BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty Wednesday, Oct. 18, and was sentenced for his role in a scheme to obtain $250,000 from Elizabeth (“Beth”) Ann Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples.
The guilty plea and sentencing of Joran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot, 36, occurred before U.S. District Court Judge Anna M. Manasco. Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to extortion and wire fraud and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
According to the plea agreement, in 2010, van der Sloot solicited money from Beth Holloway, Natalee Holloway’s mother, on promises he would reveal the location of her daughter’s remains in Aruba and the circumstances of her 2005 death. However, after being paid a total of $25,100, van der Sloot provided information that he later described as “worthless.”
According to the sentencing memorandum and plea agreement, van der Sloot agreed to provide full, complete, accurate and truthful information regarding Natalee Holloway’s disappearance in exchange for a sentence of 20 years.
“Today, the United States held Joran van der Sloot accountable for his scheme to exploit a mother looking for information about her missing daughter,” Escalona said. “The United States hopes that the information regarding Natalee Holloway’s disappearance provides some important answers for the family and the community that has followed this family’s tragedy. Today’s result would not have been possible without the help of the FBI, Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Government of Peru, the Netherlands and Aruba, U.S. Marshals Service and Shelby County Sherriff’s Office, who assisted in this process. I am grateful for their hard work and dedication. May this long-awaited day finally bring justice for Beth and for Natalee’s family and friends.”
“Today’s sentence holds Joran van der Sloot accountable for the pain he has caused the family and friends of Natalee Holloway,” said Peeples. “After more than a decade of uncertainty, hopefully this will bring them and this community some closure. During this lengthy investigation, the FBI remained committed in aggressively pursuing and holding this individual accountable for the crimes he committed against US persons. I would like to thank our local, state, federal and foreign partners who assisted in this investigation and a special thanks to all the FBI personnel, past and present, who worked tirelessly in bringing this individual to justice.”
According to the Associated Press, van der Sloot “admitted he beat the young Alabama woman to death on a beach in Aruba after she refused his advances, then dumped her body into the sea.”
Per the AP, “Natalee Holloway went missing during a high school graduation trip with classmates. She was last seen on May 30, 2005, leaving a bar with van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen and student at an international school on the Caribbean island where he grew up. He was questioned in the disappearance but never prosecuted. A judge declared Holloway dead, but her body was never found.”
Read more at www.wvtm13.com/article/natalee-holloway-case-news-van-der-sloot/45573655.
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