Van der Sloot Will Plead Guilty to Killing Date

He could be out in 20 months for 'fit of rage' attack
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 8, 2011 1:20 AM CST
Van Der Sloot Will Plead Guilty to Killing Date
Joran van der Sloot is escorted by police officers outside a Peruvian police station shortly after his arrest in the murder of Stephany Flores.   (AP Photo/Karel Navarro, File)

Natalee Holloway murder suspect Joran Van der Sloot plans to plead guilty to killing a date in a "fit of rage" during a night of drinking and gambling last year in his Peruvian hotel room. The Dutch playboy, 23, will admit to involuntary manslaughter, reports ABC News. Van der Sloot became furious and "started pushing" Stephany Flores, 21, when she peeked at his laptop, and "that is why it happened," his lawyer stated. Under Peruvian law, the maximum penalty for murder in a fit of rage is just five years; Van der Sloot could be free in as little as 20 months.

Van der Sloot's admission lends even further credence to investigators' belief that he's responsible for the disappearance of Holloway during her vacation in Aruba six years years ago. The Alabama teen was spotted with Van der Sloot, who was detained, twice, for questioning in her disappearance, but released for lack of evidence. Holloway's remains are yet to be found. In the Flores case, Van der Sloot told police he became "enraged" when his date looked up his connection to Holloway on his computer. "I lost control," he said. " I get on top of her and with both hands I begin to strangle her." He later ate breakfast over her body. (More Stephany Flores Ramirez stories.)

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