One long night at Aruba turned into a nightmare of 18 years for the Holloways.
Natalee Holloway, a teenage girl, went on her high school graduation trip in 2005. And that was the last time she was seen alive.
That was the start of a never-ending abyss of finding any clue, leads, or even a thread of her whereabouts. Adding to the misery were fake tips, extortion, defrauding, and misleading the case that tortured the Holloways for nearly two decades.
And now, finally, the family received the much-needed closure on their daughter’s case after the killer confessed his crime and revealed where Natalee is.
Joran van der Sloot admitted to killing Natalee Holloway with a cinder block on the Aruban beach and pushing her into the ocean after she rejected her sexual advances and kneed him in his crotch. Sloot was also convicted of killing Stephany Flores, a Peruvian woman, in 2010. Moreover, he also misled and extorted money from the Holloways, stating that he could give information about their missing daughter in exchange for $250,000. Sloot is sentenced to 20 years for federal charges.
Who Is Joran Van Der Sloot?
Joran Van Der Sloot is a Dutch criminal with a harrowing record of severe charges.
May 30, 2010: Stephany Flores Ramírez was a student in Peru. A 23-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot met Ramírez in a chance encounter. But then she discovered that Sloot was the prime suspect in the disappearance of a girl. Sloot, with his fragile masculinity, was triggered by this, choking and beating, and eventually smothered her to death.
Reportedly, Sloot then had cookies and coffee for breakfast while contemplating ways of disposing of her body.
Van der Sloot confessed to his crimes after he was arrested in June. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison for murder in Peru.
2021:Then, he had the audacity to continue his antics in the prison as well, as he was convicted of trafficking cocaine in the prison. The fed-up Peruvian judge sentenced him to an additional 18 years. But since, according to their law, one cannot be sentenced to more than 35 years, he will be released by 2045.
What Did Van Der Sloot Do to Natalee Holloway?
May 30, 2005: (note the date, it was exactly five years ago Ramírez was killed)
Natalee Holloway was excited about her high school graduation trip to Aruba with her friends. One night, 18-year-old Holloway met three guys, Joran Van Der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, at a nightclub. She was reportedly seen leaving with them.
Natalee and Joran went to a nearby Aruban beach together that night. Joran, the entitled fool, made sexual advances at Natalee that irked her. She immediately kneed him in the crotch.
Van der Sloot, 17 at that time, struck Natalee with a cinder block that led to heavy bleeding. In panic, he pushed her into the ocean to erase any trace of his murder.
May 31, 2005: Natalee was supposed to return to Alabama the morning after. But her friends couldn’t find her anywhere. Soon, they reported to the Aruban police. The investigations started, which pointed to Joran as the main suspect.
The three guys were arrested but then released due to insufficient evidence.
2010 (a few months before Van der Sloot murdered Ramírez): The 27-year-old suspect made fraudulent calls to the Holloways, claiming that he knew Natalee’s whereabouts and he would give valuable information for $250,000. With desperation and a last thread of hope to find her daughter, Beth Holloway even paid $25,000, but he soon absconded.
2012: Alabama judge declared Natalee Holloway officially deceased after the investigation reached a dead end after seven years.
June 2023: After Beth Holloway filed a complaint against the extortion calls, Van der Sloot was found guilty and extradited to the U.S. for the trial of the charges. He pleaded not guilty.
October 18, 2023: During the following trial, Van der Sloot, now 36, pleaded guilty to the extortion charges. But Beth Holloway would have never expected that Sloot spilled a detailed account of how he killed her daughter.
Judge Anna Manasco sentenced van der Sloot to 20 years on the federal charges for killing two women.
Beth Holloway addressed the media with relief that her daughter’s killer was arrested while grieving Natalee’s death–
“It’s over. Joran van der Sloot is no longer the suspect in my daughter’s murder. He is the killer.”
“After 18 years, Natalee’s case is solved.”
“He gave a proffer in which he finally confessed to killing Natalee.”
What is your verdict on this case? Do you think Joran is one of the most foolish criminals to return to the crime by extorting the victim’s family?
Let us know in the comments section below.
