Van der Sloot postpones plea

Joran van der Sloot on Friday asked for more time to "reflect" on what plea he will make during his murder trial, shortly after his attorney indicating the 24-year-old Dutch man suddenly had changed his strategy in relation to the killing.
Earlier in the day, his attorney said van der Sloot was expected to plead guilty to all charges, but when it came time to tell the court, he asked instead for more time.
When asked for a plea by the magistrates, van der Sloot said he wanted to give a "sincere confession" -- a type of guilty plea that can qualify him for a reduced sentence -- but did not agree with all of the charges against him. When the judge
The trial is postponed until Wednesday, when van der Sloot is expected to finally give his plea. He is charged with "qualified murder" and simple robbery in the killing of 21-year-old Stephany Flores.
On Friday, prosecutors went over all the evidence and witnesses they had and gave a summation of the case against van der Sloot.
The Dutch national was considered the prime suspect in the case of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, who vanished in 2005 while on a graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with van der Sloot and two other men. Van der Sloot was arrested twice but never charged in connection with Holloway's disappearance, which is still unsolved.
He now stands accused of killing Flores in his Lima hotel room in May 2010. Police say he took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile, where he was arrested a few days later.
Van der Sloot faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Flores' family later tried -- unsuccessfully -- to convince three judges from the superior court of Lima to impose an even more serious slate of charges that could have included a life sentence.
The victim's family, including her father, Ricardo Flores, had pushed for stiffer charges and said that van der Sloot hasn't looked "remorseful" in court appearances.
"He had an indifferent and prideful attitude. He looks as if he has everything under control. He looks better than when he appeared on TV after he was arrested," Ricardo Flores told CNN last year.
Three judges are presiding over van der Sloot's trial, and there is no jury.
Besides the Flores murder trial, van der Sloot also faces extradition to the United States. In June 2010, a federal grand jury in Alabama indicted him on charges of wire fraud and extortion after allegations surfaced that he tried to extort $250,000 from Holloway's mother. He was given a total of $25,000, and authorities believe he used that money to travel to Peru and participate in a poker tournament, where he met Flores.
Holloway's father told HLN's "Nancy Grace" show on Friday night that he felt van der Sloot appeared intent on trying to "cause ... issues and problems" during his court appearance. The father said he that believed the Dutch national seemed to be trying to manipulate the Peruvian system, saying he felt he'd done the same in court appearances in Aruba surrounding his daughter's disappearance.
"He's done this many times before," Dave Holloway said. "I think this was all planned outasked for clarification, he said he needed more time to decide his plea.