Lawyer: Van der Sloot to Plead Temporary Insanity in Peru Slaying

Still a suspect in Holloway disappearance, he bids for shorter sentence in Flores case.

Joran van der Sloot plans to plead guilty to killing a young Peruvian woman he met gambling but will argue temporary insanity in a bid to significantly shorten his sentence, his defense lawyer said Monday.

Van der Sloot, the key suspect in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba, will use a "violent emotion" defense in the slaying of Stephany Flores, attorney Maximo Altez told The Associated Press.

Altez said he filed papers three weeks ago informing prosecutors of his intent to argue that Van der Sloot became enraged and killed the 21-year-old Peruvian business student last May 30 because she had learned of his relation to Holloway by looking in his laptop.

The 23-year-old Dutchman is accused of first-degree murder, which carries a 15- to 35-year sentence on conviction.

The "violent emotion" plea is typically used in Peru for crimes of passion where a spouse, for example, is surprised in the act of adultery.

If it were to be accepted by a trial judge, Van der Sloot would be sentenced to 3 to 5 years, and Altez said his client could be freed in 20 months.

Peruvian judges and prosecutors rarely speak publicly about their cases and it was not known how they would react to Van der Sloot's planned plea.

-MSN.com