The inmate suspected of attacking Kristin Smart’s killer in prison is being charged with attempted murder.
Jason Richard Budrow is accused of using a handmade weapon to slash Paul Flores in the neck. The assault happened on August 23, shortly after Flores was transferred to Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga.
Flores spent a few days in the hospital before he was returned to the prison.
In October 2022, Flores was convicted of Smart’s murder. The two were Cal Poly students at the time of Smart’s disappearance in 1996. While Flores was a longtime person of interest in the case, he was not charged until his arrest in 2021. Following his conviction, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Budrow is currently serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole. He has three prior violent felony convictions – the sexual assault of a female minor in 2004, the murder of his ex-girlfriend in 2010, and the killing of his cellmate, Roger Kibbe, also known as the I-5 Strangler, in 2021.
He now faces charges of attempted murder, assault by an inmate serving a life sentence, assault with a deadly weapon by an inmate, and possession of an inmate-manufactured weapon.
If convicted of all charges, Budrow could be sentenced to an additional 27+ years to life.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in January.
