A San Luis Obispo County decide has ordered the homicide trial of Paul Flores within the 1996 disappearance of scholar Kristin Good be moved 150 miles north to Monterey County, saying that Flores couldn't be assured a good trial in a spot the place for many years billboards have appealed for proof to convict her killer.
Decide Craig van Rooyen introduced the situation shift Wednesday after agreeing with a movement final month by attorneys for Flores and his father, Ruben — who's charged as an accent to the crime — to maneuver the trial due to the a long time of publicity surrounding the disappearance of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo scholar.
The choice to shift the situation is predicted to delay the trial, which might have gotten underway subsequent month. A protection lawyer for Paul Flores has additionally mentioned he has but to obtain all of the forensic soil samples gathered within the investigation.
Flores was arrested in April 2021 at his San Pedro house, practically 25 years after Good vanished. The 19-year-old was final seen strolling with him close to residence halls after attending a celebration within the early hours of Could 25, 1996. Each had been Cal Poly college students on the time. Whereas Good’s physique has by no means been discovered, she was legally declared lifeless in 2002.
In September, after listening to 22 days of testimony, the decide dominated there was sufficient proof for the Floreses to be tried. Prosecutors laid out a circumstantial case in opposition to the pair.
Throughout the preliminary listening to, the prosecutor solicited testimony from witness Jennifer Hudson that the now 44-year-old Flores admitted the crime to her in 1996.
“I’m accomplished enjoying together with her, and I put her out beneath my ramp,” Hudson testified that Flores advised her. However she didn’t inform anybody of these phrases for years and solely knowledgeable the lead investigator within the case in 2019.
Good had handed out at a celebration for 2 hours in full view of many, and two buddies had been holding her to stroll her house when Flores “got here out of the darkness” and repeatedly advised a type of buddies that he would get her house safely.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Chris Peuvrelle elicited testimony that he mentioned exhibits the now 80-year-old Ruben Flores hid Good’s physique, ultimately shifting it after years of holding a few of the stays beneath a deck at his Arroyo Grande house.
A geologist testified that in one of many holes that was dug on the house, there was an absence of consistency within the sandy soil and a “bathtub ring” alongside the aspect of the wall, which she mentioned was a “good indication” of a human burial website whose contents had been later eliminated. Fibers recovered additionally may very well be per the garments Good was final seen carrying, one other skilled testified.
However Paul Flores’ legal professional Robert Sanger mentioned these fibers may very well be pink development string.
Paul Flores’ ex-girlfriend, recognized as Angie Doe, mentioned she as soon as tried to choose an avocado from the yard at his father’s house.
“I don’t keep in mind if it was Mr. [Paul] Flores or Ruben, however they redirected me away from the avocado bushes,” she mentioned. “They advised me to return round [the house] and get away from that space.” A renter of the house advised the same story.
Sanger has mentioned that “there was no constant idea” about the place Good’s physique went and no proof of what occurred to her. Throughout the preliminary listening to, he famous that a former boyfriend had left burned sneakers on her doorstep.
Throughout the listening to, prosecutors had a classmate testify that Paul Flores lied a couple of black eye he had claimed to have gotten in a basketball sport. One other lady testified she noticed him hanging round Good’s dormitory though he claimed to have by no means been there.
Prosecutors additionally portrayed Paul Flores as a serial predator who “has raped so many ladies, it’s arduous to maintain monitor.”
The decide, nonetheless, didn't permit testimony about different allegations of sexual assaults and drugging of ladies and rejected a transfer so as to add rape costs from 2011 and 2017 involving two girls in Los Angeles.
The prosecutor argued that there was a nexus to the homicide cost in opposition to Flores as a result of, he mentioned, Flores had a historical past of raping girls who had been both drunk or intoxicated. Van Rooyen mentioned there isn't a proof of a intercourse crime in Good’s killing and the proof from the Los Angeles incidents can't be used in its place.
Paul Flores stays in custody, whereas Ruben Flores is free on bail. A brand new trial date is predicted to be set at a listening to subsequent week.
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