Tag: Joran Van der Sloot (page 3)

Joran Van der Sloot will appear before a judge today in Lima. (Court's press release here, Spanish version here.) The hearing will be at Miguel Castro Castro prison. Again, the media reports are all over the place as to what charges the prosecutor has asked the Judge to consider and who his lawyer will be.

First off, contrary to some news reports Sunday (which appear to be based on this one from Lima, translation here), New York attorney Joe Tacopina is not going to Peru (at least not at this time) but he has been consulting with Joran's mother and assisting her in securing a top attorney in Peru. How do I know? He's a good friend of mine and he just told me.

Second, as I understand them, the charges being contemplated are murder (with special circumstances) and simple theft (not aggravated robbery.) The best source is the Court's press release announcing the charges on June 11, 2010. Translation, followed by Spanish: [More...]

By now, I'd bet as many people have seen the arrest, perp walk and transfer of Joran Van der Sloot from police headquarters in Lima, Peru to the Big House at Miguel Castro Castro Prison as 15 years ago watched the perp walk of Timothy McVeigh as he was led out from the Noble County Courthouse in Oklahoma in his orange bullet-proof vest.

Amid throngs of media and crowds of angry bystanders, millions watched as Joran, wearing a bullet-proof vest with his head partially covered by a blanket, was manhandled by police as they whisked him into a waiting van (that appeared to be an ambulance.) The police allowed media cameras to continue filming as they followed the van to Castro Castro Prison. They even allowed the media to enter the prison so they could film Joran being perp-walked to his cell.

Within days, police released security camera videos from the scene of the crime and the casino where Joran and Stephany Flores played poker, video and photos of the inspection of his property upon arrest and the transcript of his post-arrest "confession." More recently, they revealed the crime-scene photos to a U.S. publication (which, in a desire to make sure everyone knew they had the exclusive, so prominently branded its name into the photos, the photos are practically worthless and not even worth linking to.)

The point: While it may appear the death of Stephany Flores is the crime of the century in Peru, and the reason for the wall-to-wall, symbiotic police-media video coverage, it turns out it isn't. This is just how they do things in Peru. [More...]

Judge Carlos Morales Cordova of the 4th Criminal Court in Lima, who is conducting the inquiry into the charges of murder and simple theft filed against Joran Van der Sloot, has scheduled an interrogation of Joran at Miguel Castro Castro Prison for 10:00 am Monday Morning. [Google translation here. Another version is here, translation here.)

The press release in Spanish is here and the Google Translated version here.

Judge Cordova is also requesting psychiatric and other expert evaluations, and the autopsy findings, to assist him in deciding whether Joran should stand trial on these charges. He also plans to schedule a reconstruction of the crime scene and will interrogate the three taxi drivers charged with failing to report the crime.

El Commercio and Peru 21 are reporting that Joran Van der Sloot is getting a new attorney -- Cesar Nakasaki, attorney for former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Nakasaki says he cannot confirm the information.

Joran also has a judge, Carlos Morales Cordova, of the Fourth Circuit Court for Prison Inmates. He has received the complaint against him, charging simple murder and theft. Reportedly, Joran will go to court on Friday for his first appearance. [More...]

This video shows Joran Van der Sloot's booking at the Miguel Castro Castro Jail in Lima, and the cameras follow as he is brought to his cell and given a blood pressure check and answering some questions. Another notorious murderer tries to enter his cell and his whisked away. He's calm and polite throughout. He does tell the medical examiner his head hurts. He tells the reporters he's suspected of murder.

24ora.org has published the ten page police report with the transcript of Joran Van der Sloot's entire confession to Peruvian authorities. It's in Spanish. A clearer copy is here.

At the end, Joran is asked if he wants to add anything. He says he wants Peru to close their case so he can be extradited to Aruba and tell the authorities about Natalee Holloway. (In the statement, he also says he asked the Chilean authorities if he could be extradited to Aruba.)

Joran Van der Sloot has been transferred to Miguel Castro Castro maximum security prison. (Google translation here.)

Our post on the problems at Miguel Castro Castro prison is here. His lawyer calls it "Dante's Inferno." Pervian authorities say he will be segregated from other prisoners.

Peruvian prisons have very high rates of tuberculosis.

Who else is at Castro Castro, besides murderers? [More...]

Joran Van der Sloot has been charged with aggravated murder in Peru, (Google translation here) with findings he intended to rob Stephany Flores, persuaded her to come to his hotel room and then brutally murdered her and tried to cover it up. (Added: Later press release from the court (English Google translation here) explains it differently. It's homicide with special circumstances and simple theft.)

Another version here (Google translation here.)

Three cab drivers were also charged with failure to report a crime. The complaint alleges they knew of the crime when or after they drove Joran. Some reports say the maximum sentence for murder during the commission of a robbery with extreme violence is is 35 years, others say it's life.

As to the cover-up, it may have to do with his having pretended to have lost the key to his room. [More...]

The federal court in Alabama has unsealed the Affidavit in support of the complaint charging Joran Van der Sloot with extortion. You can read it here.

The Affidavit begins with Van der Sloot contacting a "cooperating witness" who from all accounts, seems to be Holloway's lawyer John Q. Kelly. What's not said is what prompted Van der Sloot to contact Kelly, and whether it was one of Hollway's private detectives or persons they knew to be in touch with Joran. In other words, just because Joran contacted Kelly before Kelly contacted him, doesn't mean the idea didn't originate with Team Holloway and Joran just took the bait. [More..]

News reports from Peru tonight say detectives in Peru will release their report tomorrow recommending Joran Van der Sloot be charged with homicide, not manslaughter, which carries a sentence of between 15 and 35 years. (Google translation here.)

The report lists as aggravating factors that he concealed evidence and fled the country. Also considered key: The statements of the hotel receptionist Adeli Abad and her supervisor, Antonio Kuanand that of Uruguayan poker player Elton Garcia. [More...]

Watch Stephany greet Joran when she enters the casino alone at 3:20 am. She walks right up to him and he extends his hand. She sits down and moves over to sit next to him. I think they had played together before. They are greeting each other, not meeting each other.

When they get up from the table together, they leave and Joran comes back to the table (I think to tip the croupier) and a guy starts talking to him and then Stephany walks up. Is that Elton Garcia? (Background here.)Is Elton Garcia in any of the images? See below for the fold for video of Elton Garcia.

When they leave the casino together, he and Stephany are chatting. From the moment she walks into the casino through the time they leave, you don't see her with her head down (like in the hotel video), following behind him. They seem together and comfortable together. [More...]

According to El.commercio.pe, when Joran Van der Sloot was questioned by the Chilean police, he provided quite a different version of the events that transpired the night Stephany Flores accompanied him to his hotel room. (Google translation here.)

In the Chilean version, Joran and Stephany were stopped by two men in a white car as they were leaving the casino. The men were wearing police uniforms, put them in the white car and demanded money. When Joran and Stephany later got to his hotel and went inside, there was a man in the bed with a gun in his belt. A second man came out of the bathroom with a knife. One of the men hit Stephany in the face. The men were the same two men dressed as police that had stopped them earlier. [More...]

According to news reports in Peru, Joran Van der Sloot's mother, Anita Van der Sloot, is heading to Peru to support her son. (Google translation here.)

The article also states Joran will be moved to Miguel Castro Castro prison after being charged and sentenced. (My prior post on the prison is here. )Authorities have delayed his trip to the hotel to walk them through events due to security. It is now scheduled for tomorrow.

In other reports, Joran's Dutch attorney says Joran told his mother his confession was coerced.