Authorities search home connected to 1996 killing of college student Kristin Smart

Authorities plan Thursday to enter the second day of their search of a home connected to the man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996, according to law enforcement. The San Luis Obispo county sheriff’s office served the warrant Wednesday in the continuing investigation into Smart’s disappearance. Her remains were never found and she was declared legally dead in 2002. Paul Flores was convicted in October 2022 and ultimately sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Law enforcement searched a home in the central coast town of Arroyo Grande occupied by Flores’ mother, Susan Flores, according to public records and reporting by a podcast that has closely followed the case. “The Sheriff’s office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family,” the sheriff’s statement said. “No further information is available.” The Your Own Backyard podcast, which helped investigators crack the case by bringing forward additional witnesses, first reported the search and said the home belongs to Flores’ mother. Attempts to reach Susan Flores for comment Wednesday were not successful. Smart went missing from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996 after returning from an off-campus party. Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Flores, a fellow student. Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested in 2021. …