Van der Sloot gets 28 years in Peru murder
LIMA, Peru -- Joran van der Sloot was sentenced on Friday to 28 years in prison for the murder of a young woman he met at a Lima casino, even as the family of U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway still sought to have him prosecuted in the United States over her disappearance in 2005.
The decision comes two days after the young Dutchman pleaded guilty to killing Stephany Flores, a 21-year-old business student.
The court also ordered him to pay $75,000 in reparations to the victim's family, deeming the killing "cruel" and "ferocious."
Van der Sloot, 24, showed no emotion as the court clerk read the sentence, describing how he elbowed Flores in the face, beat her and then strangled her with his bloodied shirt. He told the court he reserves the right to appeal the conviction and sentence.
The judges said that with time already served, van der Sloot's sentence would end in June 2038. But under Peru's penal system, Van der Sloot could be eligible for parole after serving half of the sentence with good behavior, including work and study.
Van der Sloot's lawyer argued he killed Flores on May 30, 2010, in a fit of rage he blamed on psychological trauma from being hounded as the prime suspect in the Holloway case.
That case remains open.
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