(NewsNation) — An attorney for the family of a California college student who vanished nearly three decades ago says the university was negligent by not having Kristin Smart’s murderer on their radar.
In an interview with “NewsNation Prime,” attorney Mark Lewis said allowing Paul Flores on campus was a crime waiting to happen.
“There were specific reports of instances of stalking and harassment that should have put the university on notice that they had a predator in their midst,” Lewis said.
Flores was arrested in 2021, convicted of first-degree murder in 2022 and sentenced last year to 25 years to life in state prison.
Lewis said Flores should have never been allowed in university housing, or even on campus in the first place.
According to Lewis, Flores had a nickname of “Chester the Molester” on the campus of California Polytechnic State University.
Smart, then 19, disappeared from the university on the state’s scenic Central Coast over Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Her remains have never been found, but she was declared legally dead in 2002.
Prosecutors say Flores killed Smart during an attempted rape on May 25, 1996, in his dorm room at the university, where they were both first-year students. He was the last person seen with Smart as he walked home with her from an off-campus party.
Lewis said much of the Smart family’s pain can be blamed on California Polytechnic.
“The failure of the university and its police department to execute a proper investigation really caused just an incredible amount of damage to the Smart family,” said Lewis. “It’s basically their negligence that caused this case you remain open for the better part of 30 years.”
The Smart family’s lawsuit against the university alleges officials could have prevented the 19-year-old’s death if they had properly dealt with university police reports filed by four other female students. Those students said Flores had stalked and harassed them in the months leading up to Smart’s disappearance.
Lewis believes there were more than four women who came forward with concerns about Flores.
“It’s it’s at least a dozen that we know about,” he said.
Lewis said the Smart family continues to struggle with the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s murder.
“This recent relevant revelation that the university could have prevented it? It just is all the more tragic; it’s a very difficult time for them.”
