Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance and death of Natalee Holloway, has pleaded guilty to two federal charges of extortion and wire fraud in a US court. As part of his plea agreement, he has also revealed the details of how he killed the 18-year-old on a beach in Aruba and dumped her body in the ocean.
A long-awaited confession
Natalee Holloway was on a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island when she vanished in 2005. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with van der Sloot and two other men, who were later arrested but released due to lack of evidence.
Van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen, has long been the main suspect in the case, but he has repeatedly changed his story and denied any involvement. He even claimed that he sold Natalee to a human trafficker.
But on Wednesday, he finally admitted that he bludgeoned Natalee to death after she rejected his sexual advances, and then threw her body into the water. He said that he acted alone and that no one else knew what he did.
The confession was documented in a court filing and outlined by Judge Anna Manasco as she sentenced him to 20 years in prison. He will serve his time in Peru, where he is already serving a 28-year sentence for another murder.
A mother’s quest for justice
Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, has been searching for answers and justice for 18 years. She said outside the Birmingham court that van der Sloot is “the killer” of her daughter, who would have turned 37 this month.
She also confronted him in court, saying: “You have finally admitted that, in fact, you murdered her,” according to news site AL.com.
She told reporters that van der Sloot killed Natalee on a beach and then “put her into the water and that was the last he saw of her”.
Natalee’s body has never been found. In 2012, an Alabama judge signed an order declaring her legally dead.
Why van der Sloot faces charges in the US
While US authorities don’t have jurisdiction over the criminal investigation in Aruba, they charged van der Sloot for an alleged scheme to sell information about Natalee’s remains to Beth Holloway for $250,000.
In 2010, he demanded money from Beth Holloway in exchange for information. He claimed that he knew where Natalee’s body was buried and who was involved in her disappearance.
But after receiving $25,000 as a down payment from an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative of Beth Holloway, van der Sloot fled to Peru, where he killed Stephany Flores, a 21-year-old student, in his hotel room. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 28 years in prison in Peru in 2012.
As part of his plea deal with US prosecutors, van der Sloot agreed “to provide full, complete, accurate, and truthful information regarding Natalee Holloway’s disappearance,” the Justice Department said.
However, John Q. Kelly, the family attorney of Natalee’s father Dave Holloway, said that there won’t be any further investigation or search for Natalee’s remains, as van der Sloot’s confession is consistent with previous evidence and statements by witnesses.
“Today’s proceeding confirmed that this defendant murdered Natalee and then tortured and extorted those who loved her most,” Dave Holloway said in a statement.