Almost two decades after Natalee Holloway vanished in Aruba, the man long suspected in her death has confessed to killing the Alabama teen in grisly detail, court documents reveal.
Joran van der Sloot’s confession was publicized shortly after he pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to extorting and defrauding Holloway’s family.
Joran van der Sloot, the now 36-year-old man long believed to be responsible for Natalee Holloway's death pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Birmingham federal courtroom to wire fraud and extortion charges. As part of the plea deal, van der Sloot agreed to tell Beth Holloway how her daughter died and where her body was stashed.
Natalee went missing on a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island. Van der Sloot was the last person to be seen with the 18-year-old. Though he was a suspect from the beginning, Aruba authorities never managed to build a case.
Van der Sloot said Natalee Holloway had wanted to go back to her hotel that night, but he arranged for the two to get dropped off "a little bit further away from her hotel so we could walk back … and I might still get a chance to be with her," van der Sloot said in the meeting with prosecutors.
As the two walked alone on the beach, van der Sloot said he "laid her down" and they began kissing, and then Holloway told him to stop.
A federal indictment shows van der Sloot contacted an attorney for Beth Holloway in 2010 and offered to share how the 18-year-old died and where her remains were buried in exchange for $250,000, with $25,000 paid up-front. After receiving $10,000 in cash from Holloway’s attorney, John Kelly, van der Sloot led him to a “false” location in Aruba, according to court records.
Shortly after that encounter, and five years to the day Natalee disappeared, van der Sloot went to Peru where he murdered Stephany Flores, a 21-year-old college student.
Beth Holloway and Natalee’s father, Dave Holloway, listened as van der Sloot revealed to his lawyer how he killed their daughter and the final moments of her life as she fought back against his advances.
The document indicates that a permit was requested on May 23, 2005, and approved on May 26, 2005. An inspection was conducted on June 15, 2005, and the permit was not issued until Oct. 18, 2010.
“The house identified by Van der Sloot was not under construction at the time of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance,’’ Bryan wrote.
On May 17, 2010, van der Sloot admitted to the representative that he lied about the location of Natalee’s remains and a month later he was charged in Alabama’s federal court with extortion.
Van der Sloot was extradited to Alabama on June 8, 2023, and booked into the Shelby County Jail.
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Van der Sloot expected to plead guilty, New details about Natalee Holloway’s death
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