Kristin Smart case opens in Salinas with father, son on trial in death



















Kristin Smart went missing in 1996 and was declared dead in 2002. Now a father and son are going to trial, and public access is extremely limited.

Kristin Smart was an adventurous and ambitious college student who dreamed of traveling the world before she disappeared without a trace while walking back to her dorm room one chilly night in 1996.

Now 26 years later, a trial is set to begin Monday for one of Kristin’s fellow students and his father. Paul Flores is accused of killing Kristin during a rape or attempted rape in his dorm room. His father, Ruben Flores, is charged with helping his son get rid of her body. They have pleaded not guilty.