The San Jose Mercury News has a new online article about the still unsolved murder of Matt Flores. I'm not savvy enough to figure out how to post it (sorry), but maybe someone else can help.

Link (http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold/ci_29900056/matt-flores-killing-22-year-old-mystery)

It is one of the most disturbing unsolved killings in Santa Clara County history. At 8:14 a.m. on March 24, 1994, a young engineer at Applied Materials, Matthew Flores, pulled into a parking spot and was shot once in the head as he got out of the car. He left behind a wife and an 8-month-old girl.

Every few years, for good reason, authorities make a renewed appeal for witnesses. So it was Monday morning, when District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Santa Clara Police Chief Mike Sellers asked again for public help, invoking the carrot of a $100,000 reward from Applied Materials.

Strictly speaking, there was no news at their news conference at Santa Clara police headquarters. The Flores case remains a mystery. My own theory, favored by Flores' mother, is that something in the 26-year-old engineer's military service followed him to Santa Clara. More on this in a bit.

SERENDIPITY

But there is a back story that reveals how the power of serendipity has kept this case in the public eye. Oddly, it involves a colorful ex-mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, Buddy Cianci, who became a radio talk show host after serving time on a federal racketeering charge. (Cianci died at the age of 74 in January.)


In the fall of 2010, then-State Senator Simitian was on the East Coast, and Cianci asked him to be on his drive-time show. During the show, someone from the station brought in a note for the California legislator. A male listener wanted him to call, but not on the air. Before he signed off, Simitian promised out loud that the he would call the man back.

That listener was Mike Mauro, the stepfather of Matt Flores. Mike is married to Flores' mother, Ellen. Mauro told Simitian the story of the 1994 killing and asked for his help. Simitian said he would see what he could do for the Providence couple.

In early 2011, Simitian spearheaded an effort to put the Flores case again before the public: I wrote a column then that described how the killing had stumped investigators. (You can see it at goo.gl/S620RA .)

A FEW LEADS

Normally, you would view the involvement of a politician in a major crime story with skepticism. They do, after all, have to stand for office. But Simitian asked me to keep his name out of it. The media effort in 2011 produced a few leads but no breakthroughs.

Five years later, Mike Mauro called again. And Simitian again offered to help, along with Rosen and Sellers. He checked with Applied Materials to be sure the reward was still offered. This time, the supervisor was an unavoidable part of the story.


What we know is this: Flores was driving a rented Chevrolet Corsica when he pulled into an unassigned parking spot in the Applied lot at the company's Building 12 at 3225 Oakmead Village Drive. As he got out of his car, his killer fired one shot to Flores' head. A woman found his body in a kneeling position just outside the car door.

The killing took place just outside the range of Applied's surveillance cameras. The cameras did catch an image of two-door light-colored 1991-1994 Ford Explorer driving through the parking lot. It had black trim on its lower panels.

Why do I think something in Flores' military service followed him to Santa Clara? Partly, it's elimination. Flores had been at Applied for less than two weeks, hardly enough time to make a lethal enemy. And he had a sterling educational record in his home state of Rhode Island. From 1990 to 1994, he had been a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and taken part in Operation Desert Storm.

Monday's news conference didn't produce any news. But it did offer more insight into why this case touches us. On Tuesday, Matt Flores would have turned 49 years old. About a week ago, his 22-year-old daughter graduated with honors from college.

"It can be easy to let these sorts of cases slip into the background," said Simitian. "But we should remember that to Matt's friends and family, this case is just as important today as it was more than 20 years ago."

Police have asked people with information about the case to call 408-241-9495. Contact Scott Herhold at 408-275-0917 or sherhold@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Thanks for posting. I still think it was a random act of violence or mistaken identity. If there were a military tie I would think there would have been something else to it. This man had no enemies.

Thanks for posting. I still think it was a random act of violence or mistaken identity. If there were a military tie I would think there would have been something else to it. This man had no enemies.

That we know of. I am glad the Santa Clara County officials are still actively investigating this. I have always been disturbed by Matt Flores' murder, as he was a young man with a successful job and beautiful family, and had so much to live for. I kind of feel that his murder was a hit, as he was shot out of camera range and nobody saw the shooter. As to why he was shot, is pure speculation. His mother believes it was someone from Matt's time in the military and that he wasn't at Applied Materials Inc long enough to have any enemies there. I often wonder if Matt was shot by a sniper, someone with a scoped rifle from a far distance or a gun with a laser pointer on it. It would explain why the shot was heard but no one was seen.

