COALINGA – Paul Flores, convicted in the 1996 killing of college student Kristin Smart, has been stabbed by another inmate at a California prison, officials confirmed Thursday. It marks the second time in the past nine months that he has been attacked in prison.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, staff saw Flores get stabbed by another inmate in the recreation yard Wednesday afternoon in Pleasant Valley State Prison, which is located in Central California’s Fresno County.
Officers were able to quell the incident by just using verbal demands, CDCR officials say. Two suspected inmate-manufactured weapons have been recovered.
Flores, who is serving a sentence of 25 years to life for the murder of 19-year-old Smart — a student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo — was taken to a medical facility outside of the prison due to his injuries in the attack, officials say. He has since already been returned to the prison and is in fair condition.
The name of the inmate who allegedly attacked Flores has not been released. The inmate suspected of attacking Flores was placed in “restrictive housing,” CDCR said in a news release.
In August 2023, Flores was attacked by an inmate serving two consecutive life sentences for murder. That attack also involved a manufactured weapon.
Flores was convicted of Smart’s murder in 2022. Her body has still not been found.