with a very intoxicated Smart on May 25, 1996, as he helped walk her to her dorm at California Polytechnic State University after a party, witnesses said. Prosecutors presented evidence that Smart’s body was once buried under a deck shielded by lattice behind Ruben Flores’s home. But van Rooyen said there was probable cause, a lesser standard of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt, which prosecutors will have to prove at trial. Three days after Smart disappeared, Flores had a black eye that he told police he got playing basketball. Van Rooyen said Flores’ comments about the black eye showed a “consciousness of guilt.”William Hanley, head of the district attorney’s investigative bureau in 1996, said Flores eventually stopped cooperating with authorities.

Source: thestar September 22, 2021 04:41 UTC