LIMA, Peru — After Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty Wednesday to the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman he met at a Lima casino, his lawyer argued that the killing was triggered by fallout from the event that originally brought his client notoriety.
The “persecution” suffered by Van der Sloot after the unsolved disappearance of U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway five years earlier scarred him psychologically, defense attorney Jose Jimenez told the three female judges who are to sentence his client Friday.
The young Dutchman has been the prime suspect in the Holloway case since she disappeared on Aruba five years to the day before the killing of the 21-year-old Peruvian woman, business student Stephany Flores.
With the evidence against him in the Peru killing strong, Van der Sloot entered a guilty plea Wednesday at his lawyer’s urging, hoping for a reduced sentence. Prosecutors are asking for a 30-year prison sentence under charges that carry a 15-year minimum.
Van der Sloot, 24, had confessed to the May 30, 2010, killing long ago. He told police shortly after the murder that he killed Flores in a fit of rage after she discovered his connection to the disappearance of Holloway on his laptop while they played poker online. The Associated Press
