- Joran van der Sloot, a central figure in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, has changed his defense strategy and is expected to plead guilty today in Peru to all charges in the killing of a Peruvian woman, his lawyer tells CNN.
By Karel Navarro, AP
The 24-year-old Dutchman is charged with "qualified murder" and simple robbery, in the death of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in Lima. The charge carries a 30-year sentence.
Before the change of plans, Van der Sloot had intended to admit killing Flores in her hotel room in May 2010, but to fight harsher charges that could bring more time in prison, his attorney, Luis Jimenez tells CNN.
Jimenez says the new strategy is for Van der Sloot to give a "sincere confession," which under Peruvian law can qualify him for a more lenient sentence, CNN reports.
Three judges will preside over the non-jury trial that opens today in Lima.
Police say Van der Sloot took Flores' money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile, where he was arrested a few days later.
Van der Sloot was linked, but never charged, in the disappearance of Holloway, who vanished in 2005 while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with Van der Sloot, but he has maintained he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
In June 2010, Van der Sloot was charged in the U.S. attempting to extort a million dollars from the Holloway family by promising to say where Natalee's body was.
He used a $25,000 advance to pay for a flight to Lima, where his fatal meeting with Stephany Flores took place, Radio Netherlands reports.
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