People vs. Flores: The Conclusion Part Two

Chris recaps the closing arguments with help from the prosecution team

“Sometimes we tell our children that monsters don't exist – and that's not true. We've seen one in this trial.”
Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle points to Paul Flores during his closing argument (Pool photo: Laura Dickinson / SLO Tribune)

Prosecution Trial Exhibit - Kristin Smart’s red JanSport backpack, left in her dorm room on May 24, 1996

Prosecution Trial Exhibit - Kristin Smart’s makeup bag, left in her dorm room on May 24, 1996

Prosecution Trial Exhibit - Ruben Flores’ bed, lined with items found in his desk drawer, including missing posters, postcards and letters from the Smart family, and the license plate numbers of cars that drove by his house

Prosecution Trial Exhibit - Ruben Flores’ backyard. The avocado tree near the top center of this photo obscures the portion of the deck where human blood was found. This is the avocado tree that Paul’s girlfriend, Angie, was approaching before she was hastily redirected away from the area by Ruben and Paul.

Prosecution Trial Exhibit - The two lattice panels removed from the deck correspond to the area where GPR located a 6-foot by 4-foot anomaly on March 15, 2021

Prosecution Trial Exhibit - The two dark stains running horizontal towards the bottom of this photo indicate that a liquid did not seep down from the surface or up from below, but outward around the perimeter of the source. The dark soil collected from these stains tested positive for the presence of human blood. The concrete at the top of this photo is the outer wall of Ruben Flores’ deck. Directly behind the photographer is the outer wall of the house.

Prosecution Trial Exhibit - A slide from Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle’s PowerPoint, showing an area on the floor of Mike McConville’s cargo trailer reacting to Bluestar (luminol)

Defense Trial Exhibit - Defense Attorney Robert Sanger published this photo of Kristin, likely taken in the Spring of 1996. “It’d be nice to just preserve this idea that everything was fine and she was angelic, but the reality is, she engaged in at-risk behavior…”

“Even if these things make you wonder – Mr. Peuvrelle wants you to wonder – it's not proof of a murder.”
Attorney Robert Sanger gestures to a defense exhibit during his closing argument (Pool photo: Laura Dickinson / SLO Tribune)

“He’s never dug a hole in his life.”
Defense Attorney Harold Mesick (right) poses with his client, Ruben Flores (Pool photo: Nik Blaskovich / CBS)