Joran Van Der Sloot Confesses To Murder Of Stephany Flores

Joran van der Sloot, the 24-year-old who many believe is responsible for the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the murder of 21-year-old Stepahany Flores on May 30, 2010 — exactly five years after Holloway went missing.

Van der Sloot made a brief statement to the court in Lima, Peru, which consists of a three-judge panel, indicating that he was guilty of Flores' death. He confessed to all charges against him, which include qualified murder and simple robbery, declaring that he wanted to give a "sincere confession," according to CNN.

Many believe that this is an attempt by van der Sloot to reduce his sentence if he is convicted when he stands trial in Lima on Friday, reports ABC News. If convicted for Flores' death, sentencing could amount to anywhere between seven to 30 years behind bars. Van der Sloot's lawyer explained that his client was suffering from a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the Holloway investigation when he strangled and robbed Flores in her Lima hotel room after meeting her in a casino.

John Kelly, the attorney for Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, wrote, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Flores family during these extraordinarily painful and public proceedings," in a statement to ABC. "We hope they find some measure of privacy, inner strength and peace as time goes by." He also added that he is confident that "U.S. authorities will move quickly to bring [van der Sloot] to Alabama to face pending federal charges and to answer to his past conduct in Aruba."

Aruba is where Holloway, 19 years old at the time of her disappearance, went missing back in 2005. The federal charges against van der Sloot that Kelly refers to are for alleged fraud and extortion.