Joran Van Der Sloot Pleads Guilty to 2010 Peru Murder
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Image credit: Karel Navarro/AP Photo
Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway, pleaded guilty today to the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores in Peru.
“Yes, I want to plead guilty. I wanted from the first moment to confess sincerely,” he said today in court, according to The Associated Press. “I truly am sorry for this act. I feel very bad.”
Van der Sloot faced up to 30 years in jail if convicted at a trial. It’s not clear how much time he will get as a result of his confession. His hearing was suspended until Friday when he will be sentenced.
Flores, the 21-year-old daughter of a wealthy and influential Peruvian businessman, was found strangled in van der Sloot’s hotel room on May 31, 2010. The two had reportedly met at a Lima casino.
The Dutch national who lived in Aruba fled Peru but was arrested three days later in Chile, which sent him back to Peru.
He reportedly claimed in a confession shortly after the slaying that he’d killed Flores because she found information linking him to Holloway on his computer.
Van der Sloot, 24, appeared in a Lima court last Friday and agreed to make a confession but then asked the court for more time to consider his options.
Van der Sloot had twice previously been arrested for the disappearance of Holloway, a 19-year-old from Alabama who vanished during a celebratory trip to Aruba with her senior class in May 2005.
Van der Sloot maintained that he’d left her on a beach, drunk. That’s the last anyone has seen of her.
Van der Sloot’s lawyer said today that he had killed Flores as a result of the “extreme psychological trauma” he’d experienced in the Holloway investigation.
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How about proofreading this article before posting two nearly identical paragraphs?
Posted by: rachel | January 11, 2012, 11:26 am 11:26 am
I wonder what that goofy radiologist that thought he was innocent has to say about this turn of events?
Posted by: Frank Blourtango | January 11, 2012, 12:00 pm 12:00 pm
“Van der Sloot’s lawyer said today that he had killed Flores as a result of the “extreme psychological trauma” he’d experienced in the Holloway investigation.”……well maybe if he wasn’t carrying that kind of guilt around, another woman wouldn’t be dead by his hand. Perhaps since he’s already going to do time, he’ll admit to what happened to Natalie. Here’s to wishful thinking….
Posted by: Mobalajee | January 11, 2012, 12:04 pm 12:04 pm
I bet he wishes he had confessed in Aruba, I am not sure, but I think it is a safe bet that Aruba’s prisons are a bit nicer than those in Peru..
Posted by: MiketheElectrician | January 11, 2012, 12:11 pm 12:11 pm
I have to disagree with Frank Blourtango in one respect: I doubt he was carrying any guilt around. Van der Sloot apears to be a sociopath and I doubt if he really feels any guilt for anything he has ever done.
Posted by: BN | January 11, 2012, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
BN (12:43 PM); He’s a creep! Appears to be a sociopath? He’s the very definition of one.
Posted by: newcountryman | January 11, 2012, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm
Thank God. Now if he would just go ahead and confess to the other one so that poor girl’s family can get some peace….
Posted by: Kitty Wilberforce | January 11, 2012, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
This man needs to live the remainder of his natural earth-bound existence behind bars where he can do NO more damage or harm to women.
Posted by: moonglowsun | January 11, 2012, 1:06 pm 1:06 pm
Unfortunately someone will buy the “suffered from extreme psychological trauma…” BS and he will get a temporary insanity plea deal. He will be released with time served. Perfect case where a little jailhouse justice needs to happen.
Posted by: NoSpin1600 | January 11, 2012, 1:15 pm 1:15 pm
Moonglowsun (1:06 PM); Actually, according to Peruvian law, life is 30 years. He’ll probably be released when he’s around 55 if not before then…. “If” he survives Peruvian prison. I hear it’s not a very safe place.
Posted by: newcountryman | January 11, 2012, 1:16 pm 1:16 pm
A foreigner killed a local girl….lucky to last the year.
Posted by: pksk531 | January 11, 2012, 1:44 pm 1:44 pm
All “little” men get their “come upins”; hopefully he’ll get his. He had no choice but to confess; he was busted. He won’t confess to Natalie; he know he got away with that..But justice will be served once he is sentenced…
Posted by: shewolff | January 11, 2012, 2:49 pm 2:49 pm
This guy is a dead man walking. He can’t afford the cost of protection in Peruvian prison for ever. Its amazing he has lasted this long. I guess they just want him to suffer in the prison for a little while, then BAM…knife or gunshot wound. They actually have guns in Peruvian prison…its near anarchy…a zoo. Justice has found him, next guy for justice to find is this Gary G guy that did the last killing in Aruba. That guy will be caught up in another mess, just wait and see…
Posted by: Justice_waits | January 11, 2012, 3:49 pm 3:49 pm
Finallly this nut will pay time for his crimes. This is just the beginning. His murder of Holloway will also unravel and he’ll spend the rest of his life in jail.
Posted by: hopesprings52 | January 11, 2012, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
So why wait – HANG HIM NOW!
Posted by: James | January 11, 2012, 5:42 pm 5:42 pm
This shows he did not kill Natalie! He has no problem confessing to this murder. Natalie was on an island with alot of undesirable, questionable people around and it could have been ANYONE that murdered her.
Posted by: Ann | January 11, 2012, 7:51 pm 7:51 pm
I hope they give him the MAX!
Posted by: mlr | January 11, 2012, 8:30 pm 8:30 pm
He may be released when he’s only 45 years old.
Posted by: newcountryman | January 12, 2012, 8:47 am 8:47 am
Ann (7:51 AM), Come on now!
Posted by: newcountryman | January 12, 2012, 8:47 am 8:47 am
I feel if he actually had information for the Holloway case in Aruba, he’d would be in prison there & and another family would still have their daughter. Aruba was & is still not equipped to handle this kind of case. According to Peru’s law with good behavior he could get out in under 17 years. I feel he should get life there however on the other hand this gives the United States time to extradite Van der sloot upon release from prison for fraud since he was also caught trying to get money from Holloway’s mother to get her remains. Which will give him another 15 to 25 years in prison & safe from other women.
Now do I believe that tape from the detective who got him to confess back in his country, yes I do. His body language & the way he reflect on what happened tells the tale. Also he shows no remorse for his crime there by giving the indication that at that point he told the truth. I also personally believe he was lying when he told the Judge in court today that he was sorry & full of remorse. Just my opinion. Thank you.
Posted by: VLeeD | January 12, 2012, 1:43 pm 1:43 pm