Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno County DA Charges Prison Attacker of Kristin Smart Killer
Edward Smith updated website photo 2024
By Edward Smith
Published 1 year ago on
December 6, 2023

Share

On Aug. 23, an inmate at Coalinga’s Pleasant Valley State Prison attacked the man convicted of murdering college student Kristin Smart, whose case made national headlines and was featured in many true-crime documentaries.

Now, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office is charging the attacker with attempted murder, assault, and possession of a deadly.

Fresno County prosecutors allege that 43-year-old Jason Richard Budrow slashed Paul Ruben Flores’ neck with a manufactured weapon. Flores had to be flown to Community Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Budrow Has History of Murder in Prison

Budrow is serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole. The first sentence came when Budrow was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Margret Dalton, in Riverside County. Because of a lying-in-wait charge, he was eligible for the death penalty. Budrow surrendered to the Lake Elsinore Police Department, saying he had to kill her because he thought Dalton was a police informant, according to CBS News.

The second life sentence came for murdering cellmate Roger Kibbe in February 2021. Prosecutors decided not to pursue the death penalty for the murder of Kibbe. In a written letter to the Mercury News, Budrow admitted to murdering Kibbe to get a single-man cell and avenge Kibbe’s victims.

Budrow was also convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2004.

Burdrow will be arraigned on Jan. 8, 2024.

Jason Budrow (left) allegedly slashed Paul Ruben Flores’ neck in August 2023. (CDCR)

Flores Sentenced to 25 Years to Life for Smart’s Murder

Flores (was sentenced to serve 25 years to life in state prison after a jury convicted him in October of murdering Smart in 1996.

Smart, a freshman at Cal Poly from Stockton, was reported missing in May 1996 following Memorial Day weekend.  A 25-year investigation ensued, resulting in the 2021 arrest and subsequent conviction of Flores.

Smart’s remains have never been found, but she was declared legally dead in 2002.

Flores was transferred to the prison in Coalinga just a week before he was attacked. He came from North Kern State Prison, where prisoners are received and processed before being assigned to another facility.

Photo of Kristen Smart
This undated photo released by the FBI shows Kristin Smart, the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo student who disappeared in 1996. Smart was last seen in May 1996, while returning to her dorm after an off-campus party.  (FBI via AP)

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Khalil Sues Columbia and Lawmakers to Keep Activists’ Names Secret

DON'T MISS

Judge Orders Musk and His Team to Turn Over Records and Answer Questions

DON'T MISS

Peach Pits? No Name for SE Fresno Sports Complex for Now

DON'T MISS

Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers Funded by Federal Aid

DON'T MISS

Starvation Is Not a Negotiating Tactic

DON'T MISS

Atmospheric River Soaks Fresno With 1.5 Inches of Rain and More Ahead

DON'T MISS

March Megastorm May Bring Blizzards, Tornadoes, Flooding and Even Fires Across Much of US

DON'T MISS

Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Dies From Complications From Cancer Treatment

DON'T MISS

Country Star Clint Black Brings ‘Back on the Blacktop’ Tour to Chukchansi

DON'T MISS

State Labor Board Hands Another Defeat to Clovis Unified

UP NEXT

Judge Orders Musk and His Team to Turn Over Records and Answer Questions

UP NEXT

Peach Pits? No Name for SE Fresno Sports Complex for Now

UP NEXT

Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers Funded by Federal Aid

UP NEXT

Starvation Is Not a Negotiating Tactic

UP NEXT

Atmospheric River Soaks Fresno With 1.5 Inches of Rain and More Ahead

UP NEXT

March Megastorm May Bring Blizzards, Tornadoes, Flooding and Even Fires Across Much of US

UP NEXT

Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Dies From Complications From Cancer Treatment

UP NEXT

Country Star Clint Black Brings ‘Back on the Blacktop’ Tour to Chukchansi

UP NEXT

State Labor Board Hands Another Defeat to Clovis Unified

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: Chief Casto and Keeping Fresno Safe

Edward Smith,
Multimedia Journalist
Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.

Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers Funded by Federal Aid

24 minutes ago

Starvation Is Not a Negotiating Tactic

38 minutes ago

Atmospheric River Soaks Fresno With 1.5 Inches of Rain and More Ahead

52 minutes ago

March Megastorm May Bring Blizzards, Tornadoes, Flooding and Even Fires Across Much of US

2 hours ago

Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Dies From Complications From Cancer Treatment

2 hours ago

Country Star Clint Black Brings ‘Back on the Blacktop’ Tour to Chukchansi

2 hours ago

State Labor Board Hands Another Defeat to Clovis Unified

2 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Chief Casto and Keeping Fresno Safe

3 hours ago

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With Food, Music, and Green Beer at Fresno Street Eats Events

3 hours ago

Don’t Click on Those Road Toll Texts. Officials Issue Warnings About the Smishing Scam

3 hours ago

Khalil Sues Columbia and Lawmakers to Keep Activists’ Names Secret

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate detained by the Trump administration last weekend, and seven current students asked a feder...

12 minutes ago

Demonstrators rally with the flag of Palestine outside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to protest the detention and potential deportation of Mahmoud Khalil in New York, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Mahmoud, 30, a pro-Palestinian student activist at Columbia University, was detained by immigration agents at Columbia student housing, despite his status as a legal resident of the United States. (Juan Arredondo/The New York Times)
12 minutes ago

Khalil Sues Columbia and Lawmakers to Keep Activists’ Names Secret

President Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk and his son X AE A-Xii, after looking at Tesla vehicles on the South Grounds of the White House in Washington, March 11, 2025. A federal judge in Washington ordered Musk and operatives involved with his Department of Government Efficiency to hand over an assortment of documents and written answers addressing its role in the government, a perch from which the unit has effected mass firings of federal workers and a dramatic dismantling of federal programs. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
16 minutes ago

Judge Orders Musk and His Team to Turn Over Records and Answer Questions

17 minutes ago

Peach Pits? No Name for SE Fresno Sports Complex for Now

The campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Nov. 1, 2017. Johns Hopkins University, a leader in scientific research, has been hard hit by the Trump administration’s spending cuts, which will slash at least $800 million from its budget. (Andrew Mangum/The New York Times)
24 minutes ago

Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers Funded by Federal Aid

Food is passed out to residents in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip on March 10, 2025. (Saher Alghorra/The New York Times)
38 minutes ago

Starvation Is Not a Negotiating Tactic

52 minutes ago

Atmospheric River Soaks Fresno With 1.5 Inches of Rain and More Ahead

A powerful March storm is set to bring extreme weather, including fires, blizzards, tornadoes, and flooding, affecting millions across the U.S.
2 hours ago

March Megastorm May Bring Blizzards, Tornadoes, Flooding and Even Fires Across Much of US

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., speaks at Capitol in Washington, March 28, 2022. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Dies From Complications From Cancer Treatment

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend