Joran Van Der Sloot Pleads Guilty To Murder Of Stephany Flores

Joran van der Sloot has pleaded guilty in Peru on charges that he killed Stephany Flores in a Lima hotel room in 2010.

Flores, who was a 21-year-old Peruvian business student at the time of her death, was found in his hotel room after the two met at a casino.

Van der Sloot is also the lone suspect in the disappearance several years earlier of Natalee Holloway in Aruba.

Flores' body was found on June 2, 2010, and van der Sloot was soon arrested, having crossed the border into Chile. Prosecutors say he tried to cover up the crime while stealing Flores' bank cards and cash.

Van der Sloot admitted to killing Flores in a videotaped confession. He said he flew into a rage and broke Flores' neck when she allegedly used his laptop to research his role in the Holloway case.

His defense attorney Jose Luis Jimenez, says his client was in a fragile mental state from years of being labeled a killer in the international press. Jimenez hopes to reduce the charges from first-degree homicide to manslaughter.

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For more on Joran van der Sloot's guilty plea, click here to read HuffPost reporter David Lohr's wrap-up on today's developments.

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The three judges

Judges Victoria Montoya, center, Otilia Vargas, left, and Pilar Carbonel speak before the continuation of Joran van der Sloot's trial at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 11, 2012.

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Sentencing delayed

Judges say that van der Sloot's sentence will be decided on Friday.

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From NBC News

@ NBCNews : Breaking RT @lilialuciano: Joran Van der Sloot pleads GUILTY to all charges against him

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Asks for reduced sentence

Van der Sloot's lawyer asks for a reduced sentence for his client, citing his fragile state of mind at the time of the murder and his cooperation with investigators. He then wrapped up his case, which moves the trial into the next phase where a sentence will be decided.

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Objection!

The prosecutor objects to Jimenez's remarks, saying that the Holloway case shouldn't be discussed.

The judges side with the prosecutor.

"I am asking you to adhere to the allegations that are pertinent to the case," one jurist says to Jimenez.

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From The Associated Press

@ AP : Joran van der Sloot, suspect in disappearance of U.S. teen in Aruba, pleads guilty to Peru murder: http://t.co/Bn20ZpoT

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Traumatic stress disorder

Van der Sloot suffered from traumatic stress disorder the day of the Flores murder, according to his lawyer.

"It was five years after the disappearance of the American citizen and all media pointed out my client without having any evidence that he was in fact a monster," Jimenez said.

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Van der Sloot's attorney speaks

"i would like to say very sincerely ... my client, Joran van der Sloot, [on] May 30 of 2010 was 21 years old. He was in fact persecuted. He was faced against the entire world the last five years ... because of an occurrence he never actually committed and there is no existing evidence. i refer to an American citizen missing in Aruba ... added to the recent death of his father, this is all part of the baggage my client carried with him that morning that affected him in a negative order," Jimenez said.

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Van der Sloot in court

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Guilty plea

Pressed by the judge for his plea, van der Sloot says he is guilty.

"i want to give a sincere confession. i am truly regretful for what i have done. i feel very bad," he said in Spanish.

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Judge asks for plea

After a rundown of Friday's court hearing, van der Sloot has been asked for his plea. He says he wants to give a "sincere confession."

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Attorney arrives

Van der Sloot's attorney Jimenez has burst into the courtroom and got an earful from one of the judges who said he should take precautions to avoid being late.

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Where's van der Sloot's lawyer?

Jose Luis Jimenez, the defendant's attorney has not arrived yet. One of the judges said he could be caught in traffic, because there are demonstrations in Lima, Peru's capital.

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Body language

Before the panel of three female judges arrives, van der Sloot has been sitting straight up with his hands crossed in his lap.

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Van der Sloot enters court

The courtroom is beginning to fill up. Van der Sloot is wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt and unlike his first appearance on Friday, he's not wearing a bulletproof vest.

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Comments

[jessicadevyn]

07:36 PM on 01/13/2012

Karma catches up again, just like it did with OJ. A psychopath still remains a psychopath, even if there isn't enough evidence for a conviction.

[Georgina Sosa]

06:03 PM on 01/13/2012

All these comments are sad that we have to be happy for a young man to endure, torture and pain. But this guys is sick and is a killer, and he will kill and kill again. He could have gotten away with this munder also like he did before. If the camaras did not catch him he would have flown out of the county off to another to kill. He his tall and handson so young women trust him and like him. I wonder how many bad days he had in the past and a woman turned up dead. He is heartless, but yes is fate in Peru is a bad one. The jails there will not be the american jails where killers have right. You do have the right to remain silent and endure all the torture you get, and that will be what he gets. God help him, but if all of us killed when we have bad days and hard times in our lives 1/2 of the world would be gone in a week.

[Tuula Westra]

07:45 AM on 01/13/2012

Van der Who...old murdercases get comments while people in the USA are murdered by dozens every day.

[guesswhotj]

08:06 PM on 01/12/2012

I'm glad they finally got this guy.He has cost 2 young beatiful girls thier lifes.And thier families I can't image the heart break they have suffered.Not that his father is gone and no longer here to protect him he has to finally admit to his crime. He needs to tell the story about Natile also or his conceincene will never be clear and her family will never have peace.I wish ther families great relieve in all of this.If their is ever to be any.

[Sarafina Taylor]

03:45 PM on 01/12/2012

Not much sincerity in that confession. I hope they give him 30 years.

[robertstone1robert]

10:46 AM on 01/12/2012

This bug is a monster. If you entertained any doubts he dispelled them with the killing of Flores. He killed Flores because he was having a bad hair day, so stated his own lawyer. There's no legality to decide here. Get rid of this bug for good, finally. He's toying with you.

[sourkreme]

10:43 AM on 01/12/2012

I would have hated to have been Joran Van Der Sloot if I was an innocent man in the Natalee Holloway murder case. He was tried in the media over and over but not found ever to have had enough evidence to arrest and prosecute him, even the United States FBI could not find enough evidence. A young man that no matter where he went in the world he was always tied to a crime he never was charged and prosecuted. I am not saying that he is innocent at all but innocent before proven guilty. The world's best police agency could not find enough evidence to charge this young man but since it was a world story he was tried in the press. In this new case he has admitted to killing this young woman who's life was taken far to soon in this world.The hotel he murdered this new young lady had no camera's. The camera showed up when he checked in and disappeared right after he checked out. Maybe this camera here one day, gone the next stopped a serial killer in his tracks. Maybe it played a big roll in the confession, if in fact it was a confession. Murder in some foreign countries is also a crime that is very much shorter than in the United State's. Sometimes killing someone will bring you an actual time served sentence to less then 10 years, unbelievable. They say the United States is to harsh on criminals.

[Ian Llangan]

11:17 AM on 01/12/2012

He could have gone home to Holland and lived a respectable life. But ya know, murdering people much smaller and weaker than yourself who can't fight back is a bit like eating peanuts... ya can't have just one...

[sourkreme]

08:16 AM on 01/13/2012

True Ian but I hope they caught this guy early into his killing of women. Stephany Flores could have been his first kill since he was not charged & convicted in the Holloway murder. If we use the peanut analogy Ian we are doing the same thing that the newspaper's have done & try him without him having his day in court. He is going to be sentenced on one count of murder. He may have killed before,maybe many before & may have killed many after but now he will never kill again out of prison. he could get 30 years. Confession he will get less. Good conduct even less.

[Sarafina Taylor]

03:47 PM on 01/12/2012

the cameras showed him entering the room with her. maybe he only confessed because of that.

[mielkele]

09:49 AM on 01/12/2012

Yet another misleading HP headline. This plea was not a surprise. It was expected as early as a week ago.

[Angry White Guy]

09:46 AM on 01/12/2012

Anyone starting a dead pool on this man? I want to buy a square.

