Has Justice been finally served? Sentence to alleged killer of Natalee Holloway

Written by: Everything About | Updated on: 19th October'23

Beth Holloway has finally come to know of what happened to her daughter Natalee in Aruba in 2005. Joran van der Sloot, the alleged killer of Natalee Holloway, pleaded guilty for wire fraud and extortion charges, on 18th October’23 in a Birmingham federal courtroom. He also agreed to reveal to Beth Holloway on the whereabouts of the Natalee’s body and how she died.

Picture Above: Natalee Holloway at the age of 18, when she disappeared.

Background of the incident (Alleged)

The disappearance of 18-year old Natalee Holloway had made international news back in the year 2005 – when she did not return home to Mountain Brook, Alabama after a fateful school graduation trip to Aruba on May 30, 2005. Natalee was last seen in a car with 17-year old Van der Sloot, who was a student himself in Aruba at the time, along with two of his other friends. Once further investigation started, Joran van der Sloot and his friends – the brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe were picked up by the Aruban police several times for questioning. However, they were let go citing lack of evidence each time.

Turning point - Another murder case on Van Der Sloot

While the Holloway investigation was underway for all these years; in 2012, van der Sloot was convicted of the murder of Stephany Flores in Peru – committed on May 30, 2010. Natalee Holloway was declared legally dead by the courts at the behest of her father in January 2012.

Picture Above: Joran Van der Sloot in the courtroom

Extradition and Sentence for Joran Van Der Sloot

Van der Sloot was extradited to the United States earlier this year in June 2023 to undergo trial for the extortion and wire fraud charges linked to Holloway’s death. The trial saw significant development today with van der Sloot pleading guilty to the charges of wire fraud and extortion. While further details are yet to come, Natalee’s mother Beth Holloway also spoke in court that van der Sloot bludgeoned the teen Holloway to death as she rejected his sexual advances and then went on to dump her body in the ocean. Van der Sloot has confessed that he killed Natalee with a cinder block before dumping her in the ocean.

Also Read: Court releases audio of Joran van der Sloot’s Natalee Holloway confession | Fox News

While van der Sloot has been sentenced to a 20-year prison term by the Birmingham federal courts, he may not be required to return to the States for the extortion and wire fraud charges, if he serves more than 20 years in the Peruvian prison system, where he currently has been serving term towards a 28-year imprisonment for Flores’ murder.

Also Read: Joran van der Sloot admits to killing Natalee Holloway in Aruba : NPR