It’s been more than a year now since Paul Flores was convicted of the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, and on Tuesday, San Luis Obispo County recognized three people who helped bring Flores to justice.
Smart disappeared in 1996 after last being seen with Flores but it took authorities 25 years to make an arrest in the case.
Not only was this a decades-old case, but the prosecution was faced with added challenges like double juries for Flores and his father who was also on trial but acquitted, a change of venue to Monterey County, and a pandemic.
During the months-long coverage of the trial, the key players in the case – the defendants, lawyers and prosecutors – got most of the screen time, but there were many people also working behind the scenes.
On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors recognized three of those people: legal clerk and witness coordinator Eloiza Basinger, paralegal Rebecca Cripe, and victim advocate Beth Raub.
Basinger was responsible for issuing subpoenas and booking flights and hotel rooms for witnesses.
Cripe processed and organized 1.5 terabytes of evidence.
And Raub kept the victim’s family updated and informed of their rights.
“We had no idea what the justice system entailed and step by step, slowly but surely, they walked us through every step,” said Kristin’s mother, Denise Smart, speaking in a video presentation that was played during the Board of Supervisors meeting.
Also at that meeting, supervisors submitted a resolution recognizing Basinger, Cripe and Raub for being “exemplary examples of public service.”
While the five-month-long trial required them to temporarily relocate to Salinas, meaning significant time away from family, the women say it was a rewarding experience and they’d do it again.
“It was humbling to be asked to be part of the team and to be a part of it was a privilege,” Cripe said.
“I think that’s kind of what we do as public servants, right? We go where the need is,” Raub added.
