Kristin Smart: The Cal Poly Record
A student’s disappearance and the evolving public record.
Abstract
California’s Department of Justice lists May 25, 1996 as Kristin Smart’s Date Last Seen, with San Luis Obispo sheriff’s case number 960610965.1
A Student at Cal Poly
The county’s March 2023 case announcement describes Kristin as a Cal Poly freshman when she was reported missing in May 1996.3
The Court of Appeal’s later account places her in Muir Hall during her first year. It describes a party on May 24 and the subsequent walk toward the dormitories.2
The DOJ profile describes her being escorted from a party toward her dorm on May 25. Its brief narrative is an agency summary, rather than the underlying witness statements.1
Reading the Record
The appellate opinion is a later judicial account of trial evidence. Its description of an account is different from an interview conducted for this article.2
The DOJ record also lists the nickname Roxy. Matching the agency identifier helps keep a differently styled name attached to the right case.1
Sourced Accounts and Questions
Here’s where you come in. Can you identify which original observation supports each part of the party-to-dorm chronology, keeping the event date and the later source date separate?2
Can you match an agency profile’s name, date field and case number before adding another record to the timeline?1
Can you distinguish what an announcement documents from a later event it leaves unresolved?4
Keep dated records, attributions and your own questions together in a Research File in Almost Solved. Checking the record carefully can clarify what is known and what still needs an answer.
Show later developments and reported outcomes
Later Court and Search Record
The district attorney’s March 10, 2023 announcement records Paul Flores’s sentence of twenty-five years to life following his October 2022 conviction for Kristin’s murder.3
The Court of Appeal’s October 24, 2025 opinion affirms the judgment in B329873. It is designated unpublished.2
The county’s January 14, 2026 announcement says the California Supreme Court denied Flores’s petition for review. It identifies the Monterey County trial venue separately from the San Luis Obispo investigation.4
On May 6, 2026, the district attorney described assisting the sheriff’s office with a judicially authorized search in Arroyo Grande. The statement did not announce a recovery.5
KSBY’s May 19 report attributes to the sheriff’s office an additional May 8 warrant and excavation continuing into May 9. Potential evidentiary items were being analyzed; no human remains were recovered during that search.6
KSBY’s May 25 anniversary account reports Sheriff Ian Parkinson’s continued commitment to locating Kristin and his distinction between the conviction and the continuing search.7
A court disposition, an investigative indication and an identified recovery answer different questions. These dated records do not establish an identified recovery or exhaust every later court filing.
Scope and Method
Original witness interviews and the full trial record were not inspected.
Prepared with AI assistance. Sources and references checked against the cited public materials. This paper is an original synthesis of the identified public sources; it does not reproduce article bodies, transcripts, or an investigative file.
Footnote References
- California DOJ, Kristin Smart profile, case 960610965; reviewed November 3, 2026.
- California Court of Appeal, B329873, unpublished opinion, October 24, 2025, pp. 1–3, 29.
- San Luis Obispo District Attorney, case announcement, March 10, 2023.
- San Luis Obispo District Attorney, review-petition announcement, January 14, 2026.
- San Luis Obispo District Attorney, search statement, May 6, 2026.
- Kathrene Herndon, KSBY, search report, May 19, 2026; updated May 20.
- Katherine Worsham, KSBY, anniversary report, May 25, 2026; updated May 26.