LIMA, (Reuters) – Dutch citizen Joran Van der Sloot, poised to plead guilty, went on trial today on charges of killing a young Peruvian woman in 2010, five years to the day after a U.S. teenager vanished on the island of Aruba after spending time with him.
Van der Sloot, who was arrested but not charged in the 2005 disappearance of 18-year-old Alabama woman Natalee Holloway on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, has confessed to killing 21-year-old business student Stephany Flores after meeting her in a casino in Lima.
His defense lawyer, who has complained that the panel of three judges is made up exclusively of women and might be biased against him, said on Friday Van der Sloot would plead guilty.
Van der Sloot smiled nervously as the trial opened, answered a few procedural questions the judges asked him, and then alternately closed his eyes, snoozed and yawned.
Peruvian criminal law specialists have said prosecutors were initially expected to try for a sentence of life in prison against Van der Sloot. But they had to scale back their plans and are expected to ask for a 30-year term because of sentencing guidelines for murders in which robbery could be the primary motive.
If convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison, Van der Sloot would be eligible for parole after serving 10 years.
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