Kristin Smart Murder: Paul Flores sentencing on track for March 10
SALINAS, Calif. – Paul Flores appeared in a Monterey County courtroom Thursday, and a judge said his scheduled sentencing for the Kristin Smart murder will proceed as planned.
Paul Flores, his defense team, and the prosecution were on Zoom for Thursday's hearing.
Flores' sentencing is scheduled for March 10.
During Thursday's hearing, Judge Jennifer O'Keefe asked the defense and prosecution teams for an update ahead of that court date.
Attorney Chris Peuvrelle said the prosecution team is good to go with the hearing.
Retired Santa Barbara County Judge, Frank Ochoa, was in for Paul Flores' defense attorney, Robert Sanger, who was in Los Angeles for another trial.
Ochoa said a motion for a new trial has not been filed yet, but will be filed on time. According to the California Rules of court, that deadline is 10 days before sentencing.
Judge O'Keefe said the sentencing in March will proceed.
Peuvrelle said he doesn't want to push the sentencing back any farther and said Sanger has had plenty of time to file a motion for a new trial.
The judge asked the defense and prosecution teams to avoid any more delays unless it is necessary.
O'Keefe also said she reviewed a probation report that was more than 100 pages long and detailed Paul Flores' behavior and other information about him.
She asked the defense and prosecution teams to review the documents.
The sentencing has already been pushed back. It was originally scheduled for last December, but Judge O'Keefe approved a motion from the defense to delay sentencing to a later date.
A jury convicted Flores last October for the murder of Kristin Smart.
On October 18, 2022, Flores was found guilty of the 1996 killing of the Cal Poly student.
Flores and Smart attended the same off-campus party that night, before she disappeared.
Flores was the last person to see her alive.
Smart's body was never found.
Paul Flores' father, Ruben Flores, was tried at the same time. He was charged with being an accessory to the crime. A separate jury found Ruben Flores not guilty.
The sentencing is scheduled for March 10 at 9 a.m. in Salinas. Your News Channel will have a crew in court when the sentencing happens and will bring updates as they come in.
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