Where Is Natalee Holloway Suspect Joran van der Sloot Today?

Natalee Holloway has been missing for nearly 20 years and was declared dead in 2012. Despite authorities and her family having no doubt about the identity of her killer, the case remains officially unsolved.

Though the prime suspect, Joran van der Sloot, has never been charged with Natalee’s death, he is currently serving a 28-year sentence for another murder — but there has been an update in his case. Read on to learn where Joran van der Sloot is today.

Since 2012, Joren van der Sloot has been in prison serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez, whose body was found in Van der Sloot’s hotel room on June 2, 2010. The university student had been beaten to death, and her time of death was determined to be May 30 — the five year anniversary of Natalee’s disappearance and presumed homicide.

A bloody tennis racquet recovered from the scene is believed to be the murder weapon, and several thousand dollars Flores won at a casino was missing. Van der Sloot had fled to Chile, and authorities believed he intended to escape back to Aruba, but he was arrested and returned to Lima where he was charged with first-degree murder and robbery.

After numerous delays in his trial, Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of qualified murder and simple robbery. He received a sentence of 28 years and was transported from Miguel Castro Castro prison to Piedras Gordas, a maximum security prison north of Lima. To the outrage of the public, van der Sloot was allowed to have conjugal visits with a woman he met at Miguel Castro while she was visiting another inmate. The couple married in 2014.

According to CNN, Van der Sloot is being extradited to the United States May 11, 2023. In a statement provided by Justice and Human Rights Minister Daniel Maurate Romero, he “decided to agree to the request for temporary surrender … (of Van der Sloot) … for his prosecution in the United States for the alleged commission of the crimes of extortion and fraud,” against Holloway’s mother.

In June 2010, Van der Sloot attempted to extort $250,000 from Beth Holloway in exchange for leading authorities to Holloway’s remains, per CNN. It was all a ruse. Beth Holloway ultimately wired “$15,000 to a bank account Van der Sloot held in the Netherlands, and through an attorney gave him an additional $10,000 in person.” She is seeking $25,100. The added $100 is the cost incurred when she wired the money to Van der Sloot.

Once the legal proceedings are done in the United States, Van der Sloot will be returned to Peru, but this is enough for the Holloways, who have been waiting 18 years for this moment. “In May 2005, my 18-year-old daughter Natalee Holloway left Birmingham for Aruba to attend her high school graduation trip and was never seen again,” said Beth Holloway in a statement to the press. “She would be 36 years old now. It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also weighed in on the extradition, referring to it as “significant.” In a tweet, the governor said, “Criminals like him are deceptive and vicious. Alabama moms like Beth Holloway are stronger. Her commendable persistence to obtain justice for Natalee is FINALLY paying off.”