Paul Flores, convicted of murdering Kristin Smart, a college student missing for 25 years, was hospitalized after a prison attack.
The incident took place at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, where Flores was serving his sentence, and he was subsequently transported to an external hospital in serious condition.
California Department of Corrections Keeps Attack Details Confidential
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has not officially confirmed the details of the attack, citing an ongoing investigation.
Flores’s attorney, Harold Mesick, revealed that he received notification from corrections officials about the assault, though specific information about the attack remains undisclosed. Mesick expressed his hopes for Flores’s recovery but refrained from providing additional comments on the matter.
Prior to this incident, Flores had been relocated from North Kern State Prison to Pleasant Valley State Prison just a week earlier. North Kern serves as a reception and processing center for inmates before their allocation to other facilities.
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Prosecutors Accuse Flores in Smart’s Dorm Death
In March, Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of Kristin Smart, who went missing in 1996 from California Polytechnic State University. Despite her remains never being found, she was declared legally deceased in 2002.
Prosecutors alleged that Flores, now 46 years old, killed Smart during an attempted rape within his dormitory room at the university. Flores was the last person seen with Smart, escorting her back from an off-campus party on the evening of May 25, 1996.
The legal proceedings took a turn in 2021 when Flores was apprehended, along with his father, under accusations of concealing Smart’s body.
In October of the same year, Flores was convicted of first-degree murder. His father, Ruben Flores, 81, was acquitted of the charge of being an accessory after the fact by a separate jury.
As the investigation into the attack on Paul Flores unfolds, questions linger about the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident.
The case continues to be a focal point in discussions surrounding criminal justice, prisoner safety, and the persistence of unresolved mysteries.
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