Legal Commentary

Joran Van der Sloot En Route to Peru, Denies Killing Flores

By Jeralyn

Joran Van der Sloot, expelled from Chile, is en route to Peru where officials want to question him about the murder of Stephany Flores.

It will be a long day -- he left Chile at 8:55 a.m. (handcuffed this time) with three detectives in a plane.

The plane will undertake the five hour plus journey to the border, stopping in San Padro de Atacama to refuel, before touching down in Arica, in the north of Chile. The suspect will then be taken over the border to Peru by land and handed over to Peruvian authorities.

On their side, Peruvian police have begun arrangements to receive the suspect at Santa Rosa, Tacna, the southernmost city in Peru. From Tacna, van der Sloot will be transported by air to the the Peruvian capital, Lima.

To avoid the delays an extradition process can take, Chile agreed to expel Joran as being "an undesirable" or illegally in the country, which allows them to return him to the country from which he crossed into Chile, which is Peru. [More...]

Joran has denied killing Flores.

Fernando Ovalle, deputy prefect of Aliens of the Investigative Police of Chile (PDI), told local media that Van der Sloot "obviously denies any involvement they may have in fact against him."

Once back in Peru,

Once back in Peru, van der Sloot will be held for an initial 24-hour arrest warrant. The police can then request that the judge assigned to the case extend the detention for seven to 14 days to further the investigation. The judge will determine whether to keep the suspect behind bars or release him while he awaits trial. The investigative police say van der Sloot is unlikely to be let out on bail.

Dutch news reports Joran talked to his mother last night and did not confess to killing Flores. Their family lawyer is trying to get word to him to retain a criminal defense lawyer experienced in South American international criminal law.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 04, 2010 (boomark / email).