Dead And Buried: A True Story Of Serial Rape And Murder - Corey Mitchell

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      Rachel usually let someone know what she was up to. The attractive Cal Poly nutrition major made sure her circle of friends knew what she was doing almost every day. These includedAndrea, her other roommates, her coworkers, and her family. SLO Brewing coworker and occasional date Adam Olson told Williams, “It’s unlike her to disappear like this. There’s no way for her to vanish without telling anybody where she was going.”

      Nevertheless, no one could find Rachel Newhouse.

      By Saturday, November 14, a full-scale search was on. Rachel’s friends created hundreds of missing-person posters, with Rachel’s pertinent information listed, and posted them all over downtown. The San Luis Obispo policewere also on the trail of the missing college student. They were led by Captain Bart Topham, who secured a search-and-rescue team made up of anywhere from twenty-fiveto sixty searchers. Several tracking dogs assisted and a California Highway Patrol helicopter tracked the team’s progress from the sky.

      Captain Topham had all the people on the search-and-rescue team follow Rachel’s potential route home from Tortilla Flats to the Jennifer Street neighborhood. They also searched several creeks in the area that lined the peaceful neighborhoods.

      San Luis Obispo was up in arms over the prospect of a missing college girl.

      Rachel Newhouse was the prototypical California college girl. She was an attractive, full-figured, 5’6”, 120-pound blonde who was athletic, academically blessed, hardworking, and honest to boot. Her grandmother Patricia Newhouse describedher as a “conscientious, hardworking girl” with “lots of friends.” Her grandmother also stressed that her kin was not really a “party person—she’s more into taking care of business and getting things done.”

      Rachel was getting things done at Cal Polytechnic Institute.She was a junior-year nutrition major, with a strong B average. She was used to getting things done. Just as she did at Irvine High School in Orange County, where she maintained a straight-A average and also excelled at sports, including soccer and cross-country track. She was a studentbody officer and member of the California Scholarship Federation. She was also very popular and good at making friends and keeping them.

      One friend that Rachel kept was Andrea West. They were both freshmen at Irvine High School, where they met in 1992. They became fast friends and maintained their close bond over the years. Andrea described Rachel as “the perfect friend. She’s always there when she’s needed. She’s a happy and cheery person. She cares.”

      Rachel Newhouse also cared about doing the right thing. Her aunt Patricia Turner described Rachel as a bit too hard on herself. Andrea furthered the idea of Rachel as a hardworking,conscientious person. She informed the police that in addition to her studies, Rachel also baby-sat and worked at SLO Brewing.

      Rachel Newhouse kept busy and stayed out of trouble.

      By Monday, November 16, 1998, Andrea West had not heard from her friend. Neither had her boss Kirk Williams. Nor had Captain Topham. No one in town knew where she was located. Word began to spread around the Cal Poly campusabout her disappearance. By Wednesday, the mood of the town and the campus shifted in a dark direction. Samina Khan, Rachel’s lab mate, headed for the Women’s Center on campus. Her mission: to buy pepper spray. She was afraid and looking for a way to defend herself.

      “I was thinking about getting some last year, but I didn’t feel unsafe,” she said forlornly as she clutched her new purchase.

      Parents of several Cal Poly students began to contact Captain Topham. They also had one thing on their minds: protecting their children.

      Why was there so much panic in a seemingly routine missingcollege student case? After all, it was no big deal for a young college student to take off a few days from school and not call friends. Extended trips to Tijuana or Las Vegas were not out of the ordinary. Why were the parents and, indeed, many of the students concerned?

      It was not the first time a female Cal Poly student had gone missing in recent years.

      THREE

      On May 25, 1996, the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend, many students were packing their bags and getting ready to return to their hometowns. The semester had ended and, for some, it was time for one last celebration. Kristin “Roxy” Smart, a 6’1” statuesque blond freshman from Stockton,California, was ready to join the fun.

      Kristin was the progeny of intelligent parents. She was born at 2:00 A.M. in Augsburg, Germany, on February 20, 1977, to two teachers, Stan and Denise Smart. When her familyrelocated to the United States, her father became a high school principal in Stockton. She also had a brother and sister,Matt and Lindsey. All three of the Smart children loved swimming. Kristin excelled at the sport in high school. She also had a strong love for the state of Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean. Her love for aquatics led her to choose Cal Poly for college because of the school’s close proximity to the ocean.

      Kristin had successfully made it through her first year in college, where she majored in speech communications. She looked forward to returning home for the summer, but first she wanted to party. After all, she deserved it.

      Kristin started her end-of-the-year celebration at an off-campusparty thrown by fellow student Ryan Fell. The party took place on Crandall Way, less than a quarter mile from Kristin’s dorm. According to police reports, Kristin arrived at the party sober.

      Two hours later, she was not.

      At approximately 2:00 A.M. Kristin Smart lay in the next-doorneighbor’s yard passed out. Cheryl Anderson, who knew Kristin but was not close friends with her, and another Cal Poly student, Tim Davis, spotted her. After they roused Kristin out of her inebriated state and got the lanky, tall blonde to her feet, they began to walk her back to her dorm. About a quarter mile later, another student, Paul Flores, popped up alongside them. He informed Anderson and Davis that he met Kristin at the party earlier that night.

      Flores offered to walk Kristin back to her dorm.

      Kristin, Paul, Cheryl, and Tim walked northwest on Via Carta, from the raucous party, onto the main campus drive known as Perimeter, which is a three-quarter circular road that connects all of the main arteries on campus. Davis was the first to break off and go to his dorm. It was only a short trip to Muir Hall, Kristin’s dorm, so Anderson assumed everything was fine. Even though Kristin stumbled and could barely stand up straight, Anderson decided to let Flores walk her home the rest of the way. After all, it was only another one hundred yards or so. Anderson parted ways and headed off to her own dorm. Flores assured Anderson that he would get Kristin home safely.

      No one has heard from or seen Kristin Smart since.

      The next morning, witnesses saw Paul Flores with a black eye. He did not have it the night before at the party, accordingto several witnesses who attended.

      No one reported Kristin as missing until May 28, 1996. The Cal Poly campus police supposedly took their sweet time in looking further into her disappearance. They eventually contacted her father, Stan Smart, who was now the principal at Vintage High School in Napa, California. Mr. Smart assumedthat Kristin had done something wrong at school. He was frustrated to learn that no one had seen her for almost three days.

      The Cal Poly police treated Kristin’s case as a simple missing-personcase. They told her parents that it was not unusual for a student to run away and not tell their family. The Smarts, however, did not buy that theory. They knew Kristin would tell them anything if she was upset, depressed, or in some kind of trouble. As the days ticked off the calendar, however, their fear increased substantially.

      The campus police conducted interviews with several studentsfrom the party—at least the students that remained on campus. They also spoke with Paul Flores and mentioned the black eye to him. Flores claimed that he got it during a basketballgame. At a second interview he recanted his story and claimed that he received the black eye while fixing his car. For some reason, the campus officers did not bother to ask him why he lied about the basketball game.

      Later, Flores would tell his close friends that he had lied twice. He claimed he did not get

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