Officials say Paul Flores, the convicted killer of college student Kristin Smart, was stabbed Wednesday at a California prison, the second time in a year.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, staff noticed the stabbing before 3:30 p.m. at Pleasant Valley State Prison's recreation yard and stopped it with verbal commands.
Officials said a 47-year-old Flores was treated outside and returned to prison in fair condition.
The prison department placed the unnamed assault suspect in restricted housing. The attack is suspected of attempted murder. The department found two guns suspected of being made by inmates. No other workers or inmates were hurt.
The same jail yard in Coalinga, central California, saw another offender slice Flores' neck in August. Flores was hospitalized and returned to prison two days later.
Jason Budrow, the attacker, has since pled not guilty to attempted murder and assault by a lifer.
Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life for murdering Smart, a 19-year-old who disappeared from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo over Memorial Day weekend 1996.
Prosecutors said Flores killed Smart during an attempted rape in his university dorm room. Both were first-year students. The last person spotted with Smart was walking her home from an off-campus party. Her body was lost. He was arrested in 2021, convicted in 2022, and sentenced last year.
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