E-Paper
Where is Natalee Holloway's body? Here's why judge said murder victim's remains will never be found
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway has admitted that he bludgeoned her to death
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway has admitted that he bludgeoned her to death. Joran van der Sloot appeared in an Alabama court, where prosecutors said that he confessed that he killed Natalee for refusing his sexual advances.
Natalee disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005. She was 18 at the time. She went missing during a trip with school friends, and was reportedly last seen with a Dutch citizen. Despite Joran’s confession, US District Judge Anna M. Manasco has said that Natalee’s remains will never be found.
Why will Natalee Holloway’s remains never be found?
The judge said that Natalee’s remains will never be found because Joran placed them in the ocean after murdering her. Joran confessed that Natalee kneed him in the crotch after he tried “feeling her up,” and he, in retaliation, kicked her in the face and bludgeoned her with the cinder block. According to an interview transcript, Joran then decided to “push her off” into the ocean.”
Since Natalee’s murder, her body has never been found. An Alabama judge signed an order and declared her legally dead back in 2012.
‘I have no doubt she would have made all her dreams come true’
Joran’s confession is part of a plea deal in which the 36-year-old suspect pleaded guilty to trying to extort $250,000 from Natalee’s family in exchange for information on her death. He claimed that her death has haunted him for years.
In Birmingham, Alabama, Judge Manasco sentenced Joran to 20 years in federal prison on Wednesday, October 18 – a sentence that will continue to run concurrently with his 28-year sentence for murdering Stephany Flores in Peru.
Natalee’s mother, Beth, addressed Joran directly during the sentencing, saying, according to the Daily Mail, “You terminated her dreams, her potential, her possibilities, when you bludgeoned her to death in 2005. You didn't get what you wanted from Natalee, your sexual satisfaction, so you brutally killed her.
“I paid my daughter's killer money. That's shocking. I don't think anyone can really wrap their mind around what that means... I have no doubt she would have made all her dreams come true. She really would have,” she added. “By the way you look like hell, Joran. I do not see how you're gonna make it ... You are a killer and I want you to remember that every time that jail door slams.”
