Accused Killer Joran van der Sloot,, Stabs Prison Guard in Escape Attempt

Natalie Holloway murder suspect, Joran van der Sloot, has been ominously quiet for quite a while. That's not surprising since he's been languishing in Peru's Miguel Castro Castro prison since June awaiting the completion of the investigation of Stephany Flores's murder. On January 15th however, Van der Sloot suddenly decided to lunge back into the headlines by stabbing a guard and then attempting to hold him hostage in a crazy, and therefore unsuccessful attempt to break out of prison.

According to the National Enquirer, Van der Sloot suddenly "freaked out" when guard, Luis Gavancho, brought a tray of food into his cell. Joran threw the tray against the wall, and when Gavancho tried to subdue him, he stabbed the prison guard in the face with a homemade "shiv." When other guards arrived on the scene, they found Joran holding the bloody Gavancho in a choke hold while "wielding the knife in his free hand." Needless to say, Joran was overpowered and his escape attempt foiled.

And what on earth could have prompted the accused murderer to think he could fight his way out of the infamous Peruvian prison with a bleeding hostage and a homemade shiv? Cocaine, of course. Or as one source explained:

"In his drugged state, he probably imagined he could hold the guard hostage and maybe escape." Right.

Latin American prisons bear notorious reputations for alleged substandard conditions and even human rights violations. If daily life for Miguel Castro prison's regular inmates is pure hell, imagine how horrific it must be for those who have been consigned to the "hole" for punishment. Like Joran van der Sloot.

Joran van der Sloot’s dad's connections were enough to keep him out of jail, but something either spooked Joran to leave Aruban jurisdiction or his family was afraid the Aruban authorities might turn him over to American authorities after his indictment for extortion and wire fraud (van der Sloot had contacted the Holloways asking for money to tell where Natalee's body could be found).

It seems strange that this young man could travel around the world from 2005 to 2010, live in foreign countries, and yet have little evidence of a job that would yield income. From reports, the young van der Sloot like to gamble, party, and live the good life — probably on family-supplied money.

Where van der Sloot made his mistake was the murder of Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez, on the 5th anniversary of Natalee Holloway's disappearance, 30 May 2010, in Lima, Peru.

Flores Ramirez was the daughter of Ricardo Flores, a former president of the Peruvian Automobile Club and prominent race car driver. Ricardo was a prominent businessman and entertainment organizer, candidate for the Peruvian vice president in 2001 and for president five years in 2006. Ricardo was, in a word, “connected”.

Van der Sloot was quickly connected to the murdered Flores Ramirez — the hotel room was in his name, witnesses had seen him and the victim entering the room together, and van der Sloot had left the hotel without returning the key and with the TV on.

Van der Sloot was recognized crossing into Chile on 31 May and was arrested by Chilean police on 3 June 2010. Prior to his arrest, van der Sloot had been trying to arrange a flight back to Aruba.

Van der Sloot was extradited to Peruvian custody on 5 June 2010 and confessed to Flores Ramirez’ murder on 7 June. On 11 June, a Peruvian judge ordered van der Sloot held on charges of first-degree murder and robbery. Van der Sloot was not eligible for bail.

He was taken to Miguel Castro Castro maximum security prison and placed in a cell near the prison director's office for his own safety. He segregated from the general prison population and is under 24-hour guard in a high-security cell block where the only other inmate is Colombian hitman Hugo Trujillo Ospina.

Joran van der Sloot was just too smart for his own good. He will have a long (or not so long) time to think about the deeds that brought him to prison.

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