Joran van der Sloot’s murder trial began today but only for a short while. Van der Sloot, who is accused of murdering Stephany Flores, asked the judges for more time to consider his plea. The case was postponed until January 11th.
The Associated Press reports that the prosecutor laid out the case in front of a panel of three judges. When van der Sloot was asked how he would plea, he asked the judges if he could have more time to consider.
Van der Sloot said:
“I want to give a sincere confession, but I don’t agree with all the charges that has placed on me by the prosecutor. Can I have more time to think about this?”
The judges agreed to give van der Sloot until next Wednesday to decide how he will plea.
Van der Sloot, who is also the prime suspect in the unsolved killing of Natalee Holloway , is expected to plead guilty to the murder of Stephany Flores in order to reduce his sentence. Prosecutors are hoping to have him sentenced to 30-years in prison.
Defense attorney Jose Luis Jimenez says that his client was in a state of emotional distress when he killed Flores. Jiminez believes that the charge should be reduced from first-degree murder to simple homicide, which carries a sentence of 8 to 20 years.
Ricardo Flores, Stephany’s father, said that emotional distress had nothing to do with his daughter’s death. Ricardo says that van der Sloot killed his daughter because she had been winning at the casino and he was trying to rob her.
Ricardo said:
“We hope that throughout this process our attorneys can demonstrate the true motives for the killing of my daughter.”
Do you think Joran van der Sloot should plead guilty?
