Authorities to update public on search of home tied to man convicted of killing Kristin Smart

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities plan to update the public Friday on a grounds search at a home connected to the man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996. Her body was never found.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office in California has planned a news conference for 9 a.m.

The office served a search warrant Wednesday on the home of Susan Flores, whose son Paul Flores was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart. Authorities have not answered questions about what prompted the search, but scientists specializing in human decomposition and soil took samples from the ground.

Tim Nelligan, an expert in soil vapor testing, confirmed by phone Thursday that he was on the premises, gathering samples from the yards of Flores and a neighbor. He said is team has, in general, “come up with a methodology to assess soil vapor" and its relation to “human cadaver decomposition,” but that he could not discuss the current investigation.

Smart went missing from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996 after returning from an off-campus party. Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Paul Flores, a fellow student. She was declared legally dead in 2002.

The decades-old case has captivated the public, fueled in part by a podcaster who helped investigators by bringing forward additional witnesses. Chris Lambert of the “Your Own Backyard” podcast first reported the search of the home in the central coast town of Arroyo Grande, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.

Attempts to reach Susan Flores for comment Wednesday and Thursday were not successful. She has never faced criminal charges related to the case.

Nelligan and other scientists poked instruments into the soil and pulled up long tubing. Soil vapor sampling, which is an evolving science, involves collecting underground gas samples to detect volatile organic compounds associated with human decomposition.

Lambert, the podcaster, said he did not know much about the search, but was optimistic investigators could locate Smart's body. He said past searches of Susan Flores' home have never been thorough.

“This property in particular has been overlooked for quite some time," he said Thursday in front of the house.

Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested in 2021.

Prosecutors alleged Smart’s remains were buried on Ruben Flores’ property and later moved. He was acquitted of accessory charges. That property is different from the one currently being searched.

Paul Flores was sentenced in March 2023 to prison, where he has been physically attacked at least twice. In 2024, a judge ruled that he must pay just over $350,000 to Smart's family for costs they incurred after her death.

The family has said it would forgo restitution if Flores would tell them where the woman's body was. Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said in 2024 that the defense did not know where her remains are. Flores maintains his innocence.

FILE - Paul Flores listens during his murder trial in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas, Calif., on July 18, 2022. (Daniel Dreifuss/Monterey County Weekly via AP, Pool, File)

This photo provided by San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office shows authorities conducting a search on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office via AP)

FILE - This undated photo released by the FBI shows Kristin Smart, the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo student who disappeared in 1996. (FBI via AP, File)

Scientists take samples from the soil Thursday, May 7, 2026, from the neighboring yard of a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart as part of a sheriff's investigation. (AP Photo/Haven Daley) CORRECTION: Corrects from authorities to scientists

Scientists take samples from the soil Thursday, May 7, 2026, from the front yard of a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart as part of a sheriff's investigation. (AP Photo/Haven Daley) CORRECTION: Corrects from authorities to scientists

Scientists take samples from the soil Thursday, May 7, 2026, from the neighboring yard of a home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart as part of a sheriff's investigation. (AP Photo/Haven Daley) CORRECTION: Corrects from authorities to scientists

TÓQUIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--mai 8, 2026--

Médicos-cientistas indianos e japoneses relataram uma descoberta científica inovadora: o mecanismo de cicatrização bem-sucedida da estenose uretral com a terapia celular BEES-HAUS. Essa conquista marcante na medicina regenerativa proporciona segurança e eficácia clínicas e é a primeira do gênero a utilizar uma abordagem híbrida que mistura dois grupos de células epiteliais bucais autólogas:um cultivado em 2D e outro em 3D em arcabouço Festigel. No tratamento da estenose uretral, o efeito parácrino do fator de crescimento insulínico tipo 1 (IGF-1) produzido pelas células cultivadas em 2D e o enxerto das células cultivadas em 3D no Festigel, que cobrem a ferida da uretrotomia e, em conjunto, reparam o defeito urotelial, foram publicados na revista Frontiers in Urology. Essa conquista, embora modesta, é uma novidade mundial tanto em termos de engenharia de tecidos in vitro quanto de benefícios clínicos por meio da cicatrização in vivo, restaurando a integridade urotelial. Ela representa um grande avanço por seu potencial de proporcionar qualidade de vida sem a recorrência da estenose a pacientes com problemas de micção, segundo os pesquisadores.

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Já foram relatadas tecnologias de engenharia de tecidos para a criação de órgãos em laboratório, como a uretra. Entretanto, uma solução a longo prazo que evite a recorrência da estenose uretral masculina continua sendo um desafio. A dilatação com balão ou a uretrotomia DVIU expõe o tecido suburotelial à urina, o que desencadeia inflamação, causando esponjofibrose e recorrência da estenose. A cobertura da ferida da uretrotomia, para restaurar a integridade urotelial da uretra afetada pela estenose, atualmente realizada por plastia BMG com uma folha de tecido bucal autólogo, no procedimento BEES-HAUS é feita por meio de transplante celular para estenoses de segmento curto. O procedimento de transplante celular de etapa única ainda mais simplificado, o ‘ BHES-HAUS’, que não requer cultura celular em laboratório e apresenta resultados encorajadores, foi aceito para uma apresentação interativa na reunião da Associação Americana de Urologia, AUA 2026.

Reação inflamatória da uretra provocada por cateterização, instrumentação ou infeção varia entre indivíduos e alguns desenvolvem estenose uretral. Para prever os riscos e desenvolver melhores estratégias de gestão, as seguintes pesquisas futuristas foram iniciadas:

O BEES-HAUS, tendo sido aprovado no Japão de acordo com a Lei sobre Segurança da Medicina Regenerativa, aGN Corporation e a Global Niche Corp., dos EUA, estão abertas a acordos de sublicenciamento e transferência de tecnologia do BHES-HAUS para aplicação clínica após a obtenção de aprovações em todas as partes do mundo.

O texto no idioma original deste anúncio é a versão oficial autorizada. As traduções são fornecidas apenas como uma facilidade e devem se referir ao texto no idioma original, que é a única versão do texto que tem efeito legal.

Ver a versão original em businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506198409/pt/

CONTACT: Samuel JK Abraham

info@gncorporation.com

KEYWORD: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NORTH AMERICA UNITED STATES ASIA PACIFIC INDIA JAPAN

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH SURGERY HEALTH TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH SCIENCE BIOTECHNOLOGY

SOURCE: GN Corporation Co Ltd

Copyright Business Wire 2026.

PUB: 05/08/2026 03:16 AM/DISC: 05/08/2026 03:16 AM

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Urethral stricture starts with narrowing of a short segment of urethral lumen. At early stages, it is managed by balloon dilatation or DVIU Urethrotomy. The open urethrotomy wound after dilatation or DVIU has to heal from the edges of the wound, which may take a longer time. In BEES-HAUS cell therapy, the cell transplant having proven successful engraftment, covering the urethrotomy wound, yielding clinical safety and efficacy may be considered be included in the treatment guidelines after validation. Its simplified version, the BHES-HAUS (Buccal epithelium Hashed and Encapsulated in Scaffold—Hybrid Approach to Urethral Stricture) accomplished in one-go without need for cell culture in a lab, works on similar principles. After long term follow-up, BHES-HAUS minimally invasive approach may be worth combining with DVIU and balloon dilatation, as it may be able to provide longer duration of recurrence-free, good quality of life without need for intermittent self-catheterization.