Van der Sloot Confesses: "The Girl Intruded into My Private Life"

[Jeff Dunsavage]

An officer in Peru's national police criminal investigation unit has confirmed that Joran van der Sloot confessed to the May 30 killing of university student Stephany Flores Ramirez, according to this article in the Christian Science Monitor. Flores apparently was reading details of Natalee Holloway's disappearance on Joran's laptop when he returned to the hotel room. Van der Sloot was arrested twice in the Holloway case but released for lack of evidence. Flores and van der Sloot argued and he struck her to retrieve his computer. The beating continued for several minutes. Officers say there is no evidence that Flores fought back.

"I did not want to do it. The girl intruded into my private life," he told investigators, according to Peru's La Republica newspaper. "She had no right."

What a world! The guy beats a woman to death with a tennis racquet because she dared to Google him!

It gets weirder still. According to the Monitor story:

"If charged with homicide, that would take off the table the potential charge of aggravated robbery, which carries a life sentence here. Officers had been investigating leads that van der Sloot had killed Flores to steal her winnings (about $1,000) from a hot streak at the local casino where they had met. Van der Sloot could face between 15 and 30 years for murder, with the severity depending on how the prosecutor views the evidence."

Am I reading this right? You can get a life sentence in Peru for stealing $1,000, but 15 to 30 for murder?! Please, someone tell me I'm reading this wrong. Is life officially so cheap in Peru that robbery carries a greater penalty than beating a young woman to death with a tennis raquet?

I don't think I can take any more of this....