Joran van der Sloot Pleads Guilty to Murdering Stephany Flores

Karen Navarro/AP

Joran van der Sloot finally entered a guilty plea for the murder of Stephany Flores last year Wednesday morning. The trial, held in Lima, Peru, was postponed after van der Sloot asked for more time to consider his plea at a hearing last Friday. Victoria Montoya, the presiding magistrate of the three-judge panel who will decide his sentence, said they will reconvene Friday.

Prosecutors have asked for the maximum sentence of 30 years for the charges first degree murder and theft , although van der Sloot and his attorney, Jose Jiminez (no relationship to the Bill Dana character), hope that he will receive a reduced sentence because of the guilty plea. Jiminez contends that the correct charge should have been manslaughter with a shorter 5-year sentence, because the murder was not premeditated. Police forensic experts claim the crime scene evidence rules out manslaughter.

In Ham on Wry's post last Friday, I identified Joran van der Sloot as a sociopath, but in conducting more research on his background, I would agree with the Flores family lawyer that he is a psychopath. He doesn't fit the description of a loner. Whatever term one uses, he belongs in jail for as long as possible. He has shown no remorse, has behaved disrespectfully in the courtroom, and has created a media circus around a terrible tragedy for the family of Stephany Flores.


His demeanor in the photo above reflects the he finally grasps the consequences of his violence. Natalee Holloway's parents might never have the satisfaction of learning the truth about their daughter's disappearance, but his incarceration for his crime in Peru might give them some sense of satisfaction.