Thaindian News

LIMA (BNO NEWS) — A Dutch man who is the prime suspect in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, Joran van der Sloot, is being sought in connection with the murder of a young woman in Peru.

Police in the Peruvian capital of Lima said Van der Sloot, 22, is the main suspect in the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez, whose body was found in the Miraflores District of Lima in the early morning hours on Wednesday.

Authorities said the body of Ramirez was found covered in blood in the hotel room of Van der Sloot, at the Tac Hotel in Lima. She is believed to have died from multiple stab wounds.

Friends of Flores said she had left them around 2.45 a.m. local time, and then went to visit a casino in Lima. Several hours later, at 5.16 a.m., Flores was seen leaving the casino while in the company of Van der Sloot. Her car was later found in another part of the city.

Van der Sloot arrived in Peru from Argentina on May 13, according to police, who said he left Peru by road on Monday afternoon. He is believed to have traveled to Chile.

The victim’s father, Ricardo Flores, urged authorities to arrest him. “This is not his first murder. In 2005 he killed another girl,” Ricardo said, referring to Natalee Holloway. “But because the body was not found, he was released.”

Ricardo said he appealed to Interpol to help apprehend Van der Sloot. ” I don’t want to see more people suffering,” he said. “I want to avoid that this man continues to kill.”

A spokeswoman for Aruba’s Prosecutor’s Office, Ann Angela, said her office had been updated on the Peruvian investigation and confirmed that Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant in connection with the Peruvian murder. “I can confirm that he is a suspect in the death of a Peruvian woman,” Angela said. “Also that he was placed on the list of the Interpol.”

American teenager Natalee Holloway went missing on May 30, 2005 during a high school graduation trip to Aruba. The case received international media attention, but her body was never found.

Van der Sloot remains the prime suspect in her disappearance, and made several ‘confessions’ during interviews with hidden cameras. Real evidence, however, was never found.