Dutchman pleads guilty to murder in Peru

During his trial in Lima, Dutch citizen Joran Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to killing 21-year-old Peruvian Stephany Flores.

The decision to plead guilty today was made in an attempt to get the Dutchman a reduced sentence under Peruvian law.

Van der Sloot, 23, had initially requested an adjournment during trial proceedings to think about how to plead.

Flores had been found dead in a hotel in Lima on 30 May 2010 after Van der Sloot had met the girl in a Lima casino.

The man was accused by the prosecution of murdering Flores in an act of brutality and rage after playing poker together at the casino.

Van der Sloot is also a suspect in the disappearance of US student Natalee Holloway in 2005 but her body had never been found.

Van der Sloot said he had killed Flores after she had found information which may have connected him to Holloway’s disappearance.

A 30-year jail term is being sought after by the prosecution and the three judges overseeing the trial have 48 hours to pass the sentence.

The Dutch citizen had murdered Flores exactly five years after Holloway was last seen.