Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect in the 2005 disappearance in Aruba of Natalee Holloway, an American who disappeared while on a graduation trip with her high school class, will be extradited from Peru to the United States, according to her family.
Holloway’s mother Beth Holloway announced the news via a press release.
She said that Joran van der Sloot was extradited from Birmingham, almost exactly 18 years after the crime, to face justice.
The Peruvian authorities have agreed to extradite Van der Sloot. He is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores.
Daniel Maurate Romero said that the Peruvian Government has agreed to temporarily deliver the Dutch national to American authorities for his prosecution there “for the alleged commission in the United States of crimes of extortion and fraudulent, to the grievances of Elizabeth Ann Holloway.”
Gustavo Meza Cuadra, Peruvian ambassador to the U.S. said that he hoped “this action would enable a peace-making process for Mrs. Holloway, her family, and the Flores family who in Peru are also grieving the loss of their child.”
Van der Sloot, one of the most likely suspects, is the person responsible for the disappearance and death of Holloway. She was supposed to fly home to Alabama from Aruba on May 30, but she never showed up.
The 18-year-old was last seen with the Dutchman leaving a bar in the early morning hours of that day. The body of the 18-year-old was never discovered, and the subsequent searches for her attracted worldwide media attention. She was legally declared dead in 2014.
Van der Sloot, who was initially arrested in connection with Holloway’s disappearance, was released due to a lack of evidence. The disappearance drew worldwide attention and ignited a media frenzy.
Flores, a native of Alabama, was murdered five years after Holloway disappeared. Van der Sloot claimed to police that he had killed the woman, who was from Peru, in Peru out of anger after she found on his laptop the connection between his disappearance and Holloway. Police forensic specialists disputed this claim.
Beth Holloway stated that her daughter will be 36 years old today.
“It has been a long and painful road, but persistence will pay off,” said she. “Together we are finally getting Justice for Natalee.”
