Sartaj Singh
Directed by Jeff Hare, ‘The Killer With No Name’ narrates the story of podcast host Fiona as she heads back to her quaint hometown for her parents’ anniversary. While there, a recent death seems to call on her to investigate a decades-old unsolved murder in the town. Her curiosity leads her to be targeted by a ruthless predator determined to keep their dark secrets hidden at any cost. The Lifetime thriller picks up pace as Fiona realizes that her own life is on the line, desperately working to unearth the secrets of the nameless killer before she is buried along with them.
The Killer With No Name is Inspired by Podcasters Helping Solve Cold Cases
With the development of technology and the proliferation of unsolved true crime stories, independent investigators have gained the resources and know-how to conduct their own detective work in some capacity. Among the armchair sleuths, true crime podcasters have proven to be some of the most effective in focusing global attention on cold cases, prompting those with information to come forward and galvanizing local authorities. Lifetime’s ‘The Killer With No Name,’ although a fictional story written by Declan Dineen, is inspired by true events of podcasters seeking justice for murder victims lost to time.
The Disappearance of Kristen Smart
Among the nearly dozen prominent cases of podcasts assisting with a breakthrough in unsolved crimes, the one closest to the story of ‘The Killer With No Name’ is Chris Lambert’s ‘Your Own Backyard’ helping solve the disappearance of Kristen Smart. In 1996, college freshman Kristen Smart went missing after leaving a party at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, to walk home along with fellow freshman Paul Flores. The initial police search was marred with incompetency, judgmental investigators, and slow follow-ups on leads. Despite friends reporting Smart missing, authorities brushed off their concerns until four days had passed. They only interviewed Paul Flores – the last person to see her alive – six days after her disappearance.
The suspect had reported to the Arroyo Grande Police Department for an outstanding DUI warrant and had a mugshot captured with a blackeye that he did not explain coherently. When the police interviewed girls on campus, they exposed Flores’ reputation for groping his female counterparts, earning the nickname “Chester the molester.” When taken to court by Kristin’s angered parents in 1997, filing a wrongful death lawsuit, Flores did not say anything while repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment. The case soon went cold due to a lack of evidence despite a woman finding what she believed to be Kristin’s earring while renting Paul Flores’ mother’s house in Arroyo Grande. The earring was handed over to a detective but was lost before it could be filed as evidence.
Your Own Backyard Helping Restart the Investigation
The podcast began in 2019 with musician Chris Lambert being haunted by a missing person’s billboard for Kristen Smart. The billboard had stayed up in his hometown for over two decades, offering a reward of $75,000 for information regarding the missing girl. Through the eight-part investigation podcast series, Lambert interviewed various witnesses, and hundreds of reporters and tipsters came forward with information. The new San Luis Obispo County Sheriff at the time, Ian Parkinson, had already sworn to take on the Kristen Smart case with priority. He and his deputies approached Lambert and asked him to connect them with some of the people he had interviewed.
Through the information that subsequently came to light, the police arrested Paul Flores, charging him with rape and murder. In March 2021, biological evidence was found under a deck in the yard of Ruben Flores’ home. Paul and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested and pleaded not guilty to their charges. The father was given a not guilty verdict, while the jury convicted Paul Flores in the murder of Kristin Smart 26 years after her disappearance, sentencing him to life in prison. In the true story of Smart’s murder, as well as in ‘The Killer With No Name,’ a podcaster jumpstarts a cold criminal case and shares responsibility for serving justice to an unidentified murderer who had escaped it for decades.
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