Suspect in Natalie Holloway Case Facing Murder Charge in Peru

The FBI was scheduled to fly to Peru in order to investigate Joran van der Sloot’s laptop. They will be looking for any evidence connected to the Natalee Holloway case from 2005. Ms. Holloway was found murdered on the island of Aruba during her spring break; her killer has never been found but Mr. van der Sloot was a suspect. In Peru, van der Sloot is being accused of first degree murder and robbery involving the death of Stephany Flores in 2009. The suspect met Flores in a hotel in Lima at a gambling table. He has confessed to the killing but refuses to plead guilty to first degree murder. His defense attorney Maximo Alvarez explained that there was no premeditation by his client, and that the incident was out of “violent emotion” as quoted by CNN. Under Peruvian law van der Sloot could plead guilty to a lesser charge, similar to a manslaughter charge. The crime of passion type charge carries 3-5 years in prison in Peru. The Dutch national confessed to killing Flores after she was prying online on his laptop and found his connection to the Holloway case. He said she hit him in the head, and during the incident he elbowed her in the eye, strangled her with his hands and in the end used his shirt to cover her face until she stopped breathing. He then fled to Chile where he was captured by authorities. Van der Sloot faces charges in the US for extortion and wire fraud. Authorities explain that he had asked Holloway’s parents for money in exchange for the location of their daughter’s body. That information turned out to be false.