Birmingham, Alabama: A U.S. judge announced on Wednesday that the primary suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba has admitted to her murder and disposal of her remains and has agreed to plead guilty to charges that he attempted to extort money from the teen’s mother years later.
A few miles from Holloway’s former residence in a Birmingham suburb, the revelation was made in a federal courtroom in Alabama during a plea and sentencing hearing for 36-year-old Joran van der Sloot.
Standing a few feet away from van der Sloot, her mother, Beth Holloway, remarked in court, “You completely flipped the course of our lives.” “Your actions demonstrate that you are a killer.”
There are no charges against Van der Sloot about Holloway’s demise. The Dutch national received a 20-year sentence on Wednesday for extortion and wire fraud. However, by the terms of his plea agreement, this sentence will be served concurrently with his 28-year sentence in Peru, which he is presently serving for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores.
As part of her sentencing deliberations, U.S. Judge Anna Manasco stated that she took into account van der Sloot’s confession regarding the murder of Holloway and the devastation of her remains.
Prime Suspect Admits To Natalee Holloway’s 2005 Murder In Aruba, Gets Plea Deal In Extortion Case.
The judge stated, “You have brutally murdered two young women who declined your sexual advances years apart in separate incidents.”
Holloway disappeared with classmates on a high school graduation vacation. She was last seen with van der Sloot as they exited a pub. Despite being questioned regarding the disappearance, he evaded prosecution. Holloway was pronounced deceased by a judge, but her remains have never been located.
According to Manasco, van der Sloot was obligated to divulge all the information at his disposal regarding the disappearance of Natalie Holloway as part of the plea agreement.
The case has engrossed the general public for almost twenty years, giving rise to copious news articles, novels, films, and podcasts. The media besieged the federal courthouse for approximately three hours before the commencement of the hearing.
Her family has long been in search of answers regarding Holloway’s disappearance. Over the years, Van der Sloot provided varying accounts of that night in Aruba. Federal investigators in the Alabama case claim that during a 2010 FBI sting that captured the extortion attempt, van der Sloot provided an inaccurate location for Holloway’s corpse.
Prime Suspect Admits To Natalee Holloway’s 2005 Murder In Aruba, Gets Plea Deal In Extortion Case.
According to prosecutors in the Alabama case, van der Sloot demanded $250,000 from Beth Holloway in exchange for disclosing the whereabouts of her daughter’s remains. Prosecutors stated that Van der Sloot had agreed to accept $25,000 in exchange for disclosing the location of the remains and requested the remaining $225,000 upon their recovery. Van der Sloot initially claimed that Holloway was interred in the soil beneath a house’s foundation but subsequently recanted, according to a 2010 sworn statement filed in the case by FBI Agent William K. Bryan.
Van der Sloot relocated to Peru from Aruba before his apprehension in the extortion case.
Peru’s government consented to the temporary extradition of van der Sloot to the United States for prosecution on the extortion charge. Following the conclusion of his case, U.S. authorities have agreed to return him to Peruvian custody, according to the Peruvian federal register.
“The wheels of justice have begun to turn for our family,” Beth Holloway declared in June, following the arrival of van der Sloot in Alabama. “The journey has been extremely lengthy and agonising.”
SOURCE – (AP)
