Birmingham, Ala (WIAT) Joran van der Sloot's attempt to beat a murder wrap on procedural grounds has been tossed by a Peruvian appeals court.
Van der Sloot has been in prison in Peru since 2010 awaiting trial on charges he murdered a 21 year old Peruvian student. The body of Stephany Flores was found in his Lima hotel room five years to the day that Natalee Holloway vanished on a graduation trip to Aruba. Natalee was last seen leaving an Oranjestad nightclub with van der Sloot.
The connection is more than a creepy coincidence of dates. Van der Sloot told Peruvian investigators he killed Stephany after she found material relating to Natalee on his laptop.
Unlike the Aruba case where he was questioned several times but never charged, van der Sloot is facing murder charges in the Peru case. He has admitted the killing but wants a reduced sentence claiming the equivalent of temporary insanity. Police in Peru says it was murder in the course of a robbery.
Van der Sloot has long insisted his procedural rights were violated during his interrogation following his arrest. His lawyers wanted his confession thrown out. Saturday's court ruling said those claims had no merit.
