van der Sloot sues his lawyer

Published July 4, 2010 at 11:33 a.m.
Birmingham, Al (WIAT) Did Peruvian police botch the interrogation of murder suspect Joran van der Sloot? Or is it another in a series of legal maneuvers to get his confession thrown out? And if he has a legitimate claim against his public defender, why is it just now being raised?

There are always more questions than answers when it comes to van der Sloot, the Dutch national accused of killing 21 year old student Stephany Flores and the prime suspect in the five year old disappearance of Mountain Brook teenager Natalee Holloway...Holloway disappeared on a graduation trip to Aruba five years before Flores was killed in a Lima, Peru hotel room registered to van der Sloot.

Joran van der Sloot has sued the lawyer who represented him during a police interrogation on the day that authorities say the Dutchman confessed to killing a Peruvian woman, his current attorney said Saturday.

Maximo Altez told The Associated Press he filed suit Friday charging attorney Luz Romero Chinchay with misrepresentation, abuse of authority and conspiracy to commit a crime. Altez said the initial lawyer "pretended to be a public advocate when she is actually a private attorney."

"We have searched the name of Luz Romero Chinchay in the list of public defenders provided by the Ministry of Justice and her name was not on that list. We do not know why the police called this lawyer. We want to know who paid for her because my client did not," Altez said.

Under Peruvian law, a crime suspect who does not have private counsel is provided with a public defender who works for the Ministry of Justice.

Altez said he also has filed suit charging the same offenses against Col. Miguel Canlla, chief of the police homicide squad, who led the interrogation of Van der Sloot.

Neither Romero Chinchay nor Canlla could be reached for comment.

A motion by Van der Sloot seeking to throw out his confession was dismissed June 25. Van der Sloot recanted the confession in a jailhouse interview with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, claiming it was made under duress.

On the night of June 7, police announced that Van der Sloot had confessed to the murder of Stephany Flores on May 30 in his Lima hotel room. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 to 35 years in prison.
Whatever the outcome of the legal maneuverings in Peru, van der Sloot is also facing federal wire fraud and extortion charges filed by the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI here in Birmingham...That indictment claims van der Sloot took money from Beth Holloway for information on Natalee...but never delivered the information.






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