In a brief hearing Friday morning, Judge Jacquelyn Duffy denied a defense motion to dismiss the murder case against Paul Flores, who is accused of killing Kristin Smart.
The court motion to dismiss the case was filed last month by Flores’ lawyers, Robert Sanger and Sarah Sanger, and it argues the case against Flores lacks credible evidence.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office filed an opposition Monday, arguing against the motion and relying on San Luis Obispo Superior Court Jude Craig Van Rooyen’s September ruling after a a 22-day preliminary hearing of evidence and arguments.
The defense responded to the opposition Wednesday.
Flores is accused of killing Smart while they were both students at Cal Poly in 1996. Flores was the last person seen with Smart after an off-campus party in San Luis Obispo and has long been a person-of-interest in the case.
He was arrested for her murder in April 2021. Ruben Flores, his father, is charged with accessory after the fact. A body has never been found.
A pre-trial conference was scheduled to be held on Feb. 2 at 8:30 a.m. The case is scheduled to go to trial on April 25.
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