Justice Served: Suspect Confesses to Natalee Holloway’s Murder on Aruba

Suspect Admits Murder of Natalee Holloway on Aruba in 2005, Pleads Guilty to Extorting Her Mum

By

October 19, 2023

The chief suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway has admitted to beating the young Alabama woman to death on a beach in Aruba after she refused his advances. Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen, pleaded guilty to extorting Holloway’s mother, resolving a case that has captivated the public’s attention for nearly 20 years.

Seeking Justice

Although van der Sloot is not charged in Holloway’s death, his attempt to extort $400,000 from the slain teen’s mother provided investigators with a crucial link to the 2005 killing. Van der Sloot’s admission in a US courtroom has brought a sense of closure to the Holloway family, who have endured years of doubt and uncertainty.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, declared to reporters outside the federal courthouse in Alabama. “Joran van der Sloot is no longer a suspect in my daughter’s murder. He is the killer.”

A Tragic Vanishing

Natalee Holloway went missing during a high school graduation trip with classmates in 2005. She was last seen on May 30, leaving a bar with Joran van der Sloot, who was a student at an international school on the Caribbean island of Aruba. While van der Sloot was questioned in her disappearance, he was never prosecuted. Holloway was officially declared dead by a judge, but her body was never found.

The Confession

Now 36 years old, Joran van der Sloot has pleaded guilty to one count each of extortion and wire fraud in exchange for a 20-year sentence. This sentence will run concurrently with the 28-year sentence he is already serving in Peru for killing Stephany Flores in 2010. During his confession in court, van der Sloot expressed his hope that this admission provides closure for both the Holloway family and his own.

US Judge Anna Manasco took into account the details of van der Sloot’s confession when deciding on his sentence. “You have brutally murdered— in separate instances years apart — two young women who refused your sexual advances,” she remarked sternly. Van der Sloot, shackled and dressed in an orange jail uniform, acknowledged his desire to apologize to the Holloway family and his own family, stating, “I am no longer the person I was back then.”

Legal Complications

Mark White, an attorney for Dave Holloway, Natalee’s father, explained that van der Sloot cannot be prosecuted in Aruba, even with his confession, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. However, as part of the plea deal, van der Sloot is required to provide all the information he knows about Natalee Holloway’s disappearance, allow her parents to hear his discussions with law enforcement in “real time,” and take a polygraph test.

A Mother’s Relief

Beth Holloway expressed her confidence in finally getting the truth from van der Sloot after years of lies. “I’m absolutely confident that we have finally gotten the truth from Joran,” she told reporters after the hearing. Court documents provide a transcript of van der Sloot’s confession: he admitted that he and Natalee were lying on the beach kissing when she started to resist. In response, he continued touching her, and she kneed him between the legs. Enraged, van der Sloot kicked her “extremely hard” in the face while she was still lying down. According to his account, she was left unconscious, possibly even dead. He then picked up a nearby cinderblock and brought it down on her face. Overwhelmed by fear, van der Sloot dragged her body into the waves and pushed her out to sea.

An FBI Sting

Five years after Natalee’s murder, the FBI conducted a sting that recorded van der Sloot’s extortion attempt. He demanded $400,000 from Beth Holloway in exchange for disclosing the location of her daughter’s body. Van der Sloot agreed to accept $40,000 upfront and requested the remaining $355,000 once the remains were recovered. Prosecutor Lloyd Peeples emphasized van der Sloot’s greed over the grief of the Holloway family during the hearing, highlighting the callousness of his actions.

Extradition and Future Consequences

Van der Sloot moved from Aruba to Peru before he could be arrested in the extortion case. The Peruvian government agreed to temporarily extradite him to face trial on the extortion charge, after which he will return to Peruvian custody. While delivering her impact statement in court, Beth Holloway turned to face her daughter’s killer, sitting just a few feet away, commenting, “You look like hell, Joran.”

With this confession and guilty plea, the Holloway family hopes to find some solace and begin the process of healing after nearly two decades of uncertainty and heartache.