For almost two full decades, Beth Holloway has been stuck in what she describes as a “never-ending nightmare” – a labyrinth of anguish and torment that doesn’t harbor any possibility of her daughter’s return, but pledges the hope of justice for the Alabama teen who mysteriously disappeared during a 2005 graduation trip to Aruba.
On a recent Wednesday, the journey to justice took a significant stride forward when 36-year-old Joran Van der Sloot capitulated to his guilt in a federal court in the United States. Van der Sloot confessed to the charges of extorting and defrauding the Holloway family, having previously tried to trade knowledge about the whereabouts of Holloway’s remains for a hefty sum of $250,000.
With palpable relief, Beth Holloway addressed reporters, following the court hearing: “It’s over. Joran van der Sloot no longer resides in the shadows of suspicion in my daughter’s murder; he is concretely unveiled as the killer.”
Although the body of the 18-year-old Alabama girl has never surfaced, an Alabama judge formally deemed her legally dead in 2012. In October of that same year, Van der Sloot, taking advantage of a legal measure called a proffer, provided authorities with intricate details concerning the tragic demise of Natalee Holloway. A proffer grants a defendant the latitude to disclose information about a crime, often as an integral part of a plea deal.
Choked with emotion, Beth Holloway delivered a poignant victim impact statement during the hearing. “Eighteen years of denial…eighteen years of lies, manipulations, and taunts via falsified news interviews and bizarre accounts of what transpired,” she accused Van der Sloot. “You have riddled my family and I with unutterable pain.”
Van der Sloot finds himself currently serving a 28-year sentence in a Peruvian jail for the 2010 slaying of Stephany Flores. In June, Peruvian officials permitted his temporary liberation to the US to confront the extortion and wire fraud allegations. Initially, the expectation was for Van der Sloot to complete his existing sentence in Peru before repatriating to the US for his federal sentence. However, the plea deal reached on Wednesday stipulates that his US federal sentence will be executed concurrently with his ongoing imprisonment in Peru.