That we know of. I am glad the Santa Clara County officials are still actively investigating this. I have always been disturbed by Matt Flores' murder, as he was a young man with a successful job and beautiful family, and had so much to live for. I kind of feel that his murder was a hit, as he was shot out of camera range and nobody saw the shooter. As to why he was shot, is pure speculation. His mother believes it was someone from Matt's time in the military and that he wasn't at Applied Materials Inc long enough to have any enemies there. I often wonder if Matt was shot by a sniper, someone with a scoped rifle from a far distance or a gun with a laser pointer on it. It would explain why the shot was heard but no one was seen.

Its been a while since I've seen this segment, but didn't the security cameras catch a glimpse of a vehicle somewhat following Matt in and then racing out after Matt was killed? If that was the killer, it seems to discount the sniper angle.

One thing I have always been curious about is how the murder occurred just outside of the camera view. How lucky is that killer that Matt parked in the exact area that isn't covered on security cameras? I wonder if Matt was having an affair with a married woman and the woman's husband killed Matt. Just a very bizarre case.

Its been a while since I've seen this segment, but didn't the security cameras catch a glimpse of a vehicle somewhat following Matt in and then racing out after Matt was killed? If that was the killer, it seems to discount the sniper angle.

One thing I have always been curious about is how the murder occurred just outside of the camera view. How lucky is that killer that Matt parked in the exact area that isn't covered on security cameras? I wonder if Matt was having an affair with a married woman and the woman's husband killed Matt. Just a very bizarre case.

I don't think Matt was having an affair. Even if that were the case, the average man is not smart enough to put out a hit on someone they think is sleeping with their girlfriend/wife. Matt's murder seems all too like a professional hit, like someone with knowledge in police/military training to not be seen. The woman who found Matt slumped down over his driver's seat heard a loud noise, a gunshot possibly, but it also could have been the thud of Matt's body falling into the driver's seat after he was shot. I still feel like he was shot from a distance, out of reach of witnesses and cameras. Only someone with knowledge of the parking lot would have known where a camera was and wasn't. A police officer or someone who occasionally surveyed the area would have been aware of this. It's possible that whomever killed Matt, cased the area beforehand to find out where a blind spot would be. I also wonder if Matt's killer was a former employee of Applied Materials Inc, who was after someone who still worked there and got Matt by mistake. I don't feel that if it was someone from his job, that Matt was the intended target. If it was something from his military background, I can only wonder what that'd be.

One thing I have always been curious about is how the murder occurred just outside of the camera view. How lucky is that killer that Matt parked in the exact area that isn't covered on security cameras? I wonder if Matt was having an affair with a married woman and the woman's husband killed Matt. Just a very bizarre case.

I think that we should always look at every possible theory in each case. That being said, I just don't see anything for us to believe that Matt was having an extramarital affair.

I could be wrong, but everything we've been shown indicates that Matt was an attentive and loving father and husband.

Its been a while since I've seen this segment, but didn't the security cameras catch a glimpse of a vehicle somewhat following Matt in and then racing out after Matt was killed? If that was the killer, it seems to discount the sniper angle.

One thing I have always been curious about is how the murder occurred just outside of the camera view. How lucky is that killer that Matt parked in the exact area that isn't covered on security cameras? I wonder if Matt was having an affair with a married woman and the woman's husband killed Matt. Just a very bizarre case.
For some reason I've always thought the shot was close range. Wouldn't they be able to possibly tell that from the evidence? I never considered the sniper theory. It would have been very difficult to shoot him from long range in the head in that parking lot. But who knows this is a weird case. One of the most unanswered that's for sure. I never thought his military connection had something to do with it. I've always thought this was kind of like the Doug Johnston murder. Ironically that was mistaken identity (which seems to fit here too). Either that or a random act of violence. It also could of been a disgruntled employee that had nothing to do with Matt.

For some reason I've always thought the shot was close range. Wouldn't they be able to possibly tell that from the evidence? I never considered the sniper theory. It would have been very difficult to shoot him from long range in the head in that parking lot. But who knows this is a weird case. One of the most unanswered that's for sure. I never thought his military connection had something to do with it. I've always thought this was kind of like the Doug Johnston murder. Ironically that was mistaken identity (which seems to fit here too). Either that or a random act of violence. It also could of been a disgruntled employee that had nothing to do with Matt.

Also an interesting theory. But don't disgruntled employees want the business to KNOW that the person/persons being injured are because of the company's actions/inaction?

I have been at a loss on this one since the beginning. Everything fits and nothing fits at the same time.

Also an interesting theory. But don't disgruntled employees want the business to KNOW that the person/persons being injured are because of the company's actions/inaction?

Everything fits and nothing fits at the same time.

Yea. I ultimately think this was a case of mistaken identity. Someone who drove the same style of vehicle or looked the same as Matt that worked there was the likely target.

