Birmingham, Al (WIAT)  While Joran van der Sloot sits in his cell at Lima's Castro Castro prison he's probably revelling in the attention he gained with an interview aired on Dutch TV Monday night.  But he's also waiting an answer on a far more important question:  his bid to get a murder confession tossed out of court because of alleged improprieties.

Under Peruvian law, it takes three appellate judges to sustain or deny an appeal.  The initial three judge panel split 2-1 in favor of the appeal, so a fourth judge was appointed.  But even that decision may not end the drama.  If the fourth judge decides against van der Sloot, a fifth judge will be appointed to review the same evidence and provide the necessary third vote.

Van der Sloot confessed to killing Stephany Flores after the Peruvian student found material relating to Natalee Holloway on van der Sloot's computer.  The body of Flores, a 21 year old student and daughter of a Peruvian business man and race car driver, was found in van der Sloot's Lima hotel room five years to the day after Holloway disappeared in Aruba.  The Mountain Brook teenager was on a graduation trip to Aruba and was last seen leaving a nightclub there with van der Sloot.  He's still the prime suspect in that case but was never charged.

So what's at stake with his appeal in Peru?  Authorities there would still have a substantial amount of evidence in their murder case, including security camera video of van der Sloot and Flores entering his hotel room but only him coming out.  Current Peruvian law would have a maximum sentence of 35 years if van der Sloot is convicted of killing Flores.

Lurking in the background are federal charges of wire fraud and extortion claiming van der Sloot scammed the Holloway family taking $25,000 but not coming across with promised information on Natalee's fate.  In his Dutch television interview he admitted the scam "I wanted to get back at Natalee's family - her parents have been making my life tough for five years,"

The United States has requested extradition on the federal charges but Peru has physical custody and their murder charges take precedent.