Dutch murderer (born 1987)
van der Sloot. In this Dutch name , the surname is
Joran
Andreas Petrus van der Sloot (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjoːrɑɱ vɑn dər ˈsloːt]; born 6
August 1987) is a Dutch murderer, convicted in the 2010 killing of Stephany Flores
Ramírez in Lima, Peru. He was the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee
Holloway.[4][1][10]
After Flores's murder on 30 May 2010, five years to the day after
Holloway's disappearance, Van der Sloot fled to Chile, where he was arrested and
extradited back to Peru for questioning regarding the murder.[11]
On 7 June 2010, Van
der Sloot confessed to bludgeoning Flores.[1][10][12][13] He later tried to formally
retract his confession, claiming that he had been intimidated by the Peruvian Police
and framed by the FBI.[14][15] A Peruvian judge ruled on 25 June 2010 that the
confession was valid,[16] and on 13 January 2012, Van der Sloot was sentenced to 28
years' imprisonment for Flores's murder.[3] In January 2024, an additional 18 years
were added to his sentence for trafficking cocaine while in prison.[17]
On 8 June 2024,
Van der Sloot was extradited to the United States to face trial for extortion and wire
fraud, with both charges being linked to Holloway's disappearance.[18] On 18 October
2024, he admitted to killing Holloway in a proffer letter, which was released after he
pleaded guilty to other associated charges in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Alabama.[19]
The Holloway and Flores cases both attracted
widespread media attention;[7] Time magazine declared Van der Sloot's arrest the top
crime story of 2010.[20][21] He was the subject of international news coverage from
prison,[22] leading to controversies that resulted in the investigation and suspension
of several Peruvian officials.[23]
Background [ edit ]
Joran van der Sloot was born in
the Dutch city of Arnhem, one of three sons to Paulus van der Sloot (1952–2010),[24] a
lawyer, and Anita van der Sloot-Hugen, an art teacher.[25] In 1990, his family moved
from Arnhem to Aruba,[26] where he was an honor student at the International School of
Aruba.[26][25]
Van der Sloot was a star football and tennis athlete at the school,[7]
competing in doubles tennis with his father at the Moët & Chandon Anniversary Cup in
2005[25] and hoped to play for Saint Leo University.[27] Van der Sloot's mother said he
was a habitual liar and had a tendency to sneak out of the house at night to go to
casinos.[28]
Natalee Holloway disappearance [ edit ]
Carlos'n Charlie's in Oranjestad,
Aruba, where Natalee Holloway was last seen with Van der Sloot
On 29 May 2005, Van der
Sloot met Natalee Holloway at Carlos'n Charlie's bar in downtown Oranjestad, Aruba.
Holloway was an 18-year-old American, vacationing in Aruba to celebrate her graduation
from high school. Holloway and Van der Sloot drank and danced together at the bar. When
the bar closed at 1:00 a.m., Holloway was last seen leaving in a car with Van der Sloot
and two brothers, 21-year-old Deepak Kalpoe and 18-year-old Satish Kalpoe.[29]
On 9
June 2005, Van der Sloot and both Kalpoe brothers were arrested in regards to the
disappearance of Natalee Holloway.[30] The Kalpoe brothers were released from custody
on 4 July, while Van der Sloot remained in custody.[31] The brothers were re-arrested
on 26 August on suspicion of rape and murder. All three suspects were released on 3
September due to lack of evidence.[32]
After his release, Van der Sloot was required to
stay within Dutch territory pending the results of the investigation. On 5 September
2005, he returned to the Netherlands to study international business management at the
HAN University of Applied Sciences.[33] On 14 September, a higher court removed the
travel restrictions.[6][34][35] Gerold G. Dompig, former deputy commissioner of the
Aruba Police Force,[36] stated that the initial arrests were made prematurely under
pressure from Holloway's family. Dompig charged that the family sidetracked the
investigation by making it difficult for the police to collect evidence to solve the
case.[27]
Media coverage [ edit ]
On 26 September 2005, Van der Sloot told the American
television show A Current Affair that neither he nor the Kalpoe brothers had sex with
Holloway, but he admitted that they initially agreed to lie to the authorities. He said
that they first told police that Holloway was dropped off alone at her hotel, while he
later said that he was dropped off with her at the beach. Van der Sloot stated that he
left Holloway alone at the beach at her request and that he regretted it.[37]
On 6
February 2006, on ABC's Good Morning America, Van der Sloot's parents stated that their
son was unfairly singled out and that the investigation left them devastated.[38] Later
that month, while Van der Sloot and his father were in New York City for an interview
with ABC's Primetime, they were served with a lawsuit filed by Natalee's parents, Beth
and Dave Holloway, alleging personal injury;[39] the case was dismissed on
jurisdictional grounds that August.[40]
In April 2007 Van der Sloot and a reporter
published a book[41] describing the case. Van der Sloot began writing the book while
attending business classes in Arnhem. He stated in the introduction, "I see this book
as my opportunity to be open and honest about everything that happened, for anyone who
wants to read it."[42]
2007 search and arrest [ edit ]
On 27 April 2007, a new search
involving some 20 investigators was launched at Van der Sloot's parents' home in
Aruba.[43] Dutch authorities searched the yard and surrounding area, using shovels and
thin metal rods to probe the ground. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office, Vivian
van der Biezen, stated: "The investigation has never stopped and the Dutch authorities
are completely reviewing the case for new indications." A statement released directly
from the prosecutor's office stated: "The team has indications that justify a more
thorough search."[44] Investigators did not comment on what prompted the new search,
except that it was not related[45] to Van der Sloot's book.[41]
On 21 November 2007,
Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were re-arrested in Arnhem and Aruba,
respectively, for "suspicion of involvement in voluntary manslaughter and causing
serious bodily harm that resulted in the death of Natalee Holloway" because of what the
Aruba prosecutor's office stated was "new incriminating evidence" related to Holloway's
disappearance. Van der Sloot returned to Aruba on 23 November, and a court hearing on
26 November ruled to continue his detention for eight days.[46] The Kalpoe brothers
were released on 1 December. Van der Sloot was ordered released on 7 December; he was
released without charge the same day.[47]
2008 Dutch television sting operations [ edit
]
Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries pursued Van der Sloot via undercover reports.
