FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (Scripps News San Luis Obispo/Court TV) — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says Paul Flores was taken to an outside medical facility on Wednesday and is in serious condition.
The information officer says the circumstances surrounding Flores’ injury are being investigated by the prison’s investigative services unit.
FILE – Paul Flores looks on at the second day of his preliminary hearing, Aug. 3, 2021. He is accused in the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, jurors unanimously found Flores guilty of first-degree murder, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. His father, Ruben Flores, was charged as an accessory in a separate trial for allegedly helping to conceal the crime. A verdict was also expected in his trial. (David Middlecamp/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP, Pool, File)
Last October, Flores was convicted of the 1996 murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. In March, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
The 46-year-old was being housed at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga when the attack occurred.
The extent of his injuries is unknown. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is expected to release more information.
In response to a request from Court TV, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that no video exists of the attack.
Flores and Smart were both students at Cal Poly when she disappeared following an off-campus party.
He was long considered a person of interest in the case. In April 2021, Flores was arrested and charged with Smart’s murder.
His father, Ruben, was also arrested and tried on a charge of accessory after the fact; however, a jury found him not guilty.
A court hearing was scheduled to take place this week in which Paul Flores was expected to request that Mesick, who was his father’s attorney during the trial, represent him for the restitution portion of the case.
This story was originally published on August 23, 2023, by Scripps News San Luis Obispo, an E.W. Scripps Company.
