Natalee Holloway suspect confesses to killing teenager in 2005, judge says

The main suspect of the Natalee Holloway Case admitted he killed the missing Aruba teenager in 2005, a judge said in court Oct. 18. Joran van der Sloot reached a deal with prosecutors by confessing to the crime that took nearly 20 years to solve, according to cnn AND CBS News. “I have considered your confession regarding the brutal murder of Natalee Holloway,” a US federal judge told Joran in court cnn. The judge also mentioned how Joran killed another woman in Peru in 2010. “You brutally killed, in separate incidents, years apart, two beautiful women who rejected your sexual advances,” she said.

Joran reportedly pleaded guilty to racketeering and wire fraud charges during a hearing in Birmingham, Alabama. He was accused of attempting to extort $250,000 from Natalee’s mother. Beth Hollowayin exchange for the mortal remains of the deceased teenager, second CBS News. Beth’s lawyer said that as part of Joran’s plea deal, she had to provide details about what happened to Natalee, which led him to admit he killed her. Natalee’s remains were never found and she was declared legally dead in 2012.

Natalee’s mother gave an emotional victim impact statement in court as she crucified Joran for her daughter’s murder. “For 19 years you denied killing Natalee Holloway. Her lies caused imperceptible pain. “You finally admitted to killing her,” she said, according to C.NN. “You are a killer and I want you to remember that,” Beth added. After Joran’s confession, Beth said in a statement: “I hope that we can finally achieve something close to justice, even if no act of justice can heal the pain we have suffered.”

Natalee disappeared on May 30, 2005, causing a media sensation in the United States. She was last seen with Joran and his brothers. Deepak AND Satis Kalope. Aruba investigators conducted an extensive search across the country, but did not find his remains. Although initially unconnected to Natalee’s disappearance, Joran was found guilty of “aggravated murder” of a second woman. Stephany Flores Ramirezin 2010 and sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Joran has been arrested several times in connection with Natalee’s disappearance. Natalee, Beth and David Holloway, they sued Joran for personal injury after the pain Joran caused them, but the case was dismissed. In 2010, she began her plan to try to blackmail Natalee’s parents for details about the whereabouts of Natalee’s body. While serving a sentence for murder in Peru, Joran married his girlfriend. Leidy Figueroa in 2014 and gave birth to her son later that year. Joran filed for divorce in 2022 from his wife, his lawyer Max height he said in May 2023.