Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Kristen Smart Killer Mother's Home Searched Ahead of 30 Years Since Disappearance | Crime Alert 05.08.26
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news Now.
- 0:03Speaker 2: I'm Sidney Silvanni. We're following what is hopefully a major
- 0:07Speaker 2: development in a cold case that has gripped the central
- 0:10Speaker 2: coast of California for nearly three decades. Investigators in San
- 0:14Speaker 2: Luis Obispo County have returned to a familiar location in
- 0:18Speaker 2: the ongoing search for the remains of Kristin Smart. On Wednesday,
- 0:23Speaker 2: Sheriff's deputies executed a fresh search warrant at a home
- 0:26Speaker 2: on East Branch Street in a royal grande. This isn't
- 0:30Speaker 2: just any property. Public records confirm it's the residence of
- 0:33Speaker 2: Susan Flores, the mother of Paul Flores, the man convicted
- 0:37Speaker 2: just two years ago of murdering Kristin. News of the
- 0:40Speaker 2: raid was first broken by the Your Own Backyard podcast,
- 0:44Speaker 2: The investigative series many credit with reviving interest in the case.
- 0:48Speaker 2: The podcast creator Chris Lambert noted that this kind of
- 0:51Speaker 2: activity after a conviction suggests that investigators have stumbled upon
- 0:56Speaker 2: significant new information.
- 0:57Speaker 3: It's a surprise. It's been, you know, three years since
- 1:00Speaker 3: the trial ended, and so obviously new evidence had to
- 1:05Speaker 3: leave them here. And that's a good sign. Last time
- 1:08Speaker 3: that Susan's house was searched with ground penetrating radar. I
- 1:11Speaker 3: believe was in two thousand, so it's been twenty six years.
- 1:14Speaker 2: As Lambert mentioned, it's been decades since this property saw
- 1:17Speaker 2: this level of scrutiny. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's
- 1:21Speaker 2: Office took to Facebook to confirm the activity, stating that
- 1:24Speaker 2: a Superior Court judge signed off on the warrant. They
- 1:27Speaker 2: were clear about the mission. The department remains firmly committed
- 1:31Speaker 2: to bringing Kristen home to her family. Kristen Smart was
- 1:34Speaker 2: just nineteen years old a student at cal Poly when
- 1:37Speaker 2: she vanished in May of nineteen ninety six. It took
- 1:40Speaker 2: twenty six years to get a conviction. In October twenty
- 1:43Speaker 2: twenty two, Paul Flores was sentenced to twenty five years
- 1:47Speaker 2: to life after prosecutors proved he killed Kristin during an
- 1:50Speaker 2: attempted rape in his dorm room. But even with Paul
- 1:53Speaker 2: behind bars, the mystery of Kristen's whereabouts remains. Her body
- 1:57Speaker 2: has never been found. District Attorney released a statement following
- 2:02Speaker 2: the search, saying that while those with knowledge of the
- 2:04Speaker 2: body's location could provide answers at any time, his office
- 2:08Speaker 2: will continue to use every lawful tool available to find her.
- 2:12Speaker 2: The stakes are incredibly high for the Smart family. A
- 2:14Speaker 2: judge recently ordered Paul Flores to pay over three hundred
- 2:18Speaker 2: and fifty thousand dollars in restitution to the family, but
- 2:21Speaker 2: they've made a stunning offer. They will waive that payment
- 2:23Speaker 2: entirely if Flores simply tells them where Kristen is. So far,
- 2:28Speaker 2: his attorney claims he doesn't know. For Kristen's family, Flora's
- 2:32Speaker 2: conviction was only half the battle.
- 2:34Speaker 4: I mean, we are beyond grateful that he is in prison,
- 2:38Speaker 4: but we would be ecstatic at this point if we
- 2:43Speaker 4: were able to lay here to rest, you know, in
- 2:46Speaker 4: the presence of our family.
