Peru鈥檚 government will allow the extradition to the United States of the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on the Dutch Caribbean Island of Aruba, bringing her family hope there will be justice in the case.
Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot will be sent to the U.S., Peru announced Wednesday, to face trial on extortion and wire fraud charges, stemming from an accusation that he tried to extort the Holloway family after their daughter's disappearance.
Holloway, who lived in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, was 18 when she was last seen during a trip with classmates to Aruba. She vanished after a night with friends at a nightclub, leaving a mystery that sparked years of news coverage and countless true-crime podcasts. She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, then 18 years old.
Van der Sloot was identified as a suspect and detained, along with two Surinamese brothers, weeks later. Holloway鈥檚 body was never found, and no charges were filed in the case. A judge later declared Holloway dead.
Years later, van der Sloot was arrested in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, who was killed five years to the day after Holloway's disappearance. Prosecutors accused van der Sloot of killing Flores, a business student from a prominent family, to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met. They said he killed her with 鈥渇erocity鈥� and 鈥渃ruelty,鈥� beating then strangling her in his hotel room. He pleaded guilty in 2012, and is serving for the murder.
But his extradition to the U.S. stems from an alleged attempt to profit from his connection to the Holloway case. A grand jury in Alabama in 2010 indicted van der Sloot on wire fraud and extortion charges, accusing him of trying to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Holloways.
Prosecutors in the U.S. allege van der Sloot accepted $25,000 in cash from Holloway鈥檚 family in exchange for a promise to lead them to her body in early 2010, just before he went to Peru.
An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit that van der Sloot reached out to Holloway鈥檚 mother and wanted to be paid $25,000 to disclose the location and then another $225,000 when the remains were recovered. During a recorded sting operation, van der Sloot pointed to a house where he said Holloway was buried but in later emails admitted to lying about the location, the agent said.
Peru鈥檚 Minister of Justice Daniel Maurate said in a statement Wednesday the government decided to 鈥渁ccept the request鈥� from U.S. authorities 鈥渇or the temporary transfer鈥� of van der Sloot to be prosecuted on extortion and fraud charges. In Peru, all extraditions must be approved by the president.
鈥淲e will continue to collaborate on legal issues with allies such as the United States, and many others with which we have extradition treaties,鈥� said Edgar Alfredo Rebaza, director of Peru鈥檚 Office of International Judicial Cooperation and Extraditions of the National Prosecutor鈥檚 Office.
A 2001 treaty between Peru and the U.S. allows a suspect to be temporarily extradited to face trial in the other country. It requires that the prisoner 鈥渂e returned鈥� after judicial proceedings are concluded 鈥渁gainst that person, in accordance with conditions to be determined by鈥� both countries.
In a statement, the young woman's mother, Beth Holloway, said she was blessed to have Natalee in her life for 18 years.
鈥淪he 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,鈥� said.
Attorney Maximo Altez, who represents van der Sloot, told the AP he will fight the decision once he is properly notified by the Peruvian government.
鈥淚 am going to challenge that resolution,鈥� Altez said. 鈥淚 am going to oppose it since he has the right to a defense.鈥�
Van der Sloot could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday. More than a decade ago, he told a Peruvian judge that he would fight efforts to be extradited to the U.S.
Van der Sloot married a Peruvian woman in July 2014 in a .
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This story has been edited to correct a misspelling of Natalee Holloway's name.
