Kristin Smart had her whole life ahead of her.
Seizing every opportunity that came her way, she’d travelled the world before even starting college – working as a lifeguard in Hawaii, taking part in an exchange programme in Venezuela and spending a summer in London.
Ambitious and adventurous Kirstin then settled into life as a freshman at California Polytechnic State University.
She missed her close-knit family, 250 miles away in Stockton, California – she called home every Sunday night – but still threw herself into social activities at school.
And on Friday 24 May 1996, the start of the Memorial Day weekend, she decided to attend a birthday party.
Heading off-campus to a fraternity house where she didn’t know anyone, she soon got chatting to other revellers as
