your own backyard is a podcast dbaze put me on to a year ago. it’s about kristin smart, a college student missing since 1996, thought to be murdered by the last person who saw her after a party. since kristin is from stockton (where some of my cousins live), i hit my cousin asking about the case. she said she didn’t know much about it, but she has seen the billboard around town. i also reached out to ellie as she went to cal poly. ellie said she remembers when they were digging on campus, and how sad the whole case is. well today, while i was logging into my email between sets, i see a headline which reads “paul flores charged with kristin smart’s murder 25 years later.” paul flores was the last person who was seen with, and did see, kristin alive. i immediately texted dbaze to share the good news. i told him not that this case is more important than any other case, but it’s painful when there is so much evidence, yet no movement. i feel the same in regard to the faith hedgepeth case, which i’m hoping can be solved soon.
i can’t imagine waiting 25 years for closure, and although there will never be true closure, justice i’m sure will be a grand feeling.
-ratha, 8:56pm, 4.13.21