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The Natalee Holloway Mystery: Joran van der Sloot confessed to killing teen years before extradition

Natalee Holloway's body has not been found yet after she went missing in May 2005
UPDATED MAY 13, 2023
Natalee Holloway went missing during a vacation in Aruba in 2005 (Mountain Brook High School/Holloway family)
Natalee Holloway went missing during a vacation in Aruba in 2005 (Mountain Brook High School/Holloway family)

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: The prime suspect in the case of Natalee Holloway's mysterious disappearance reportedly said that he killed the teenager, years before it was announced that he would be extradited to the US. Joran van der Sloot is currently serving 28 years in a Peruvian prison for murdering 21-year-old Stephany Flores, on May 30, 2010.

The convicted killer, while holed up at Peru's maximum-security Challapalca prison, reportedly said, “I accept everything that I have done. When I was younger, I never said anything to the police (because) they never knew the right questions to ask me. I think that was one of the worst police investigations that ever took place," per RadarOnline.com.

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Natalee Holloway and Joran van der Sloot were seen leaving bar together

Holloway’s body has not been found after she went missing in May 2005. The 18-year-old was on a high school graduation trip to Aruba in the Caribbean when she vanished. On May 30, she was not present when her classmates were ready to fly back to Mountain Brook, Alabama. The night before, however, she was seen with then 17-year-old Sloot and two of his friends while exiting a bar, Carlos 'n Charlie's, around 1:30am.

A few weeks after she went missing, Sloot and his friends were arrested. However, due to the lack of concrete proof, they were eventually released. At the time, retired NYPD police detective Bo Dietl claimed Sloot’s confession in the visitors' room at the jail was enough to convict him but nothing much was done.

Beth Holloway participates in the launch of the Natalee Holloway Resource Center on June 8, 2010 in Washington, DC. The non profit resource center was founded by Holloway and the National Museum of Crime & Punishment and was created to assist families of missing persons. Beth Holloway's daughter Natalee is the Alabama teen who disappeared five years ago in Aruba. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Beth Holloway participates in the launch of the Natalee Holloway Resource Center on June 8, 2010 in Washington, DC (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

‘She would be 36 years old now’

This new revelation came after Holloway’s mother, Beth, reportedly said on Wednesday night, May 10, “Almost exactly eighteen years later, her perpetrator, Joran van der Sloot, has been extradited to Birmingham to answer for his crimes.” She continued, as per CNN, “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.”

“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,” Beth added.

Beth Holloway participates in the launch of the Natalee Holloway Resource Center on June 8, 2010 in Washington, DC. The non profit resource center was founded by Holloway and the National Museum of Crime & Punishment and was created to assist families of missing persons. Beth Holloway's daughter Natalee is the Alabama teen who disappeared five years ago in Aruba. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Beth Holloway participates in the launch of the Natalee Holloway Resource Center on June 8, 2010 in Washington, DC (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The grieving mother also thanked Peru’s president and authorities for their aid in the case. She reportedly said, “I want to express my sincere gratitude to President Dina Boluarte, the President of Peru, the warm people of Peru, the family of Stephany Flores, the FBI in Miami, Florida and in Birmingham, Alabama, the US Attorney’s office in Birmingham, the US Embassy in Peru and the Peruvian Embassy in the US, my longtime attorney John Q. Kelly who has worked tirelessly on this case, and George Seymore and Marc Wachtenheim of Patriot Strategies.”

Alabama Governor, Kay Ivey, also appreciated the move as she reportedly said, “Joran van der Sloot’s extradition to Birmingham, Alabama — Natalee’s home for her 18 years — is significant. Criminals like him are deceptive and vicious. Alabama moms like Beth Holloway are stronger.”

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