Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘Taken: Natalee Holloway’ and Peacock’s ‘Pathological: The Lies of Joran Van Der Sloot’ delve deep into the horrific 2010 death of Stephany Flores Ramírez. The 21-year-old business student was a victim of a gruesome murder at the hands of a man often publicly accused of being a pathological liar. When her family became aware of the tragic situation, they fought to attain justice for the young Peruvian. Apart from providing a clear account of the entire case, these specials contain interviews with those directly involved in the investigation of her murder.
Stephany Flores Ramírez Juggled Her Personal Life and Professional Experiences Really Well
Ricardo Flores and Marielena Ramirez welcomed a bundle of joy in the form of Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez on July 22, 1988, in Peru. Her parents were guiding figures in her life, right alongside her elder brother, Enrique Flores – they were caring, helpful, loving, and supportive in every sense. According to records, Stephany had a habit of seeing the good in people, so she herself didn’t shy away from lending a helping hand to others in need. As for her hobbies, she was quite into soccer and used to organize matches in the family’s backyard with her friends.
At the time of her demise, Stephany was living with her father, who had given her a credit card and a Jeep Cherokee as soon as she started going to college. All these gifts gave her a sense of freedom, and in hindsight, her father admits that it was likely not responsible of him to have done so because he did not teach her that there was also evil present in the world. Apart from studying business administration at the University of Lima, the 21-year-old Peruvian was also a hard worker – she handled the merchandising side of the family’s entertainment and event promotion business. As if that’s not enough, she was even a skilled poker player, as she often liked visiting local casinos for a good time, only to return home a winner.
Stephany Flores Ramírez Was Found Dead in a Hotel Room Days After She Was Reported Missing
On May 30, 2010, Stephany went to the Atlantic City Casino in Lima for another poker session, but this time she never came back home. Her father soon grew worried and informed her brother of the situation, after which they called all her friends to see if she might be with them. When all roads led to a dead end, they called the authorities and filed a missing persons report. What ensued was an extensive search, with the police also getting access to surveillance footage from the hotel in hopes of tracing the missing woman’s steps. It was clear she had attended the poker tournament, yet where she went after couldn’t be ascertained.
It was around 3 days later, on the morning of June 2, 2010, that the staff at Hotel Tac, near the corner of Benevides and Republica Street, contacted the police. They reported that a night clerk had just found Stephany’s remains in a room. Upon arriving at the scene, officials determined that she was strangled to death and had sustained multiple injuries to her nose and face. They subsequently taped off the room and recovered all the evidence they could find, in hopes that it would lead them to the perpetrator. That’s when they found a tennis racquet they believed to be one of the things used to commit the murder.
Stephany Flores Ramírez Was Killed by a Man Then-Suspected of Being Involved in Another Disappearance
When detectives were done collecting evidence, they went through the hotel register to find out who had been staying in the room where Stephany’s remains were found. It was registered under the name of Joran Van Der Sloot. After that, they reviewed surveillance footage that clearly showed Joran and Stephany entered the room together on May 30 at 5:16 am local time. After over 3 hours, he came out alone with his backpack, asked the staff not to disturb “his girl,” and left. With a clear lead in the case, they looked deeper into him and uncovered that he was also the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005. The 18-year-old Alabama native had disappeared in Aruba exactly 5 years before Stephany went missing, on May 30, 2005.
It soon came to light that Joran had traveled to Chile not long after leaving the hotel. So, he was arrested near Curacaví by the Investigations Police of Chile while traveling alone in a taxi on June 3, 2010. When he was taken into custody, his belongings were searched, which further incriminated him because he was in possession of some bloody clothes. A couple of days later, he was extradited to Peru and interrogated about the murder of the 21-year-old Peruvian woman. He initially denied having any involvement, but around 2 days later, he confessed to the crime and provided a detailed account of the events of the fateful night.
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Stephany Flores Ramírez’s Killer Confessed to The Crime in Detail
Joran told investigators that he and Stephany met each other while playing poker at the above-mentioned casino hotel on May 30, 2010. According to him, she won a fair bit, following which he invited her to play some more poker online on his laptop in his hotel room. She decided to accompany him, and while they were playing, messages about his alleged involvement in Natalee’s case interrupted their game. Since it was the 5th anniversary of her disappearance, he said he received a message from an anonymous source that said, “I’m going to kill you, you little Mongoloid.” He then claimed he grew really angry at the entire situation.
According to Joran’s account, he tried to explain the situation to Stephany, but she didn’t listen and reacted by striking him once on the head with her fist. He claimed this angered him even more, so he struck back and landed his right elbow on top of his nose, causing her head to go back and hit the wall. When Stephany began fainting, he confessed he got on top of her and strangled her for a minute. Then, he added, he even used his bloodied shirt to smother her to death. He stated, “The only thing I wanted was to leave the scene of the crime as quickly as possible and afterward leave the country.” About two years after his arrest and admission, in January 2012, he formally pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder, for which he was sentenced to 28 years in prison. On top of that, he was ordered to pay $75,000 to the Flores family in damages.
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