Kristin Smart murder trial: Woman testifies she was sexually assaulted by suspect Paul Flores

SALINAS, Calif. – The high-profile Kristin Smart murder trial continued in a Salinas courtroom on Wednesday as a witness took the stand detailing how defendant Paul Flores sexually assaulted her in 2008.

Flores is accused of killing Smart, who was a 19-year-old Cal Poly student at the time of her disappearance in May 1996, because he was reportedly the last one to see her alive after an off-campus party that spring. Paul's father, Ruben Flores, is charged as an accessory to the crime.

On Wednesday, a Southern California woman identified as "Rhonda Doe" took the stand to describe a meeting with Paul Flores in January 2008 outside of a Redondo Beach bar called the Thirsty Club.

Flores and Doe walked to his home nearby before they were supposed to go to her house to meet up with friends, Doe said. Soon after they entered the house, Flores gave Doe a glass of water.

While on a tour of the house a little bit later, Doe remembered going into his bedroom and then lost her memory.

She did remember, however, going in and out of consciousness and waking up being sexually assaulted by Flores, she said. In graphic detail, Doe described the assault while on the stand.

San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle asked multiple times if she gave consent. She said she did not.

Later that night, Flores drove her home. Peuvrelle asked Doe what her level of awareness was during the walk to the Flores residence, and she said she was very aware, adding that her memory was clear up to the point she drank the glass of water that Flores gave her.

When asked how certain she was that it was Flores who assaulted her, Doe responded, "I am certain. There's something in his eyes that leads me to certainty."

Doe said that she did not report the assault to the police because she was confused and she felt that rape cases don't go to trial.

Then, in 2021, Doe saw a picture of Flores in a news story on her phone and said she was shocked and in disbelief, believing it was the same man who had assaulted her 13 years earlier. It was at that point that she contacted the police, she said.

Under cross-examination, defense attorney Robert Sanger asked where she has lived over the past few years, and she said that she lived in the Southern California area.

She said that she lived in Grover Beach in 1996 and 1997 while she attended Cal Poly. Sanger asked her how close her home in Grover Beach was to the Village of Arroyo Grande, and she said it was just a few minutes away.

Doe also said that she had heard about Smart's disappearance since she was at Cal Poly, but did not recall hearing Paul Flores' name during her time at school.

Later in the day, District Attorney's Office investigator JT Camp returned to the witness stand. Camp has testified multiple times during the now six-week long trial.

During questioning, Camp detailed some of his investigation, including trips to Southern California and to the Cal Poly campus.

He was asked about distances between locations, including Cal Poly and Arroyo Grande, as well as the two dormitories where Smart and Flores lived in 1996.

Court ended about two hours early around 2:20 p.m. and is scheduled to resume at 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning.