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

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

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

The injured Flores, 47, was transported to an outside medical facility for treatment and then returned to the jail in fair condition, officials said.

The inmate suspected of the attack, whose name has not been released, was placed in restricted housing, the prison service said. The attack is being investigated as attempted homicide.

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

Flores was slashed in the neck in August by another inmate in the courtyard of the same prison in Coalinga, 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 criminal charges including attempted murder and assault by an inmate serving a life sentence.

Authorities have not mentioned possible motives for these two attacks.

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

Prosecutors said Flores killed Smart during an attempted rape in his college dorm room, where both were freshmen. He was the last person seen with Smart as he walked her home from an off-campus party. His body was never found.

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