‘Satanist’ accused of brutalizing Kristin Smart’s murderer is already serving life sentence for killing his notorious ‘I-5 Strangler’ cellmate

Jason Budrow, pictured left, attacked Paul Flores at the Pleasant Valley State Prison on Aug. 23, 2023, prison officials said. (Mug shot of Budrow: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; image of Flores: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office)

Jason Budrow, pictured left, attacked Paul Flores at the Pleasant Valley State Prison on Aug. 23, 2023, prison officials said. (Mug shot of Budrow: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; image of Flores: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office)

The self-described “Satanist” who allegedly beat the killer of Kristin Smart so badly he had to be hospitalized had himself previously taken two lives: first, his girlfriend and years later, he slew a convicted serial killer.

Paul Flores is serving a 25-to-life term for murdering Kristin Denise Smart, 19, back in 1996, when they were both students at California Polytechnic State University. The victim was never found, though authorities argued Smart had been buried under the Flores family deck at some point and then removed.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation identified Jason Budrow as Flores’ attacker. Both men are inmates at the Pleasant Valley State Prison in the city of Coalinga, California, which is about 60 miles southwest of Fresno.

It’s there that he somehow encountered Jason Budrow.

“At approximately 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, yard staff saw Flores fall to the ground between the recreational yard and the medical clinic,” the corrections department told Law&Crime in an email. “Staff ordered everyone to get down and summoned medical staff who immediately responded. Flores was transported to an outside hospital in serious condition. Flores returned to PVSP two days later.”

Authorities found Budrow nearby with something they only described as a “manufactured weapon.” He surrendered without incident, and no one else was hurt, they said.

Prison officials said they recommended Budrow face charges, and they referred questions to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, who did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.

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