Convicted killer of college student Kristin Smart attacked at California prison for second time

Advertisement

Advertise with us

COALINGA, Calif. (AP) — Paul Flores, the convicted killer of college student Kristin Smart, was stabbed Wednesday at a California prison, the second time he has been attacked by a fellow inmate in the past year, officials said.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Monthly Digital Subscription

$1 per week for 24 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Monthly Digital Subscription

$4.75/week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

No thanks

*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/04/2024 (549 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COALINGA, Calif. (AP) — Paul Flores, the convicted killer of college student Kristin Smart, was stabbed Wednesday at a California prison, the second time he has been attacked by a fellow inmate in the past year, officials said.

Staff witnessed the stabbing shortly before 3:30 p.m. in the recreation yard at Pleasant Valley State Prison and were able to end the assault using verbal commands, according to a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

An injured Flores, 47, was transported to an outside medical facility for treatment and later returned to the prison in fair condition, officials said.

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. Paul Flores, the convicted killer of college student Kristin Smart, was stabbed Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at a California prison, the second time he's been attacked by a fellow inmate in the past year, officials said. (David Middlecamp/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP, Pool, File)
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. Paul Flores, the convicted killer of college student Kristin Smart, was stabbed Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at a California prison, the second time he's been attacked by a fellow inmate in the past year, officials said. (David Middlecamp/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP, Pool, File)

The inmate suspected in the assault, whose name was not released, was placed in restricted housing, the corrections department said. The attack is being investigated as an attempted homicide.

Two suspected inmate-manufactured weapons were recovered, the department said. No other staff or incarcerated people were injured.

Flores was slashed in the neck in August by another inmate in the yard of the same prison in Coalinga in central California. Flores was hospitalized and returned to the prison two days later.

The man accused in that attack, Jason Budrow, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges including attempted murder and assault by an inmate serving a life sentence.

Authorities didn’t mention possible motives for either attack.

Flores is serving a sentence of 25 years to life for the murder of Smart, a 19-year-old who disappeared from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo over Memorial Day weekend in 1996.

Prosecutors maintained Flores killed Smart during an attempted rape in his dorm room at the university, where both were first-year students. He was the last person seen with Smart as he walked her home from an off-campus party. Her body was never found.

Flores was arrested in 2021, convicted in 2022 and sentenced last year.

Report Error Submit a Tip

World

LOAD MORE