Van der Sloot files appeal in Peru

(CNN) -- One month after his daughter's killing, Peruvian businessman Ricardo Flores met with a judge Wednesday to give a formal statement about the facts surrounding the case, family members told CNN.

Ricardo Flores helped search for Stephany Flores when she didn't come home on May 30 after a night out at a casino. Her body was later found in a hotel room in Lima, Peru, registered to Joran van der Sloot. He's been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the case.

Meanwhile, van der Sloot's attorney on Wednesday filed an appeal to a ruling that upheld the admissibility of his confession and the legality of his detention in the death of Flores, 21.

Attorney Maximo Altez filed the appeal in the morning, he said.

Ricardo Flores' meeting with the judge was his first. Van der Sloot refused an opportunity earlier this month to give the judge a statement.

Flores met with Judge Carlos Morales Cordova in Lima.

As the presiding judge, Morales has the duty to be the chief fact-finder, legal experts told CNN. Morales is getting statements from other potential witnesses, as well.

For his part, van der Sloot, 22, is trying to slow down the legal process by appealing his incarceration and trying to nullify a confession he gave.

One judge already denied his claim, but van der Sloot's attorney said his client will fight all the way to the Peruvian Supreme Court and international courts, if necessary. Wednesday's appeal was the first step.

The Flores family will hold a memorial service Wednesday night in Lima to mark the one month anniversary of Stephany Flores' killing.

Van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen, was twice arrested in connection with the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005, but he has never been charged in that case.

Police said van der Sloot admitted that he attacked Flores on May 30 after she read an e-mail in his computer connected with the Holloway case. After killing Flores, police say, van der Sloot took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile, where he was arrested on June 3.

He was returned the next day to Peru.

Van der Sloot is being held at the Miguel Castro Castro Prison, in a high-security area where only two of the 10 cells are occupied and he has no contact with the general prison population.

Bron: Edition.cnn.com