Joran van der Sloot's request to retract his confession to last month's murder of Peruvian business student Stephany Flores has been termed "baseless" – and has been denied by a court in Lima, say reports.
The attorney for the Dutch murder suspect, 22, had claimed that his client's statement confessing to the brutal beating of Flores was made under duress and should be invalidated, as it allegedly infringed upon his constitutional rights. The lawyer said he would help police re-interview van der Sloot.
The attorney says he will appeal Friday's decision to let the confession stand.
On his own behalf, van der Sloot said from his cell at the maximum-security Miguel Castro Castro prison to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, "I was very scared and confused during the interrogations and wanted to get away. In my blind panic, I signed everything but didn't even know what it said."
However, police say their questioning of van der Sloot took place in accordance with established standards, in the presence of a prosecutor and a government-appointed attorney.
While he awaits his trial – which is expected to begin in anywhere between three to 12 months, say experts – van der Sloot stands charged with first-degree murder, along with aggravated robbery for allegedly taking more than $10,000 in gambling money from Flores.
In addition, van der Sloot still remains a person of interest in the 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Joran van der Sloot has filed a complaint of misconduct against Peruvian police officials, claiming he was wrongfully arrested and not given a translator when he was questioned for the murder of Stephany Flores, according to local reports.
In the complaint, the Dutch national, 22, says his June 3 arrest in Chile was executed without a proper warrant. He also claims he was confused during the interrogation because authorities did not provide an official translator, El Comercio reports.
"All this with the intention of pressuring me to accuse me of homicide," he said, according to a document obtained by Peruvian news program 24 Hours.
Van der Sloot recently retracted his confession, telling a Dutch newspaper he was "very scared and confused during the interrogations."
During the prison cell interview, he claims he only admitted to killing Flores, a business student, because police intimidated him and promised he would be transferred back to the Netherlands.
According to police, Flores was murdered on May 30 – five years to the day U.S. teen Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba. Van der Sloot was arrested twice but never charged in that case.
After providing chilling details of Stephany Flores's final moments, Joran van der Sloot is now reportedly retracting his confession and claims he was tricked by investigators.
"I was very scared and confused during the interrogations and wanted to get away," he said during a prison cell interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. "In my blind panic, I signed everything but didn't even know what it said."
The Dutchman, 22, said he only admitted to killing Flores May 30th – five years to the day Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba – because police intimidated him and promised he would be transferred back to the Netherlands if he confessed.
Meanwhile, his mother, Anita van der Sloot, broke her silence, granting her first interview in years to the same Dutch newspaper.
"He is not a monster," Anita tells De Telegraaf. "He's sick in the head but wanted no help."
In the interview, Anita also reveals that Joran was to be committed to a psychiatric hospital just two days before he fled for Peru, where he has been charged with Flores's murder. Anita says Joran had "nothing to do with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005." But, she adds, "Stephany, he may have killed."
Anita says she and her husband, who passed away of a heart attack in February, made a mistake by allowing a "traumatized" Joran the opportunity to study in the Netherlands following the Holloway case. "He already needed psychiatric help back then," she says. Since then, her son's life spiraled downward quickly.
Anita says Joran told many lies, struggled with an addiction to poker and experienced severe pychological stress following his father's death from a heart attack, for which he blamed himself. Though she stood by his side during his two arrests tied to Holloway's disappearance, she concludes: "I will not visit him in his cell ... I cannot embrace him ... I believed Joran, despite his many lies."
Joran van der Sloot's request to retract his confession to last month's murder of Peruvian business student Stephany Flores has been termed "baseless" – and has been denied by a court in Lima, say reports.