- 2:48Speaker 2: Denise Smart remains hopeful her daughter will be found. More
- 2:51Speaker 2: crime and Justice news after this. In Effingham County, Georgia,
- 2:57Speaker 2: just northeast of Savannah, a community is mourning the loss
- 3:00Speaker 2: of a father of two following a horrific collision that
- 3:03Speaker 2: is reignited a fierce national debate over immigration enforcement and
- 3:07Speaker 2: public safety. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed this week
- 3:11Speaker 2: that twenty seven year old d B Jonathan Jenna mayjoy
- 3:14Speaker 2: chancessoy a Columbia national is now facing a litany of
- 3:18Speaker 2: charges including vehicular homicide, duy, and driving without a valid license.
- 3:23Speaker 2: According to DHS, Jancessoy is an illegal alien who entered
- 3:27Speaker 2: the United States in twenty twenty three. Official state he
- 3:31Speaker 2: was released into the interior of the country under the
- 3:34Speaker 2: current administration, allegedly without being properly vetted. The tragedy unfolded
- 3:39Speaker 2: just after five pm on May first. Investigator say Jancessoy
- 3:43Speaker 2: was behind the wheel of a Ford Escape when he
- 3:45Speaker 2: crossed the center line, slamming head on into a Chevrolet
- 3:49Speaker 2: Silverado driven by forty seven year old Michael Sharp. In
- 3:53Speaker 2: a heartbreaking detail, Michael's wife Kristal was actually on the
- 3:57Speaker 2: phone with her husband at the exact moment of impact.
- 4:00Speaker 2: She spoke with WTC eleven about those final confusing seconds.
- 4:04Speaker 1: It was fun with him when it happened, actually, so
- 4:09Speaker 1: I didn't know what was going on at first when
- 4:11Speaker 1: it happened, you know, it just sounded like his earpiece
- 4:14Speaker 1: was messing up.
- 4:15Speaker 2: Michael Sharp was trapped in the wreckage and had to
- 4:18Speaker 2: be extracted by emergency crews before being rushed to a
- 4:21Speaker 2: nearby hospital. Tragically, he did not survive his injuries. But
- 4:25Speaker 2: the story doesn't end at the crash site. While at
- 4:27Speaker 2: the hospital, Janssoy reportedly began acting erratically. Authorities say he
- 4:32Speaker 2: attempted to leave the facility before he was discharged. The
- 4:35Speaker 2: Effingham County Sheriff's office believes he was trying to flee
- 4:38Speaker 2: because he knew he was wanted by Ice for deportation.
- 4:42Speaker 3: He was acting erratic at the hospital due to being
- 4:46Speaker 3: an illegal alien and you know, facing deportation.
- 4:50Speaker 2: Because of that flight risk, Jance Sooy was immediately arrested
- 4:53Speaker 2: and transported to the local jail. ISAs since placed a
- 4:56Speaker 2: detainer on him, requesting that local authorities hold him than
- 5:00Speaker 2: releasing him on bond for Crystal sharp. The pain of
- 5:03Speaker 2: losing her husband is compounded by the circumstances of the
- 5:06Speaker 2: suspect's presence in Georgia. She describes Michael as a caring
- 5:10Speaker 2: family man who loved the outdoors and his two young children.
- 5:14Speaker 2: Knowing his death might have been avoided if the law
- 5:16Speaker 2: had been different is a weight she now carries.
- 5:19Speaker 4: No one.
- 5:19Speaker 1: We've found out that the call is drunk and that
- 5:23Speaker 1: he was a illegal immigrant and wanting it's supposed to
- 5:27Speaker 1: be in this country. It was even harder for us
- 5:30Speaker 1: because if he were than it wouldn't have happened.
- 5:32Speaker 2: Despite the ICE detainer, Crystal has a very specific vision
- 5:36Speaker 2: of what justice looks like for her family. She wants
- 5:38Speaker 2: him to face the American legal system head on.
- 5:41Speaker 1: I want him to stay here and I want him
- 5:43Speaker 1: to suffer the consequences of what he has done.
- 5:45Speaker 2: Prosecutor say jances Soy could face additional charges as the
- 5:49Speaker 2: investigation continues. For the latest crime and justice breaking news,
- 5:53Speaker 2: make sure to tune in Monday on your favorite podcast
- 5:56Speaker 2: app with this crime alert. I'm Sidney Silvanni.