In a recent hearing in Birmingham’s federal court, Joran van der Sloot confessed to the murder of Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. The Dutch national, previously suspected of the crime, also pleaded guilty to extorting Natalee’s mother, Beth Holloway, and will not appeal the decision. He was handed down a 20-year sentence for each conviction, to run concurrently with his current sentence in Peru.
Van der Sloot’s confession detailed how he reacted violently to Natalee’s resistance to his sexual advances, leading to her tragic death. He described the sequence of events, including the final act of disposing of her body in the ocean.
“Uh, when she knees me in the crotch, uh, I get up, uh, on the beach and I kick her extremely hard in the face,’’ a transcript of his confession states. “Uhm, yeah, she’s laying down unconscious, possibly even dead, but definitely unconscious.”
Van der Sloot said he then smashed her head in with a cinder block he found and put her body in the ocean. “I walk up to about my knees into the ocean and I push her into the – into the sea. Uhm, and uhm, yeah, after that I – I get out. I- I walk home,” the transcript read.
Natalee’s mother, Beth, confronted van der Sloot in court, recounting the devastating loss of her daughter’s potential and her pain over the incident. She also mentioned his chilling actions after the crime, indicating he had watched pornography after the incident.
Throughout the hearing, van der Sloot exhibited no emotional response. However, he did take the opportunity to apologize to both the Holloway family and his own family. He also shared that he had converted to Christianity, asserting his personal change since the incident.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco stated her contemplation of dismissing the plea agreement, to allow for a separate sentence from his existing term in Peru. However, she decided against it to retain his confession. Van der Sloot is already serving a 28-year term in Peru for another murder committed exactly five years after Natalee’s disappearance. If he’s released early from the Peruvian jail, he will have to complete his 20-year U.S. sentence.
Following the hearing, Beth Holloway remarked on the emotional and mental toll of the ordeal, further highlighting the gravity of van der Sloot’s actions.
