Chris Lambert would like to get back to making music but he can’t seem to stop chasing a ghost that has haunted him for nearly 25 years.
A billboard on the side of the road on California’s Central Coast led him on a detour three years ago from his career as a singer-songwriter and recording engineer. He created a podcast about the 1996 disappearance of college freshman Kristin Smart and it’s taken over his life.
“I can’t step away from it for more than a few days,” Lambert said. “I just get sucked right back in because I want to be resolving things.”
It was an unlikely turn for someone who refers to himself as a shy, “random boy with a beard” and it has produced results he never imagined.
On Tuesday, as San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson
announced arrests, he credited Lambert with helping draw worldwide attention to the case and bringing forward several key witnesses.
The longtime suspect, Paul Flores, and Smart were fellow freshmen at the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo. Now 44, Flores was charged with murder in the killing of the 19-year-old while trying to rape her in his dorm room, prosecutors said.
His father, Ruben Flores, 80, was charged as an accessory after authorities said he helped hide the body, which has never been located.
Paul Flores’ lawyer has declined to comment on the criminal charge. A lawyer for Ruben Flores said his client is innocent.
Lambert has been thrust into the spotlight with the arrests. His eight-part series, “
Your Own Backyard,” hit 7.5 million downloads Thursday and it was the No. 2 podcast on iTunes. Lambert’s phone has been blowing up with messages — from fans, tipsters and news reporters. He appreciates the attention but has been overwhelmed.
“It’s driving me insane,” he said, yet he remained focused, patient and polite during a 45-minute interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday.
