News / International
Convicted murderer to marry in prison
01 Jun 2013 at 10:49hrs | Views
Convicted murderer Joran van der Sloot is planning to marry a Peruvian woman in the prison where he is serving a 28-year sentence, his lawyer has confirmed.
The couple are awaiting permission from penal authorities for a wedding within two weeks in Piedras Gordas prison, Maximo Altez said.
Mr Altez identified the bride as Leydi Figueroa Uceda, and denied reports in the Peruvian media the couple were getting married so Van der Sloot can avoid possible extradition to the US to face charges.
He also denied claims that they had a son together. Reports last year claimed the couple had conceived a child during conjugal visits to the prison.
Mr Altez said: "He is in love, that is what motivates all men (to marry), he truthfully is in love.
"He wants to get married, change his life, make a new life."
On Wednesday, Van der Sloot's lawyer sought a sentence reduction to 20 years for the 25-year-old Dutch national.
He was convicted of the brutal 2010 murder of a young Lima woman he met in a casino and jailed for 28 years in 2012.
Van der Sloot remains the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance in his native Aruba of US teenager Natalee Holloway.
Ms Holloway was 18 years old when she vanished during a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island. She was last seen leaving a bar on May 30, 2005, with Van der Sloot.
Her body has never been found and in January a judge officially declared her as dead.
Van der Sloot faces extortion and wire fraud charges in Alabama in connection with Ms Holloway's disappearance - which occurred five years to the day before he killed Peruvian business student Stephany Flores, 21, after meeting her in a Lima casino.
US prosecutors allege he accepted $25,000 (£16,500) in cash from her family in exchange for the promise to lead a lawyer to her body in 2010.
The couple are awaiting permission from penal authorities for a wedding within two weeks in Piedras Gordas prison, Maximo Altez said.
Mr Altez identified the bride as Leydi Figueroa Uceda, and denied reports in the Peruvian media the couple were getting married so Van der Sloot can avoid possible extradition to the US to face charges.
He also denied claims that they had a son together. Reports last year claimed the couple had conceived a child during conjugal visits to the prison.
Mr Altez said: "He is in love, that is what motivates all men (to marry), he truthfully is in love.
"He wants to get married, change his life, make a new life."
He was convicted of the brutal 2010 murder of a young Lima woman he met in a casino and jailed for 28 years in 2012.
Van der Sloot remains the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance in his native Aruba of US teenager Natalee Holloway.
Ms Holloway was 18 years old when she vanished during a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island. She was last seen leaving a bar on May 30, 2005, with Van der Sloot.
Her body has never been found and in January a judge officially declared her as dead.
Van der Sloot faces extortion and wire fraud charges in Alabama in connection with Ms Holloway's disappearance - which occurred five years to the day before he killed Peruvian business student Stephany Flores, 21, after meeting her in a Lima casino.
US prosecutors allege he accepted $25,000 (£16,500) in cash from her family in exchange for the promise to lead a lawyer to her body in 2010.
Source - SkyNews
