Joran van der Sloot arrested in Chile

Joran van der Sloot, the 22-year-old man previously accused in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway and recently linked to the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez in Lima, Peru is reportedly in police custody in Chile.

Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez was last seen alive with van der Sloot shortly before her body was found in a Lima hotel room registered to the suspect. She had been beaten and stabbed. Authorities said that they believed that Dutch national van der Sloot was heading to Argentina through Chile. CNN reported at 12:33 that van der Sloot had been spotted near the Peruvian border in Arica, Chile.

At 1:13, CNN updated the post to report that van der Sloot was confirmed to be in custody in Santiago, Chile by an Interpol spokesman. (Prior to van der Sloot’s apprehension in Chile, rumors circulated on Twitter that he had been found dead.) At a news conference, Interpol also confirmed that evidence was located connecting van der Sloot to the murder of Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez:

There is “incriminating evidence” linking van der Sloot to the killing of 21-year-old Stephany Flores Ramirez, who was found with multiple stab wounds in a Lima hotel room Wednesday, Cesar Guardia Vasquez, of Chile Interpol’s criminal investigations unit, said at a news conference.

In addition to video showing the pair together at a Lima casino, a hotel employee spotted van der Sloot with the victim just hours before her body was found.

[CNN]