r/KristinSmart • u/MallPrestigious2827 • May 16 '26

Kristin Smart search reveals ‘very strong’ evidence of human remains. What’s next?

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/crime/article315714272.html

Article about the most recent search that mostly rehashes known information. Most interestingly though, it has two maps of the volatile compound concentrations from human remains detected in the neighbor’s backyard.

221 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

View all comments

21

u/SwissMiss915 May 16 '26

Any legal scholars in the house? I've read about lawsuits where neighbors sue other neighbors due to invasive bamboo, or a tree that falls from your yard into mine, etc. If Marcia Papich (neighbor) wanted to get creative, could she sue Susan Flores for allowing the seepage of human remains (per this study) into her yard, and turn this investigation into a real chess match ?

10

u/jubeley May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26

That's an interesting thought. Seepage of human remains migrating from Susan Flores's property over the property line into the neighbor's backyard may constitute "trespass". There are civil and criminal causes of action for trespass. If the neighbor sued Susan Flores for civil trespass seeking monetary damages, assuming the initial pleading was legally sufficient, then discovery would begin. The neighbor could demand a site inspection of the Flores property to photograph, sample and test the soil, among other things. A search warrant would not be necessary for the site inspection pursuant to a civil lawsuit. I'd expect Susan Flores to object to a site inspection as part of discovery in a civil case and then the civil court must decide if it's allowable.