Van der Sloot admits to Peru slaying

LIMA, March 8 (UPI) -- The man accused of killing a woman in Peru last year and wanted in the disappearance of a U.S. student has admitted to the Peru slaying, his attorney said.

In exchange for admitting guilt in the death of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, his attorney asked the court to charge Joran Van der Sloot with a lesser offense, CNN reported Tuesday.

"In his statement to the police, Joran admitted that he committed the crime, but it was not in the way that the police said it happened," attorney Maximo Altez said. "We have submitted a motion to show that he shouldn't be charged with aggravated murder, but with violent emotion murder."

Violent emotion murder is the equivalent of manslaughter in the United States, CNN said. Van der Sloot could be sentenced to as long as five years in prison if convicted of the lesser charge, and 15 years if he were found guilty of the murder charge.

Altez said he made the motion last year, but a judge hasn't ruled on it.

Van der Sloot was charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the death of Flores, whose body was found in June in a Lima hotel room registered to the Dutch national.

He also is considered the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Van der Sloot was arrested twice in that case but has not been charged.

Van der Sloot also faces federal wire fraud and extortion charges in the United States. Prosecutors say he tried to get more than $250,000 from Holloway's family in exchange for the location of her body.