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The jury in the Cody Flores murder trial delivered a split verdict for the two defendants Friday, March 10 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
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Chase Benoit, 22 of Morgan Hill, was found guilty of second degree murder and personal use of a knife, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Pandori.
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The jury found Spencer Smith, also 22 of Morgan Hill, not guilty of murder.
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Smith previously pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm, Pandori said. The firearm charges are not directly related to the stabbing death of Flores, also of Morgan Hill.
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The verdicts on the murder charges were delivered after the jury deliberated for about two and a half days. The trial lasted about two months, and ended with attorneys’ closing arguments March 7.
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Both Benoit and Smith testified during the trial. Benoit testified he alone killed Flores, 23, with a knife outside a house party on East Main Avenue May 31, 2015. He claimed he killed him out fear for his own life as the two had a long-standing dispute going back to 2011, when Flores stabbed Benoit’s brother during a fight.
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Benoit also claimed he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since he witnessed his father stabbed multiple times outside a Morgan Hill apartment complex in 2010. A doctor who evaluated him testified during the Flores trial, and claimed his lethal reaction when he saw Flores the night of May 31, 2015 was a result of PTSD symptoms, Benoit’s attorney Daniel Olmos said.
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Flores was stabbed at least 14 times before he died. When Benoit saw him at the party that night, the two had a brief confrontation before Flores ran away through a dark, vacant field between East Main and Diana avenues. Benoit caught up to him and stabbed him multiple times, according to Pandori and police investigators. A stab wound to Flores’ chest proved to be the fatal cut.
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Flores died at the hospital shortly after the stabbing. No witnesses claimed to have seen the actual stabbing or physical contact between Benoit and Flores.
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Smith, a longtime friend of Benoit’s, testified that he did not have anything to do with the stabbing, and didn’t know anything about it. Smith and other witnesses testified that the two were friends, and had in fact been hanging out amicably at the party before the stabbing.
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Pandori tried to convince the jury that a series of seemingly paranoid text messages between Smith and Benoit just hours before the stabbing indicated he had a grudge against Flores, and later encouraged Benoit to assault him.
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Smith’s attorney Stu Kirchick said in closing arguments that Pandori’s accusations against Smith are based on “speculation and assumption,” and said his client was cooperative with police when they questioned him about Flores’ death.
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After the verdict was announced, Kirchick said on the phone that he was “incredibly relieved that an innocent man was not convicted of murder.” He said both he and Smith were “in tears” as soon as the verdict was read aloud in the courtroom March 10.
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“His family is thrilled they’re going to have him home,” Kirchick said.
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Judge Griffin M. J. Bonini ordered Smith to be released from custody after the verdict. Both he and Benoit have been in jail since their arrest just days after the 2015 stabbing.
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Smith will return to court May 12 to face sentencing on the firearms charges, but Kirchick said he has already served close to the maximum penalty for those offenses while waiting for the murder trial to end. The firearms charges are related to a stolen gun in a backpack that Smith dropped off at the home of Shyann Surber, who hosted the May 31, 2015 party. He left the backpack at the home earlier that evening, but the weapon inside was not related to the death of Flores.
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Olmos declined to comment on the verdict.
Friends, family remember
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Before paramedics arrived to the scene of the stabbing, Flores lied in a puddle of his own blood next to a chain-link fence, on the side of a private farm road where Benoit stabbed him. A roughly 30-foot section of that fence has been transformed into a memorial for Flores since his death. The memorial is decorated with photos of Flores, flowers, balloons, handmade signs and messages honoring the young man, crosses, seashells, candles and some of Flores’ personal belongings.
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Some of the memorial items were placed on top of the puddle of Flores’ blood from May 31, 2015 in order to cover up the carnage, said one of Flores’ best friends, Amanda Kefalinos. She and her mother were at the memorial site the evening of March 10, adding more flowers shortly after the jury delivered the verdict in the case. Kefalinos said the size of the memorial shows how much Flores was “loved and cherished” by those who knew him.
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“Cody Flores was so caring, kind-hearted, loving and honest, courageous and strong,” Kefalinos wrote in an email to the Times. “Cody was so funny and silly, he had a goofy little laugh that would instantly make you laugh along with him, and he would do anything possible to make someone feel better.”
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She added that Flores “absolutely loved” fishing and going to the beach with his friends and family. He “adored” his little sister, and “looked up to” his older brother.
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“Cody wasn’t my actual brother but he was the big brother I never had, taught me right from wrong and showed me how strong a person can truly be on the inside,” Kefalinos’ email continued.
