Jurors began deliberating in the Paul Flores trial on Oct. 4, after hours of closing arguments wrapped.
In his closing argument, defense attorney Robert Sanger told the jury, “There is no evidence of a murder, so that’s really the end of it.”
“This case was not prosecuted all these years because there was no evidence and there’s still no evidence,” he said.
The prosecutor, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle, tried to show a pattern of behavior by Flores that began with Smart. Two women, Sarah Doe and Rhonda Doe, testified during the trial that they were drugged and sexually assaulted by Flores in 2008 and 2011, respectively.
“Do you see a pattern here?” Peuvrelle asked the jury, calling Flores a “serial drugger and rapist.”