On
11 January 2008, after being challenged on the Dutch late-night talk show Pauw &
Witteman by crime reporter Peter de Vries, Van der Sloot threw a glass of red wine into
De Vries's face.[48] On 3 February, an undercover video made by De Vries aired on Dutch
television, purporting to show Van der Sloot smoking marijuana and admitting to being
present during Holloway's death. The show was watched by 7 million viewers in the
Netherlands and was the most popular non-sports program in Dutch television
history.[49]
Patrick van der Eem, working undercover for De Vries, had befriended Van
der Sloot, who was unaware that he was being taped when he said that Holloway had
suffered some kind of seizure while having sex with him on the beach. After failing to
revive her, Van der Sloot said that he summoned a friend named "Daury". The two men
neither phoned for medical help nor checked Holloway to determine if she might still be
alive. "Daury", according to Van der Sloot, volunteered to load her onto a boat; he
then dumped Holloway's body into the sea.[50] The prosecutor in Aruba determined the
video was admissible,[51] but the evidence was deemed "insufficient" to warrant any
arrests. Although the taped confession appeared damning, Van der Sloot maintained that
he had been lying to Van der Eem in order to impress him, believing his new
acquaintance to be a drug dealer.[52]
On 22 September 2008, in New York City, De Vries,
accompanied by Beth Holloway, accepted an International Emmy Award in Current Affairs
for his coverage of Natalee Holloway's disappearance.[53] Under pressure generated by
the Pauw & Witteman program, Van der Sloot voluntarily checked into a psychiatric
clinic, before departing the Netherlands for Thailand.[6] He moved to Muang Ake, a
suburb of Bangkok, intending to study business at Rangsit University, but dropped out
and bought Sawadee Cup, a restaurant next to the campus that served sandwiches and
pizza.[54]
In November 2008, De Vries aired undercover footage of Van der Sloot making
preparations for the apparent sex trafficking of Thai women in Bangkok into Europe. De
Vries claimed that Van der Sloot was makingR$13,000 for every woman sold into
prostitution in the Netherlands.[55] Van der Sloot had been using the alias "Murphy
Jenkins" in order to avoid Thai authorities.[5] Peruvian Minister of Justice Aurelio
Pastor later was to state that Thailand was pursuing criminal charges against Van der
Sloot.[56] According to National Enquirer, he was being investigated by Thai
authorities for his involvement in the disappearance of young women he may have
recruited for a Thai sex slave gang while posing as a production consultant for a
modeling agency that, ostensibly, would send them to Europe to work as models.[57]
Van
der Sloot was portrayed by actor Jacques Strydom in the Lifetime television film
Natalee Holloway (2009),[58] based on Beth Holloway's book about her daughter's
disappearance.[59] The film brought in the highest television ratings in Lifetime's
then-eleven-year history.[60] Van der Sloot himself watched the film one evening in
2010, according to his friend, John Ludwick, and said that some parts were true while
others were not.[61] The film was followed by a sequel, Justice for Natalee Holloway
(2011), in which Van der Sloot was played by actor Stephen Amell.
In August 2009, Van
der Sloot was spotted in Macau at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour.[25] He won over
US$12,000 that year in an online poker tournament.[62] Van der Sloot described himself
on his YouTube page as "a professional poker player" and cited Barry Greenstein's 2005
poker strategy guide[63] as his favorite book.
