Van der Sloot as Victim? "Thinks a Lot" About Flores Family, Admits Extorting Holloways for Revenge
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Joran van der Sloot is expressing regret for what the family of murder victim Stephany Flores is going through, and he's also admitting he extorted Natalee Holloway's family to get back at them for making his life "rough" the last five years, according to an interview he recently gave to a Dutch television station.
PICTURES:
Joran van der Sloot Hotel Room Crime Scene
According to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, van der Sloot said he "thinks a lot" about Stephany Flores' family and the "horrible things" they have gone through. Stephany's body was found in van der Sloot's hotel room in Peru on May 30, and police say he stole her money and credit cards and fled to Chile. He is being held in a Peruvian prison after confessing to the murder.
Van der Sloot also opened up about new allegations in the case of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama high school senior who went missing five years ago in Aruba after last being seen leaving a casino with van der Sloot. The FBI has brought federal charges against the young Dutchman alleging that he extorted money from the Holloways, by claiming to know where the teen's body is. Van der Sloot says he did it out of revenge.
"I wanted to get back at Natalee's family - her parents have been making my life tough for five years," the paper quoted him as saying from prison in Peru. "When they offered to pay for the girl's location, I thought: 'Why not'?"
Van der Sloot refused to talk to de Telegraaf about the details of the Flores case, except to maintain that the confession he gave police in June was coerced and that he was not allowed to call his mother or arrange for his own attorney.
Maximo Alteza, van der Sloot's Peruvian attorney, say they are appealing the confession because van der Sloot's rights were violated, and he told CNN that his client "could be released because of the mistakes made by the police during the investigation."
Complete Coverage of Joran van der Sloot on Crimesider.
