Van der Sloot pleads guilty to killing Peru woman

Joran van der Sloot looks back from his seat after entering the courtroom for the continuation of his murder trial at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru. (Jan. 11, 2012) Credit: AP
The 24-year-old Dutch citizen's trial opened last week but was adjourned to Wednesday after Van der Sloot asked for more time to decide how to plead. He said last week that was inclined to confess but doesn't accept the aggravated murder charges the prosecution seeks.
Van der Sloot claimed in a confession shortly after the May 30, 2010, murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores that he killed her in a fit of rage after she discovered on his laptop his connection to the 2005 disappearence of Natalee Holloway.
But prosecutors say Van der Sloot killed Flores, a business student from a prominent family, in order to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met. They say he killed her with "ferocity" and "cruelty," beating then strangling her in his his Lima hotel room.
Huntington Cinema Arts Centre co-director fired; Remembering 9/11: 3 LI brothers follow in fallen firefighter father's footsteps; Labor Day Weekend travel hacks; Biggest back-to-school day on LI; Tracking possible storms
Huntington Cinema Arts Centre co-director fired; Remembering 9/11: 3 LI brothers follow in fallen firefighter father's footsteps; Labor Day Weekend travel hacks; Biggest back-to-school day on LI; Tracking possible storms



