Split verdict in Kristin Smart murder: Why Paul Flores was found guilty but not his dad
The verdict of the jury in Paul and Kristin Flores’ murder case was announced by the judge on Monday, July 19. Kristin was killed on April 26, 2013, in South Padre Island.
The jury found Flores guilty of first-degree murder and found him guilty of indecency with a child with the stipulation that he serve one year of probation.
A third count of sexual assault on a child was not proven, but the jury found Flores guilty of it.
The jury deliberated over eight days after starting on Thursday, July 9.
The jury was made up of two women and two men, and all reached their conclusion over the course of the day.
During the proceedings, defense attorney Greg Garcia argued to the jury that Kristin’s father, George Flores, was also not guilty of the crime.
Greg Garcia made his case to the jury in a written closing argument, called a “final argument.”
The jury then began their deliberations. On Wednesday, July 12, the jurors were released to spend the night free of obligation to continue with their deliberations. The next day, July 13, the jury was back on the case and asked to return to the courtroom.
The jury met again on Thursday, July 15. They were brought back to the courthouse after an evening meeting and asked to begin their deliberations once again. They deliberated for three days, the last two in the early afternoon.
During the last day of jury deliberations over the case, the jurors were brought back to the courtroom for a noon break from the trial.
When a reporter asked the judge about the nature of the jury’s deliberations, she said she did not know.
“There’s no public record of those deliberations,” she said.
After the trial, George Flores’ family members and his nephew, who is a U.S. Navy chaplain, arrived to help their injured father. They placed him in a stretcher and then carried him around the courtroom for several hours before transferring him to his attorney’s office.
When the jury returned on Friday, July 16, to begin deliberations once again, George Flores was present to hear the testimony of his daughter’s friends. They were led by George Flores’ attorney,
