Joran van der Sloot

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Joran van der Sloot : biography

06 August 1987 –

On March 14, 2011, the National Police of Peru provided a copy of the hard disk drive from Van der Sloot’s laptop computer to the FBI. Colonel Oscar González of the high tech division of the Peruvian police stated that the U.S. federal investigation was interested in information related to Holloway’s disappearance and the alleged extortion of her family. Peruvian detectives determined that the laptop accessed information about the Holloway case before Flores Ramírez arrived in Van der Sloot’s hotel room; it was then used to visit two poker websites at around the time Flores Ramírez was present in the room. According to a police dossier, the laptop was later used to search Google for the subjects: "relationship between the Peruvian and Chilean police", "Chilean border pass", " buses in Chile", and "countries that do not extradite in Latin America."

Confession and retraction

On June 7, 2010, Van der Sloot reportedly confessed to killing Flores Ramírez, after hours of interrogation. He initially proclaimed his innocence. According to an expert in Peruvian law, the confession fit a defense strategy of trying to get the charge reduced to manslaughter, which is punishable by 6 to 20 years in prison, while a conviction for murder could result in up to 35 years imprisonment. The prosecution is seeking a sentence of 30 years. Peru does not issue life sentences in standard cases of murder and has abolished capital punishment in all but exceptional circumstances, such as crimes committed under military law. However, a life sentence can be issued for a murder committed during the commission of a robbery. Peruvian president Alan García Pérez used the case to seek the reinstatement of the death penalty for murder.

On June 8, Peruvian investigators reportedly planned to take Van der Sloot back to the hotel room for a re-enactment of the crime scene as part of standard procedure, but waived it on the basis that his alleged confession was remarkably complete and corroborated by evidence. In the written confession released by Peruvian police, Van der Sloot recounted that he briefly left the hotel to get some coffee and bread, and returned to find Flores Ramírez using his laptop computer without his permission. A police source stated that she may have found information linking him to the disappearance of Holloway. An altercation allegedly began and she attempted to escape. According to the written confession that has been released by Peruvian authorities, Van der Sloot stated, "I did not want to do it. The girl intruded into my private life . . . she didn’t have any right. I went to her and I hit her. She was scared, we argued and she tried to escape. I grabbed her by the neck and hit her." Van der Sloot reportedly stated that he was intoxicated with marijuana at the time. A detective linked to the case said that Van der Sloot considered getting rid of the body in a suitcase, but decided against it because he would have been stopped at the front desk. He then reportedly drank espresso and took amphetamines to counter fatigue before fleeing.

Criminal police chief Cesar Guardia said Van der Sloot "let slip that he knew the place" where Holloway’s body is buried. Guardia stated that the interrogation was limited to their case in Peru, which he considered "practically closed," and that questions about Holloway’s disappearance were avoided. Guardia said that the confession contains lies because Van der Sloot’s "toxicological report shows no signs that he had ingested any kind of drug." Felonies committed under the influence of drugs can gain leniency in Peruvian courts. Guardia said that the motive for the crime was robbery. Van der Sloot reportedly offered a different motive for killing Flores Ramírez, stating that he "feared that she would go to the police." On June 14, Peruvian authorities released written transcripts of Van der Sloot’s alleged confession. His mother Anita expressed concern that her son’s confession may have been coerced. According to Van der Sloot’s former attorney Luz Maria Romero Chinchay, his mother advised him not to make any statements nor sign anything, but it was too late.