Susan Flores is the mother of convicted Kristin Smart murderer Paul Flores, and in the Kristin Smart case she sits in an unusual legal position: never charged with a crime, but named as a defendant in the Smart family’s civil lawsuit and identified by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office as a “person of interest” in the search for Smart’s remains. In May 2026, investigators searched her Arroyo Grande home and announced that soil testing produced results “consistent with human remains presence,” though no remains were recovered.
How Susan Flores Became a Focus of the Investigation
Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman, disappeared on May 25, 1996, after leaving an off-campus party. She was last seen walking toward her dorm with Paul Flores. Her body has never been found. She was legally declared dead on May 25, 2002.
Paul Flores was arrested on April 13, 2021, and convicted of first-degree murder on October 18, 2022. He was sentenced on March 10, 2023, to 25 years to life. His father, Ruben Flores, was arrested the same day on an accessory charge tied to allegations that he helped conceal Smart’s body beneath the deck of his home at 710 White Court in Arroyo Grande. A jury acquitted Ruben Flores, but jurors heard evidence that a clandestine grave had been located beneath his deck and that investigators believed it had once held Smart’s body.
Susan Flores’s name entered the criminal case through what prosecutors said happened after investigators searched Ruben Flores’s property on February 5, 2020. A neighbor, Jami Lynn Holman, testified that on the evening of February 9 and morning of February 10, 2020, she saw vehicles at the White Court home, including a red SUV belonging to Susan Flores, along with a white van and two trailers. Holman heard “a lot of yelling” and saw a cargo trailer back into the garage. Susan Flores’s boyfriend, Mike McConville, was also present. Prosecutors alleged during the criminal trial that Susan Flores and McConville helped Ruben Flores move Smart’s body from beneath the deck to another location.
The Smart Family’s Civil Lawsuit
The Smart family filed a civil lawsuit on April 22, 2021, in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court against Ruben Flores for intentional infliction of emotional distress. On May 7, 2021, attorney James Murphy amended the complaint to add Susan Flores and Mike McConville as defendants.
The amended lawsuit alleges that the three defendants worked together “under the cover of darkness” on February 9, 2020, to remove Smart’s remains from a lattice enclosure beneath Ruben Flores’s deck and relocate them to an undisclosed location in San Luis Obispo County. Murphy said a confidential witness known to law enforcement had observed the removal. The Smarts are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, arguing that denying them the chance to recover their daughter’s body caused severe emotional distress.
McConville declined to comment when contacted about the lawsuit. He has not been charged with any crime related to the case.
The May 2026 Search of Her Home
On May 6, 2026, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Susan Flores’s residence on East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande. The District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation assisted, and Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth helped obtain judicial authorization. The warrant was a “kickout warrant,” requiring Susan Flores to leave her home while the search was carried out. Sheriff Ian Parkinson said she had “choice words” for investigators when they arrived.
The property had been searched before, including in June 2000. What justified a new warrant, according to Parkinson, was scientific evidence. Independent researchers conducted studies in 2023 using soil vapor sampling and detected volatile organic compounds associated with decomposing human remains in soil near Susan Flores’s yard. Parkinson said investigators needed that “new evidence” to persuade a judge to authorize another search.
Under the warrant, investigators used ground-penetrating radar inside and outside the home and collected soil samples with probes reaching depths of five to six feet. The radar work was performed by archaeologist Phillip Hanes and geologist Cindy Arrington, who had testified at the 2022 trial about a soil anomaly beneath Ruben Flores’s deck. The warrant covered the entire property and part of a neighbor’s yard, but it did not authorize excavation. Parkinson explained that any digging would require a separate “piggyback” warrant establishing additional probable cause.
What the Search Found
At a May 8, 2026, press conference, Parkinson announced that soil testing produced results “consistent with human remains presence.” He said investigators believed “based on what we’re looking at, evidence-wise, scientific evidence, that human remains were there at one time or are still there.” He also cautioned that the compounds had not been tied to any specific individual: “We can’t call it Kristin, but we think there’s evidence to support human remains.”
Ground-penetrating radar identified anomalies along the side yard that warranted further analysis. The search continued through May 9, 2026, when the Sheriff’s Office issued a statement confirming: “We did not recover Kristin Smart.” Detectives recovered multiple items for forensic analysis and said they were still evaluating that evidence.
Why She Has Not Been Charged
Susan Flores has never been charged with a crime connected to Kristin Smart’s disappearance or death. At the May 8, 2026, press conference, Parkinson confirmed that she remains a “person of interest” and “always has been,” but said investigators had “no lawful reason to detain or arrest her at this point.”
If evidence of her involvement in moving or concealing Smart’s body were secured, Parkinson said, she could potentially face charges as an accessory to murder. There is no statute of limitations on that charge in California. Any charging decision would rest with the District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Dan Dow’s statement on the day of the search did not announce new charges. He said the office remains “firmly committed to using every lawful tool available to locate Kristin’s remains” and noted that “those responsible for Kristin’s death — and those with knowledge of her whereabouts — could provide answers at any time.”
Chris Lambert, the Your Own Backyard podcaster who was present during the 2026 search, described the Susan Flores home as “overlooked” in the scope of the investigation, noting that while Ruben Flores’s property had been searched in 2021 in a move that “led to the trials,” Susan Flores’s property had never been “very thoroughly searched.” The search for Kristin Smart’s remains continues.