NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Joran van der Sloot's new attorney says his client's confession doesn't hold water - and he's asking a judge to throw it out, saying it was made without proper representation.
Van der Sloot's attorney, Maximo Altez, said Thursday that his client's confession was void on the grounds that he made it in the presence of a defense lawyer who was appointed by police.
But the chief of Peru's criminal police, Gen. Cesar Guardia, dismissed the lawyer's claim, saying that not only was van der Sloot properly represented by his government-appointed defense attorney, the Dutch translator present during the interrogation was assigned by the Dutch Embassy.
"The incriminatory elements were so powerful that he had to confess," Guardia said, adding that the evidence included blood stains found on Van der Sloot's clothing.
Van der Sloot was moved Thursday across downtown Lima, protected by a bulletproof vest, to a cell at the prosecutor's office where officials were preparing to file charges in the May 30 killing of Stephany Flores, who police say he met playing poker at a casino three days earlier.
Altez could not be reached directly for comment, but a person answering his cell phone identified himself as the lawyer's secretary and said Altez was unavailable. Later calls went unanswered.
If tried and convicted on murder charges, Van der Sloot would face from 15 to 35 years in prison.
Courtesy of: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20007436-504083.html
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