A former roommate of Kristin Smart testified Monday in court that it was “very out of character” for the Cal Poly student to suddenly disappear.
Crystal Teschendorf spoke on the stand in Monterey County Superior Court as the Smart murder trial progressed with more witness testimony. Court proceedings resumed in Monterey County Superior Court after a second delay in the trial of Paul and Ruben Flores, who have been charged in connection to Smart’s death.
Paul Flores, 45, is accused of killing of 19-year-old Smart, who disappeared after leaving an off-campus party in May 1996. His 81-year-old father, Ruben Flores, is accused of helping hide her body. The two were arrested in April 2021.
The trial against the Flores men, which is expected to last four months, began in Salinas in July after San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen ruled they would likely not receive a fair trial in San Luis Obispo.
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe is presiding over the case. Testimony so far has included comments from Smart’s parents, Denise and Stan Smart, and her siblings, Matt and Lindsey Smart.
People who attended the party that Smart was at before she vanished have also taken the stand. On Monday, jurors were expected to hear evidence from the time of Smart’s disappearance, including testimony from partygoers.
SLO Investigator Describes House Where Kristin Smart Attended Party
The trial kicked off on Monday with testimony from James Camp, assistant chief investigator for the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office. Camp, who attended Cal Poly just before Smart, told the jury Monday morning about the Crandall Way house where Smart was seen at a party on the night of her disappearance, describing its layout and location.
Camp also described the path Smart is believed to have taken back to her Cal Poly residence hall from the house, and showed jurors maps of the areas.
During cross examination, defense attorney Robert Sanger attempted to cast doubt on the path the prosecution has proposed Smart traveled following the house party. He also implied the District Attorney’s Office had not attempted to “exonerate” Paul Flores during its investigation.
“Part of your job is to exonerate people,” Sanger asked, to which Camp responded in the affirmative. “You didn’t try to exonerate Paul Flores, did you?” The prosecution objected, and Sanger switched tactics asking what steps Camp took to exonerate Paul Flores. Camp responded that investigators followed evidence and came to conclusions on what it meant, as well as reviewing reports regarding suspects.
The trial paused for morning recess around 10:25 a.m. and resumed shortly after with more cross examination from Sanger.
Former Roommate Testifies About Night of Cal Poly Student’s Disappearance
Next to the stand was Smart’s former roommate, Crystal Teschendorf, née Calvin, who described living with Smart leading up to the night of the disappearance. Teschendorf said she didn’t know Smart very well during the three months they lived together because they had different majors and friend groups, and didn’t do a lot outside of the dorms together.
On the night of May 24, 1996, Teschendorf said she and her friends, including Jana Schrock, were getting ready in her dorm to go to parties “like any other freshman.” Smart, who appeared to be in a good mood, said she was going to a party on Crandall Way and the pair talked about whether they would end up at the same party, Teschendorf testified Monday. Teschendorf testified that she and her friends told Smart they likely would not run into each other that night, because they were going to different parties.
Teschendorf said she last saw Smart around 8 p.m., when she left the dorm to go out. Teschendorf and Schrock returned to the dorm sometime between midnight and 1 a.m., Teschendorf testified, and she grabbed what she needed to go stay at her boyfriend’s dorm room for the night. Schrock stayed and slept in Teschendorf’s bed, she said.
The next morning when she returned, Teschendorf noticed that Smart’s red backpack that she “took everywhere with her” and her keys and ID were still in the room. Schrock had also not seen Smart return to the dorm, Teschendorf said.
Teschendorf said that seemed unusual especially considering Smart had not told her she would not be home that night. On a previous occasion, Smart told Teschendorf in advance that she would not being saying in their room overnight, Teschendorf said.
After discussing the situation, Teschendorf said she and others felt the need to reach out to law enforcement. She said a student who lived across the hall from her made the call to law enforcement on Sunday.
After getting no response, Teschendorf said another call was made to law enforcement on Tuesday when Smart didn’t show up for classes after the Memorial Day holiday weekend ended.
“It had been four evenings, and she had never done anything like that when she lived with me,” Teschendorf said. “It was very out of character for her.”
Teschendorf said she stayed at the dorm at least one night between Saturday and Tuesday, and was there most of the time during the day. During that time, Smart’s items remained unmoved, she said. During cross examination, Sanger asked if Smart often forgot her key and had to be let in by a resident adviser, which Teschendorf did not recall — it was 25 years ago, she said.
When showed a 1996 statement where she did say Smart would forget her key, Teschendorf said she believes the statement she made at that time. When showed another previous statement that had her saying Smart would often stay out for a 24-hour period, however, Teschendorf said she does not believe it was accurately taken down by investigators.
“I just don’t believe I would have used the phrase 24-hour period as an 18-year-old,” she said. Teschendorf said sometimes Smart would stay in another dorm, but she would always know when Smart would be doing that, and she would always return the next day.
Friend of Smart Takes the Stand
Steven Fleming, one of Smart’s friends at Muir Hall, testified next.
He said he met Smart at the beginning of the school year during freshman move-in, and the two often talked when they saw each other. They also had a class together. Fleming was a basketball player for Cal Poly at the time, so he didn’t have a lot of free time to spend with friends until the season ended in February, he said. Once the season ended, he was able to talk and study with Smart more, he said.
“If you knew her and you were her friend, you’d get this big grin,” Fleming testified. “She was just lively — that was the good thing about her, she was alive.”
Paul Flores would often “follow” Smart, Fleming said, and was often seen in Muir Hall alone late at night, even though he did not live there.
“Everyone in the dorms, they were weirded out by Paul,” Fleming said. Fleming said he could tell Flores made Smart feel uncomfortable by her body language, and said that though it seemed like Flores was always around, he was not in Smart’s circle of friends.
Fleming said he mostly knew about Flores because of what women said about him, he testified. He said he once saw Flores in Smart’s room, standing a few feet inside her doorway, and Smart was standing over by her desk looking uncomfortable.
“He was between her and the only escape route,” Fleming said. Fleming said he did not recognize signs he should have at the time because he was 18 years old, and had a big ego. Looking back as a 46-year-old with law enforcement experience, Fleming said, he recognizes that he should have reported Flores or done something to step in.
In his cross examination, Sanger alleged Fleming only knew about Flores after Flores became publicly known as the last person to see Smart. Fleming denied this, and said he knew Flores’ name because women at Cal Poly who confided in him before Smart went missing. Sanger moved quickly through questions about an 1999 FBI interview with Fleming and a 2021 interview between Fleming and SLO County investigators.
The defense attorney said he plans to revisit the interviews Tuesday morning when court resumes. Other witnesses are also expected to testify Tuesday.
Before court was adjourned, O’Keefe reminded jurors to not talk about the case with anyone else, including each other. She said they need to end conversations about the case if they come up, and to avoid any outside information, including news or social media posts.
“All these things are critically important to make sure all the hard work you have done, and the parties have done, does not get undone,” she said. The trial is expected to last until October.
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