If this was a case of mistaken identity, then did they ever find out who else at Matt's job was driving a vehicle similar to his? Process of elimination. Also, if Matt wasn't the intended target, then the shooter had to have noticed the person he was stalking was Matt and not the intended target, unless he was after Matt to begin with.

I also find it troubling that if Matt was shot at close range, then where did the killer go afterwards and how did he escape detection? There were several people in the parking lot and would have seen a suspicious person walking away from the scene I would think. He had to have been hiding somewhere after the shooting and escaped during the turmoil.

Also an interesting theory. But don't disgruntled employees want the business to KNOW that the person/persons being injured are because of the company's actions/inaction?

I have been at a loss on this one since the beginning. Everything fits and nothing fits at the same time.
That's a good point. I have no idea what the motive could of been for a disgruntled employee. Would only assume that they did not give any clues to their identity if that were the case. I lean to random act of violence or mistaken identity.

If this was a case of mistaken identity, then did they ever find out who else at Matt's job was driving a vehicle similar to his? Process of elimination. Also, if Matt wasn't the intended target, then the shooter had to have noticed the person he was stalking was Matt and not the intended target, unless he was after Matt to begin with.

I also find it troubling that if Matt was shot at close range, then where did the killer go afterwards and how did he escape detection? There were several people in the parking lot and would have seen a suspicious person walking away from the scene I would think. He had to have been hiding somewhere after the shooting and escaped during the turmoil.

My opinion is that the killer had no ties with Matt. Unless the police have continued to withhold vital details from the public which is possible but unlikely after so many years. There just seems to be nothing to go on. Which leads me to believe that the killer did not know Matt. What the motive was is hard to fathom.

Didn't the "suspect vehicle" stalk another, similar car before Matt entered the parking lot?
This case has bothered me since I first saw it. I wonder if it was some kind of gang initiation or a road rage thing which could also be mistaken identity.

I can't imagine a professional hit man doing a guy in broad daylight in a well traveled parking lot at rush hour.

Didn't the "suspect vehicle" stalk another, similar car before Matt entered the parking lot?
This case has bothered me since I first saw it. I wonder if it was some kind of gang initiation or a road rage thing which could also be mistaken identity.

I can't imagine a professional hit man doing a guy in broad daylight in a well traveled parking lot at rush hour.
I thought that was the case which is why I thought it could of been a mistake. I need to rewatch.

Here's what's all known about Matt Flores and his murder:

- Served in Desert Storm during the Gulf War, and was by all accounts, an honorable soldier.
- Married to Denise LePage and had a daughter, Danielle, in July 1993.
- Had only been at Applied Materials Inc for 9 work days prior to his death.
- On the day of Matt's murder, a woman was listening to her car radio when she hear a pop. She investigated and found Matt slumped down over the driver's seat of his car, having been shot once in the head at point blank range. Paramedics were unable to revive him and Matt was pronounced dead at the scene.
- Matt's mother Ellen said Matt was not involved in anything that would have gotten him killed, including extramarital affairs, drugs, money, gambling, etc.
- The shooting took place out of camera range, hampering the identification of a suspect.
- About 20 minutes before the shooting, there was a 2-door sports model Ford Explorer that came into the parking lot and parked in one of the parking stalls facing directly into the camera lens. A few seconds later, a 2-door white Ford Probe came in the same lane that Matt would take later. The Ford Explorer backed up and followed the white Ford Probe. The Ford Probe could have looked something like Matt's rental car, which was a white Chevy Corsica. About four minutes before the shooting, the same Ford Explorer exited the parking lot, and then three minutes before the shooting, the vehicle came back into the parking lot and went in the direction of where the shooting occurred.
- At 8:12 am, 2 minutes before the shooting, 2 cars entered the lot. One was driven by the female eyewitness, the other by Matt Flores. At 8:14 am, the murder took place just out of camera range. According to Sergeant Teal, just 20 seconds later, the Ford Explorer was seen leaving the parking lot for the last time and said that if somebody were to watch the videotape and see the activities of the Ford Explorer that morning and to see it leave right after Matt was shot, they certainly could say the vehicle was stalking Matt that morning, and because the Ford Explorer initially followed a car that looked like Matt's, Sergeant Teal believed the murder may have been a case of mistaken identity and said that perhaps someone went to the parking lot that morning to do harm to somebody else and got the wrong person.
- To date, the authorities’ most substantial clue is still the Ford Explorer videotaped in the parking lot. The vehicle is a 2-door sports model manufactured between 1991 and 1994 and has a distinctive black trim on its lower panels. While its color is unknown, analysis has shown that the Ford Explorer is not black, white, dark green or dark blue.
-As far as we know, the original security camera videotape has not been seen by the public.
-Applied Materials Inc is still offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to Matt's killer.