Natalie Holloway case: Suspect Joran van der Sloot appointed public defender as he awaits extradition to US from Peru
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, has been assigned a public defender to represent him in Alabama. Court documents show that Kevin Butler, a federal public defender for Alabama's Northern District, was appointed to represent Van der Sloot by federal magistrate judge Gray Borden.
Peruvian authorities stated on Wednesday, May 10, that Van der Sloot will be temporarily extradited to the United States to face extortion charges in connection with an alleged scheme to steal money from Holloway's family in exchange for information on the whereabouts of missing Holloway. In the filing, Butler stated, "On good faith and belief, undersigned counsel believes proceedings have been initiated that may result in Mr. Van Der Sloot’s extradition to the United States from Peru for proceeding in this case," according to Fox News. "Additionally, Mr. Van Der Sloot has been in custody since approximately 2010 and is indigent. Therefore under the aforementioned authority and in the interest of justice, the undersigned respectfully requests this motion be granted," he concluded.
RELATED ARTICLES
The Natalee Holloway Mystery: Joran van der Sloot confessed to killing teen years before extradition
Natalee Holloway: Witness claims he saw Joran van der Sloot ‘run after’ girl on day she went missing
Who is Kevin Butler?
Butler is a public defender with almost 26 years of experience as a lawyer in the Federal Defender Program, according to congress.gov. He received his Bachelor of Science in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University in 1988, and his Juris Doctor from Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in 1991.
Butler previously held the positions of Chief Deputy Defender and Chief Trial Attorney for the Office of the Federal Defender for the Middle District of Alabama before being appointed to the Northern District of Alabama. He has testified before the US Sentencing Commission and is a member of the Federal Defender Guidelines Committee.
Additionally, Butler gives numerous talks on criminal law subjects like defending drug cases, defending the use of firearm cases, and the successful representation of the mentally challenged. He participates in the Alabama Center for Law and Civic Education, the Birmingham Bar Foundation, and the board of directors for the Birmingham Legal Aid Society. He also completed the Leadership Birmingham program in 2014.
What are the charges against Joran van der Sloot?
Van der Sloot is charged in the US with Holloway's 2005 disappearance in Aruba while she was traveling with Mountain Brook High School as a senior. In 2010, Van der Sloot also reportedly killed 21-year-old Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru, in January 2012. He is currently facing a 28-year sentence which was further extended due to a narcotics smuggling incident that occurred within the prison.
Federal prosecutors charged Van der Sloot with extortion and wire fraud in a 2010 indictment after he reportedly tried to sell information concerning the location of Holloway's body to her mother, Beth Holloway. He allegedly demanded a total of $250,000, with $25,000 paid upfront for the information and the other $150,000 to be paid after Holloway's remains in Aruba, where she went missing, were properly identified. Sadly, the body of Holloway was never located.
