Will Joran van der Sloot Plead Guilty to Murder? Natalee Halloway Homicide Examined
Alleged Dutch killer Joran van der Sloot was expected to plead guilty to the murder of Peruvian woman Stephany Flores on Friday, but he delayed his confession instead.
Joran’s attorney, Luis Jimenez, told CNN Friday that van der Sloot is acting in a last minute defense plan to get a more lenient sentence by pleading guilty in the murder trial.
His attorney had first said that van der Sloot will plead guilty in a “sincere confession” to the slaying of the 21-year-old woman, and that he would fight other charges which could land him more time behind bars. But instead, van der Sloot’s lawyer decided to delay the confession so his client could reflect on his decisions.
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Van der Sloot, 24, had admitted the May 2010 murder to Peruvian police, who spoke Spanish. His attorneys argued that he was not given a translator during the confession.
A Lima, Peru police report revealed van der Sloot admitted to losing control and killing Flores, but he didn’t want to do it.
Apparently, the two were alone in a hotel room and Flores was allegedly snooping in his laptop to find any information that would prove he was involved in Natalee Holloway’s murder. HLN also reported that Aruban prosecutors want access to van der Sloot’s laptop in lieu of his confession to see if there is evidence connecting him to Natalee Holloway.
American Natalee Holloway disappeared in 2005 when she went on an Aruban vacation following her high school graduation. She was last seen with van der Sloot, who was arrested twice in connection to the disappearance.
Van der Sloot is also suspected by U.S. officials of trying to extort $250,000 from the family of Natalee Holloway for information on her death and location of her bodily remains. There was not enough to link him to any murder. A body was never recovered and the case is still open.
Van der Sloot is in Lima, and the Peru trial is adjourned until next week.