[sasrti]

09:45 AM on 01/12/2012

Stunning, not only does he continue to deny his involvement in the Holloway murder, but he uses that as an excuse for murdering another. What a stand-up guy. Joran Van Der Sloot Guilty Court Video (January 11, 2012) - http://ow.ly/8qXMr

[bpalmer342]

08:00 AM on 01/12/2012

There needs to be a new verdict...........caught on camera

[muscle guy]

07:52 AM on 01/12/2012

well in my book urine vandersnoot, needs to be put to sleep, permantly.........like any other rabid animal

[Tek Kirby]

07:36 AM on 01/12/2012

Seems the label fits when you kill 2 ladies.

[NancyY]

06:50 AM on 01/12/2012

From the article: "Van der Sloot admitted to killing Flores in a videotaped confession. He said he flew into a rage and broke Flores' neck when she allegedly used his laptop to research his role in the Holloway case."

Me: Van Der Sloot is just plain evil. His admission was something like, "Oops, my bad, broke her neck". I am certain that he killed Natalee Holloway, so I couldn't be on the jury in that trial. I can understand that it is a lawyer's job to represent his client to the best of his/her ability; but I have this to say to Van Der Sloot's lawyer, Jiminez: I have known people who were in a much more 'fragile state of mind' after dealing with elderly parents, young children, and having their homes wiped out by a hurricane - and they didn't harm anyone. They sought support from their families, friends, church groups, or sought professional counseling - they didn't harm anyone.

[Sarafina Taylor]

03:48 PM on 01/12/2012

I think they found no evidence that anyone searched that computer for holloway evidence--it was just another lie from van der sloot.

[NancyY]

07:06 PM on 01/12/2012

This is an interesting bit of information, which I had not read before (please provide a credible source?) - but it is quite believeable. There are evil people in this world who do such things - such as pedophiles who lurk near playgrounds to try to lure children away when their parents aren't looking. Perhaps such individuals have no concept about the "Golden Rule", I don't know (i.e., do unto others as you would have them do unto you); or perhaps they just give into whatever odd thing pops into their head at the moment. Either way, there are dangerous people of both genders out there, they have learned to play their game well to lure children and people of all ages into their lairs, and folks come up missing...

[NancyY]

07:15 PM on 01/12/2012

Another point (I knew I would run out of space on the other reply): People like Van Der Sloot seem to have no boundaries. I'm thinking that if he didn't lure Stephany Flores and kill her, he would have lured and killed another woman. I don't believe in buying into the "stranger danger" philosophy of life, but it is good to be careful about anyone with whom you may associate - especially if you meet them in a bar, or at a party, and especially, especially if you are a bit inebriated.

[ariesheart23]

03:56 AM on 01/12/2012

I am so proud of him. He did the right thing. Now, if he was in the United States these female judges would have given him life. Let's see how these female judges rule. No male judges on the panel. Kind of like ole fashion Americana back in the 1960s to slavery, all white judges and juries really gave Negroes equal justice. Oh, that would be only relevant if this trial was in the United States.

[Robert10]

08:26 AM on 01/12/2012

Please get yourself some professional help. Clearly you have severe anger issues as well as low self esteem

[ariesheart23]

11:51 AM on 01/12/2012

And you wish it was truth, because-why. You're afraid of the truth. Your don't think a three man judging panel overseeing a woman for murder in Iran wouldn't get a lot of anger from feminists groups and Americans in general? If it's about justice then you are right; justice is blind and no legal system should be attacked. The low self-esteem thing you got going. In my day, you never heard of such crap. Have you ever noticed that low self-esteem men who are abused by their wives/gfs, etc. are no treated as victims like so-call low self-esteem women? Ain't that funny, I did you know low self-esteemed women can usually get lesser sentences or no sentence, if they have a man doing the crime with them-he self-esteem is not considered, so very really, give it a break. Low self-esteem is just politics which only benefit women.

[jessicadevyn]

07:35 PM on 01/13/2012

And male judges would have found him not guilty?

[ariesheart23]

10:04 AM on 01/14/2012

That was not my point. I would have found his butt guilty. However, I know if an Islamic woman was being charged with a crime like this against a man or her husband. where all the judges were men; women's group and most Americans would be pissed.