Back in 2005, an Alabama native, Natalee Holloway disappeared on her senior trip in Aruba. This case took everyone in the country by storm, especially Alabamians. The police searched for someone r with information and that’s when they found Johan van der Sloot, a Dutch man living in Aruba who left a nightclub with Holloway. The police arrested him after questioning, but were unable to hold him due to lack of evidence. 

Years later, van der Sloot reached out to the Holloway family. He offered information on their child’s death in exchange for $250,000. However, the Holloway’s contacted authorities, and in 2011 van der Sloot was charged with extortion by the state of Alabama. 

Although, van der Sloot had yet to be tried as he was serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of a different woman. This year, 2023, van der Sloot was transferred to the U.S. from Peru to face these extortion charges. 

Johan van der Sloot pleaded guilty in the case of extortion against Holloway’s mother. Included in this plea, van der Sloot signed a proffer, a document where the defendant of a crime offers information they know about the crime. 

In this proffer, van der Sloot admitted to killing Holloway back in 2005. He claims that Holloway rejected his sexual advances by kicking him in the crotch. In his anger, van der Sloot retaliated by kicking Holloway in the face and bludgeoning her to death with a cinder block. He then threw her body in the ocean. 

Although van der Sloot confessed, it is unclear how Aruban authorities will proceed with charges, as their statute of limitations on this particular case have already passed. Regardless, van der Sloot will spend the next two decades behind bars in Peru, as the Aruban government decides on how to proceed.