Joran van der Sloot has defied all the media reports that he would plead guilty at the beginning of his trial in Peru. The trial is being held for van der Sloot’s killing of Stefany Flores. The Dutchman instead requested more time before he entered a plea, leading the trial to be suspended until January 11, 2012.
Van der Sloot has been a longtime suspect in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway back in 2005 in Aruba. He has now been charged with first-degree murder and robbery for the slaying of Stefany Flores in May of 2010. On June 2, 2010, Flores was found dead in his hotel room in Lima, Peru.
Prosecutors for Peru are seeking a 30-year sentence for van der Sloot and a $73,000 restitution payment to the family of Flores. The authorities claim that van der Sloot’s motive in the crime was robbery.
On May 30, 2010, Flores was killed, exactly five years after the disappearance of Holloway. The body of the teenager from Alabama has never been found and van der Sloot was never charged in her disappearance. Van der Sloot was indicted in the United States on charges that he extorted $25,000 from the girl’s parents. Prosecutors claim that he told the Holloway family that he would tell them how Natalee died and where her body was if they paid him the money.
There will be no jury for the trial in Peru; three judges will preside over the proceedings.
“I’m not surprised. … They have suspended the hearing so they can have it clear,” said Ricardo Flores, father of Stephany Flores. “I think it is good for my family, for the peace, that this should come to a conclusion quickly. I hope that the Peruvian authorities do not make a joke of the sentence. I think they should allow my family to have some peace, to be able to close this issue. … We will not make any more statements.”
