October 18th 2023.
Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, admitted to bludgeoning the missing teen to death at a hearing at the federal courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday.
Holloway was 18 when she vanished while on vacation in Aruba in 2005. Van der Sloot, then 17, was one of the last people to be seen with her at a nightclub the night she disappeared.
The disappearance of Holloway has captivated the American public for nearly two decades. Numerous true crime books, documentaries, and podcasts have been produced about the case.
Van der Sloot was facing charges of extorting Holloway's family after her death, and as part of his plea deal, he agreed to confess everything he knows about the teen's death. During his disclosure, he admitted to killing Holloway before disposing of her body off the coast of Aruba.
Holloway's mother Beth Holloway addressed her daughter's killer in court. In a heartbreaking statement, she called van der Sloot a 'killer' and said that he had 'changed the course of our lives.' She said he had 'terminated her dreams, her potential, her possibilities' when he bludgeoned the young woman to death in 2005.
Beth Holloway also addressed the motive for the killing. She said that van der Sloot had not gotten what he wanted from Natalee, and that he had killed her in a fit of rage.
Van der Sloot was arrested and charged with murdering Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru exactly five years after Holloway's disappearance. As part of the charges for extorting Holloway's family, he had offered to lead them to her body in exchange for $250,000.
The private investigator hired by the family paid van der Sloot an upfront fee of $25,000. He told the investigator that Holloway's death was an accident, and that she was buried beneath the foundation of a house in Aruba. However, Holloway's remains were never found at the location, and van der Sloot eventually admitted to making up parts of the story.
Van der Sloot eventually changed his plea in court, accepting a deal that would see him serve a 20-year prison sentence concurrent with his sentence in Peru.
Natalee Holloway's death continues to captivate the American public, and her mother's heartbreaking statement in court is a reminder of the immense grief and tragedy that her family has experienced.
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