Lima , Peru ( CNN ) -- Even though a Peruvian judge postponed a preliminary hearing for Joran van der Sloot Wednesday , it still was a dramatic day in court for the father of the young woman van der Sloot is accused of killing . Ricardo Flores said Wednesday was the first time he saw the alleged killer of his daughter face to face . `` It was a very tough moment , '' he told CNN shortly after leaving a courtroom inside Lima 's Castro Castro prison , noting that it seemed van der Sloot was enjoying many privileges . `` I thought I 'd see someone skinny ... but no , he was fatter than when he first went to prison . '' The judge rescheduled the closed-door hearing -- which involves some evidence in the case -- for next Tuesday , because van der Sloot did not have legal representation in the courtroom Wednesday , Flores said . His daughter , Stephany Flores , was found dead in a Lima hotel room registered to van der Sloot in May 2010 . Police say van der Sloot took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile , where he was arrested a few days later . Earlier this month , van der Sloot 's defense attorney , Maximo Altez , resigned , citing unspecified differences in strategy . If van der Sloot does not have an attorney next week , the judge said he would appoint one , Flores said . The 23-year-old van der Sloot was once the prime suspect in the disappearance in Aruba of American Natalee Holloway , who vanished at age 18 while on a graduation trip . He was arrested twice but never charged in connection with her disappearance . Shortly after his 2010 arrest , a federal grand jury in Alabama indicted him on charges that he tried to extort $ 250,000 from the Holloway family . Van der Sloot offered to provide what turned out to be bogus information about the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway 's remains in exchange for the money , according to the indictment . Peruvian authorities have yet to file formal charges against van der Sloot . Once the discovery phase of the case ends , prosecutors will file charges and a trial date will be set . It could be weeks before the Peruvian trial begins . Ricardo Flores said the family hoped van der Sloot would be charged with robbery and homicide , which would carry a maximum sentence of life in prison . Before his resignation from the case , Altez told In Session his client attacked Flores after she found something on his computer that tied him to Holloway . He gave In Session a copy of a motion he filed asking that van der Sloot face a lesser charge for a crime of passion . `` My client ... admits having murdered the victim , but not with ferocity , for profit or pleasure , nor any of the other element ( s ) that make up this murder , but only by violent emotion that overtook him at the time he was attacked by the victim , '' the motion read . However , Ricardo Flores and Edward Alvarez , an attorney representing the Flores family , argued that a police investigation indicated the last time anyone had searched for information about Holloway on van der Sloot 's computer was the day before Flores ' death -- suggesting the attorney 's explanation that van der Sloot attacked Flores after she read an e-mail on his computer was a lie . `` That hypothesis has already been defeated , '' Ricardo Flores said Wednesday . Despite the latest delay in the case , he said he was confident that justice would prevail , and that he would be able to face van der Sloot in court again . `` I am confident that God will give me the strength , '' he said . In Session 's Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report .
Ricardo Flores says Wednesday was the first time he saw van der Sloot face-to-face . Van der Sloot is suspected in the killing of his daughter in a Peruvian hotel . A preliminary hearing has been rescheduled . It could be weeks before a trial begins .