Inmate suspected in prison attack on Kristin Smart’s killer previously murdered ‘I-5 Strangler’

COALINGA, Calif. (AP) — California officials say an inmate accused of attacking Paul Flores this summer, shortly after Flores reported to prison to serve his conviction for murdering college student Kristin Smart, strangled his own serial killer cellmate two years ago. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation this week identified inmate Jason Budrow as the suspect in the Aug. 23 attack on Flores at the Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. It declined to say how Budrow allegedly was able to get to Flores given his previous violent behavior behind bars. Budrow, who is serving life for killing his girlfriend in 2010, strangled serial killer Roger Reece Kibbe in 2021 in the cell they shared.