Van der Sloot Initially Blamed a Thief

More twists and turns in the case against Joran van der Sloot. The Dutch native charged in Peru with killing the 21-year-old student Stephany Flores—and long suspected in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway—initially denied any wrongdoing in Flores’ death, according a Chilean police report released to the Associated Press. Van der Sloot told police in Chile that, in fact, an unidentified robber—not him—beat Flores to death in his hotel room. “A man came out of the bathroom blocking the access door with a knife in his hand. On the bed was another man with a gun,” the report quotes Van der Sloot as saying. “The man with the knife said to be quiet, but Stephany began talking in a loud voice and he hit her in the face, making her nose bleed.” On Friday, Van der Sloot was jailed on first-degree murder and robbery charges, after confessing to the crime. He is being held at the high-security Miguel Castro Castro prison in Lima.