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Susan Flores served with civil lawsuit in connection with Kristin Smart disappearance

SUSAN FLORES STILL.jpg
Posted at 6:05 PM, May 14, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-14 21:05:45-04

Susan Flores was served with a civil lawsuit Friday in connection with the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.

The Smart family is suing Susan Flores and her boyfriend for emotional damages in connection to the Cal Poly student's 1996 disappearance.

Susan, who lives in Arroyo Grande, now has 30 days to respond.

She is the mother of Paul Flores, who has been charged with Kristin's 1996 murder. Her estranged husband and Paul's father, Ruben Flores, is charged as an accessory after the fact, accused of helping Paul hide Kristin's body.

On April 22, the Smart family's attorney, James Murphy, filed an intentional infliction of emotional distress lawsuitagainst Ruben Flores less than 24 hours after he was released on bail.

In the lawsuit, Murphy alleges "Ruben Flores and Doe defendants 1 and 2 worked through the night, under the cover of darkness, to remove the remains of Kristin Smart to avoid having those remains at 710 White Ct. in the event of an additional search of the property."

Murphy filed amendments May 7 naming "Doe defendants 1 and 2" as Susan Flores and her boyfriend, Mike McConville, alleging they helped move Kristin's body in February of 2020.

This is the first time Mike McConville has been named in a civil case in connection to the disappearance of Kristin Smart.

In an interview, Murphy tells KSBY News that witnesses saw Ruben Flores, Susan Flores and her boyfriend, Mike McConville, working under Ruben's house during the night on or around February 9, 2020. That's just a few days after investigators served a search warrant at Ruben's Arroyo Grande home.

In 1996, Murphy filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Paul Flores on behalf of the Smart family.

Over the years, judges have allowed the lawsuit to move forward.

That lawsuit resulted in the 1997 deposition in which Paul Flores pleads the 5th Amendment to all questions except for his name. It also led to the 2007 dig of Susan Flores’s East Branch Street home. That search yielded no new evidence in the criminal investigation.

Susan Flores and McConville have declined KSBY’s requests for comment.

Paul and Ruben Flores are due back in court Monday, May 17, for a pre-preliminary hearing.