Anita van der Sloot: Joran Not a Monster, But Must be Punished If Involved in Peru Killing

June 23, 2010— -- Anita van der Sloot apologized to the family of the woman allegedly killed by her son, saying Joran van der Sloot was "not a monster" but that he should be punished if he was involved in the death.

"I hope that he gets a chance to talk with the parents of Stephany Flores, and that he can tell them what happened. And I apologize for them ... that he's my son. He's not a monster. He can be very gentle, but it could be that he has bipolar personality. I hope he gets the help," she said.

In a Dutch interview obtained exclusively by ABC News, Anita van der Sloot said her son was actually supposed to go for treatment at a mental institution in the Netherlands, but he instead went to Peru.

"He left me a note. Like, 'Mommy, I love you but I don't want to go to the Netherlands. I'm invited to gamble in Peru and I can make money there and I want to stay there. Just far away. Nobody knows me there. I want to think what I want to do with my life.' So ... I was very angry," she told a Dutch television crew.

See more of this interview on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. EST.

"I was ready for Joran to follow a path to the Netherlands where they could help him [deal] with his gambling, and if there was a personality disorder, which could be very possible, he could have developed that," she said.

She was shocked when she learned that, while on that trip, her son -- the Dutch playboy who was the prime suspect in the disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway -- had been accused of killing a young woman.

"I believe in karma, I believe that very strongly. I believe that if you do things that you shouldn't do, that a lot of s**t happens to you," she said. "He didn't want to listen to his parents. He didn't listen to me, this last time. I tried to do my best. I don't think I could have done more. He's considered an adult right now. He has to do whatever he needs to do, and that is tell the truth (about) what happened."

Her son is accused of the May 30 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, whose battered body was found in a Peruvian hotel room. She was last seen entering that room with the 22-year-old van der Sloot. He initially confessed to the murder, but has since retracted his confession.

Van der Sloot has also suggested that the FBI lured him to Peru in a botched sting operation.