Cal Poly issues apology to family of Kristin Smart 27 years after she went missing on college campus

California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) issued an apology to the family of Kristin Smart for the first time since she went missing on the college campus 27 years ago.

The Stockton native disappeared on Cal Poly’s campus in 1996 and after campus police refused to file a missing persons report, the school told her family she had just gone camping.

In March, Paul Flores was jailed for 25 years for the student’s murder.

The polytechnic school has now issued an apology to the family, with President Jeffrey D. Armstrong, writing: ‘We are very sorry for what the Smart family has endured. What they have been through is unimaginably heartbreaking, and I feel for them in ways I can’t express with words.

‘While it is a different administration now than was in place in 1996, we recognize that things should had been done differently – and I personally wish that they had.’

Kristin Smart disappeared on Cal Poly’s campus in 1996 and after campus police refused to file a missing persons report, the school told her family she had just gone camping. Earlier this year, Paul Flores was convicted of her murder

Now, the polytechnic school has issued an apology to the family for the first time, with President Jeffrey D. Armstrong, writing: ‘We are very sorry for what the Smart family has endured. What they have been through is unimaginably heartbreaking, and I feel for them in ways I can’t express with words.

Armstrong went on to say that ‘Kristin’s story is something that is always with us and weighs heavy on our hearts’ and that the school is ‘determined to do all we can to help ensure the safety of all our students now and in the future.’

‘While we will never be able to control what an individual with bad intent decides to do, we are constantly working to help ensure things like this don’t happen again at Cal Poly,’ he wrote.

‘Cal Poly places the utmost priority on the safety of its campus community members. The university has robust programming aimed at providing public safety services to all of our students, employees and visitors.’

Smart disappeared in 1996. The case remained unsolved for decades, but a 2020 true crime podcast jolted local police.

Flores, now 46, was also a students at California Polytech University in San Luis Obispo.

While police have never found her remains, they believe Flores raped her in his dorm room then murdered her.

Smart left an off-campus party on May 25, 1996 at about 2am, accompanied by Flores.

He claimed he walked her as far as her dorm, but she was never seen again.

In March, Paul Flores was jailed for 25 years for the student’s murder

Smart and Flores were both students at California Polytech University in San Luis Obispo. Flores, now 46, was arrested as a result. While police have never found her remains, they believe Flores raped her in his dorm room then murdered her

A missing persons report was filed three days later.

Friends said she was intoxicated and Flores repeatedly said he would escort her home.

He was identified as a ‘person of interest’ early in the case, but to this day insists he is innocent.

On Friday, the judge said he was a dangerous predator.

‘This predatory behavior has spanned your adult life, Judge Jennifer O’Keefe said.

‘You deserve to spend very day you have left behind bars.

‘Mr. Flores, you have been a cancer to society.

Smart left an off-campus party on May 25, 1996 at around 2am, accompanied by Flores. He claimed he walked her as far as her dorm, but she was never seen again. A missing persons report was filed three days later

Friends said she was intoxicated and Flores repeatedly said he would escort her home

‘For 25 years you have lived free in the community’ and continued to drug and assault women, she said, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

Flores was ordered to pay a total of $10,000 in restitution to his victims. He must also register as a sex offender for life, as he assaulted and killed Smart with the ‘purpose of sexual gratification and sexual compulsion,’ O’Keefe said.

Flores and his father, Ruben, were both charged in connection with her death. Prosecutors say Ruben helped his son by stashing Smart’s body under their backyard deck for years.

The pair are suspected of moving her remains once suspicion started growing in 2020.

Flores was found guilty of murder in October last year.

A jury found Flores guilty of first-degree murder in October. A separate jury acquitted Ruben Flores, 81, of being an accessory.

Cal Poly’s full statement

First, it must be said that I can’t imagine the pain and hurt Kristin’s family has felt and still feels.

We are very sorry for what the Smart family has endured. What they have been through is unimaginably heartbreaking, and I feel for them in ways I can’t express with words. While it is a different administration now than was in place in 1996, we recognize that things should had been done differently — and I personally wish that they had.

On behalf of Cal Poly leadership, I can say that as people who live in this community with families and human emotions ourselves, Kristin’s story is something that is always with us and weighs heavy on our hearts. Her story continues to be a part of the Cal Poly story, and we are determined to do all we can to help ensure the safety of all our students now and in the future.

While we will never be able to control what an individual with bad intent decides to do, we are constantly working to help ensure things like this don’t happen again at Cal Poly. Cal Poly places the utmost priority on the safety of its campus community members. The university has robust programming aimed at providing public safety services to all of our students, employees and visitors.

We abide by the Kristin Smart Campus Security Act and the Clery Act — maintaining agreements to report relevant cases to local law enforcement and providing annual crime report statistics for public information.

The POST-certified Cal Poly Police Department is charged with maintaining the safety of our campus and providing education outreach around crime prevention.

We have robust Title IX programming through the Civil Rights and Compliance Office (CRCO), working under mandates of federal law and CSU executive order. This includes investigative programming as well as education and preventative outreach.

After Kristin Smart’s disappearance, we created the Safer program to provide advocacy; confidential resources; and training, workshops and proactive outreach on the topics of sexual misconduct, domestic violence, and stalking.

Departments across campus work closely to examine potential public safety issues in the physical campus, such as lighting and access, to address and prioritize issues as they arise.

And as with all aspects of our campus community, we examine all of these programs and procedures on an ongoing basis, with an eye toward continual improvement.