Natalee Holloway Suspect Lands in US to Face Extortion Charges

On Thursday, a former professional poker player – who is the main suspect of Natalee Holloway’s murder, an American woman – landed in the US to face a charge of fraud.

Joran van der Sloot, who has long been the prime suspect in the disappearance of American woman Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005, was apprehended in Peru and is now in US custody. He had been serving a 28-year prison sentence in Peru for the murder of Stephanie Flores. On Friday, he will be arraigned in a federal court in Birmingham, Al. to face charges of an extortion scam against Holloway’s family. In exchange for $25,000, Van der Sloot agreed to provide information about Holloway’s disappearance, however, he later refused to follow through with his end of the bargain. Van der Sloot was last seen with Holloway in a bar in Aruba on a senior class trip in May 2005. Despite the ongoing search, Holloway was declared legally dead by a judge in January 2012.

Extortion Scam

In 2010, Joran van der Sloot approached Beth Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, and promised that he could reveal the whereabouts of her daughter’s body if he was paid an advance of $25K against a total of $250K. Though the money was paid, the tips he provided were false; Holloway had claimed that Natalee’s body was buried in the foundations of a house in Aruba, but authorities discovered the house had not yet been built at the time of her disappearance. The Holloway family was overjoyed that van der Sloot had been arrested, but not yet charged, for his involvement in Natalee’s disappearance. A spokesperson for the family noted, “For over 18 years, Beth Holloway has been hoping, praying, and fighting for this day — a day that is a monumental milestone in her relentless quest for seeking justice for Natalee. She is pleased that Joran van der Sloot has been extradited to the United States and will finally answer for his heinous crimes against her beloved daughter.”

Arrested, Not Charged

Joran van der Sloot was twice arrested, and questioned on the grounds of possibly murdering Natalee Holloway, though he was never charged due to insufficient evidence. With her body being absent, it was hard for prosecutors to assemble an argument. Yet, the 35-year old Dutchman seemed to admit to his participation in her disappearance while speaking to two different undercover reporters. Unfortunately, these “confessions” cannot be used as substantial proof as they are considered inadmissible. Flores Murder.

Flores Murder

In 2010, at the Atlantic City Casino in Lima, van der Sloot and Flores, a student from a prominent Peruvian family, met while playing poker. Later that night, van der Sloot brutally killed Flores inside her hotel room.