Joran van der Sloot, the suspect in the disappearance of American Natalee Holloway, will be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges, Holloway’s mother announced Wednesday.
Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, said in a statement, “In May 2005 my 18-year-old daughter Natalee Holloway left Birmingham for Aruba to attend her high school graduation trip and was never seen again. She was abducted and murdered there. Now almost exactly eighteen years later, her perpetrator, Joran van der Slot, has been extradited to Birmingham to answer for his crimes.”
“He has been in prison in Peru for murdering another young girl there named Stephany Flores in 2010,” she continued.
“I was blessed to have had Natalee in my life for 18 years, and as of this month, I have been without her for exactly 18 years. She would be 36 years old now. It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee.”
Joran van der Sloot is serving a 28-year prison sentence for the murder of Stephany Flores. He will now face U.S. charges for alleged crimes of extortion and wire fraud that stem from the Natalee Holloway case.
Natalee Holloway was last seen on May 30, 2005 in Aruba with van der Sloot. She was legally declared dead in 2012.
In 2010, a federal grand jury indicted van der Sloot on charges of wire fraud and extortion for allegedly soliciting money from Natalee Holloway’s mother on promises he would reveal the location of Natalee’s remains in Aruba and the details of her death in exchange for $250,000. According to the indictment, Holloway wired $15,000 directly to van der Sloot and another $10,000 to her attorney John Q. Kelly so he could deliver the money to van der Sloot in person in Aruba. If any remains were confirmed to be Natalee, van der Sloot would be paid the remaining $225,000.
After receiving the $25,000, he allegedly admitted the information he gave John Q. Kelly and Beth Holloway was false and “worthless”. He kept the money.
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Featured Image: Joran van der Sloot Peruvian mug shot (Left), Natalee Holloway via FBI (right)
