The name of convicted killer Scott Peterson has emerged in another high-profile case: the slaying of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student Kristin Smart.
A week into a hearing in which a San Luis Obispo County judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to try Paul Flores in the 1996 disappearance and killing of Smart, defense attorneys are making efforts to focus on other potential suspects, including Peterson.
But an attorney for Peterson — now serving a life sentence in San Quentin after being found guilty in the 2002 murders of wife Laci Peterson and their unborn child — said no efforts had been made to have his client testify and called statements by Flores’ defense team “a publicity stunt.”
Lawyers for 44-year-old Flores, of San Pedro, and his father, Ruben — who is accused as an accessory in the killing of Smart — have mentioned Peterson’s name during the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses in an effort to show that San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s detectives have singularly focused on Flores and ignored other potential suspects.
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