Joran van der Sloot appears ready to accept responsibility for the killing of a Peruvian woman five years to the day after the disappearance in Aruba of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway, for which he remains the prime suspect.

The 24-year-old Dutch citizen sought and received more time to decide how to plead as his trial opened Friday in the May 30, 2010, murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, whom he met at a Lima casino.

He says he was inclined to confess but doesn't accept the aggravated murder charges the prosecution seeks.

The presiding magistrate of the three-judge panel, Victoria Montoya, said the trial would resume January 11th.