Birmingham, Ala (WIAT)  Will a murder conviction for Joran van der Sloot lead to an icy cell in an area known as the Siberia of Peru...or to an even less hospitable extradition to face legal charges in Alabama?

The Dutchman is scheduled to stand trial beginning tomorrow in Lima for the murder of Stephany Flores.  She's the 21 year old student he met in a casino, took back to his hotel room and, according to his own confession, killed when she found material relating to Natalee Holloway on his laptop.

Van der Sloot claims its a crime of passion.  Peruvian prosecutors say murder and robbery.

Conviction looks like a pretty sure thing given the confession....but what then?  Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf says Peru is making plans for his transfer to the Challapalca high security prison, which is located next to a military base in a remote, inhospitable and mountainous region of Peru near the Bolivian border.

But there's another alternative....extradition to the U.S. to face extortion and wire fraud charges here in Alabama.  Van der Sloot was indicted by a Birmingham grand jury of taking money from the Holloway family in exchange for information about Natalee's fate.  The feds say he took the money but never came across with any information.

Natalee Holloway is the Mountain Brook teen who disappeared on a graduation trip to Aruba.  She was last seen leaving an Oranjestad bar with van der Sloot who, although questioned repeatedly by Aruban authorities was never charged in her disappearance.

In a case fraught with "can you believe this", reality show type moments, here are two more:  Stephany Flores corpse was found in van der Sloot's Lima hotel room on the five year anniversary of Natalee's disappearance....and it's widely believed he traveled to Lima for a poker tournament with the money he got from the Holloway family.

Stay tuned.