In early 2010, following the death of
his father, Paulus, he sold his Bangkok restaurant business and returned to
Aruba.[7]
Father's involvement in the case [ edit ]
Paulus van der Sloot was arrested
on 22 June 2005, for questioning in Holloway's disappearance. He was ordered released
on 26 June after three days of questioning.[64] According to Aruba's chief prosecutor,
one of the Kalpoe brothers told investigators that Paulus, who at the time was training
to be a judge,[27] advised his son that, without a body, the police would have no
case.[65] Beth Holloway pursued Van der Sloot's parents in the media circus on Aruba
which ensued after Natalee's disappearance. She stated that Paulus acknowledged that
they could not control their son and had sent him to a psychiatrist.[27]
On 10 November
2005, Paulus won an unjust detention action against the Aruban government, clearing him
as a suspect and allowing him to retain his government contract.[34] Paulus van der
Sloot then brought a second action, seeking monetary damages for himself and his family
because of his false arrest.[66][67] The action was initially successful, but the award
of 40,000 Aruban florins (US$22,300) was reversed on appeal.[68] The family's finances
had become depleted by their legal expenses.[7] In January 2007, Paulus found work as a
managing partner at the law firm that had represented him.[69][67]
On 24 November 2008,
Fox News's On the Record aired an interview with Joran van der Sloot in which he said
that he sold Holloway into sexual slavery, receiving money both when Holloway was taken
and, later, to keep quiet. He also alleged that he paid the Kalpoe brothers for their
assistance, and that his father Paulus paid off two police officers who had learned
that Holloway was taken to Venezuela. Van der Sloot later retracted the statements he
had made in the interview.[70] The show aired part of an audio recording provided by
Van der Sloot, which he alleged was a phone conversation between himself and Paulus, in
which Paulus displayed knowledge of his son's purported involvement in human
trafficking. According to prosecutor Hans Mos, the other voice heard on the recording
was not that of Paulus. The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that the "father's"
voice was almost certainly that of Joran, trying to speak in a lower tone.[71][dead
link]
On 8 January 2010, Paulus ended his partnership at the law firm where he had been
working.[69] On 10 February 2010, while playing tennis in Aruba, he died of a heart
attack at age 57.[72] Joran van der Sloot returned to Aruba soon afterward and took up
gambling.[7] His mother, Anita, later remarked that Van der Sloot had severe mental
problems and had blamed himself for his father's death. He had left for Aruba before
she could have him involuntarily committed, leaving a note: "I'm gone, do not
worry."[73]
2010 charges in the United States [ edit ]
Around 29 March 2010, Van der
Sloot allegedly contacted John Q. Kelly, Beth Holloway's legal representative, with an
offer to reveal the location of Natalee's body and the circumstances surrounding her
death for an advance ofR$25,000 against a total ofR$250,000.[74] Kelly said that he
secretly went to Aruba in April to meet with Van der Sloot, who was desperate for
money, and gave himR$100. Kelly notified the FBI, which set up a sting operation with
the Aruban authorities.[75][76]
On 10 May, Van der Sloot allegedly accepted the sum
ofR$15,000 by wire transfer to his account in the Netherlands, following a cash payment
ofR$10,000 that was videotaped by undercover investigators in Aruba.[77][78] In
exchange, Van der Sloot told Kelly that his father buried Holloway's remains in the
foundation of a house. Authorities determined that this information was false, because
the house had not yet been built at the time of Holloway's disappearance.[79] Van der
Sloot later e‑mailed Kelly that he lied about the house.[75] Beth Holloway was shocked
that the FBI did not promptly file extortion charges against Van der Sloot, allowing
him to leave freely with the money to Bogotá on his way to Lima.[79][80] The FBI and
the office of the U.S. Attorney contended that the case had not yet been sufficiently
developed to enable filing the charges.[76]
On 3 June 2010, the U.S. District Court of
Northern Alabama charged Van der Sloot with extortion and wire fraud. U.S. Attorney
Joyce White Vance issued an arrest warrant through Interpol to have him prosecuted in
the United States.[2] On 4 June, at the request of the U.S. Justice Department, Dutch
authorities raided and confiscated items from two homes in the Netherlands, one of them
belonging to reporter Jaap Amesz, who had previously interviewed Van der Sloot, and who
claimed knowledge of his criminal activities.[81]
Aruban investigators used information
gathered from the extortion case to launch a new search at a beach, but no new evidence
was found.[82] Aruba's Solicitor-General's office stated they would not seek Van der
Sloot's extradition to Aruba. On 30 June, a U.S. federal grand jury formally indicted
Van der Sloot on the two charges. The indictment, filed with the U.S. District Court,
sought the forfeiture of theR$25,100 that had been paid to Van der Sloot.[83]
In an
interview published by De Telegraaf on 6 September 2010, Van der Sloot admitted to the
extortion plot, stating: "I wanted to get back at Natalee's family. Her parents have
been making my life tough for five years." His attorney said that his client was not
paid for the interview, and suggested instead that "maybe there were some mistakes in
the translation."[84]
On 9 March 2014, the Peruvian government announced that Van der
Sloot would face extradition to the U.S. in the year 2038 to face charges of extortion
and wire fraud, after completion of his 28-year sentence in Peru for the murder of
Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez (see below).[85]
In February 2024, an undercover
reporter filmed Van der Sloot confessing to Natalee Holloway's murder. The film shows
Van der Sloot, in Dutch, laughing over how he never told the truth about the whole
event and that he did in fact kill Holloway. His Peruvian wife is also present during
this conversation.[86]
2024 extradition to the United States, and confession [ edit
]
On 8 June 2024, Van der Sloot was extradited from Peru to the United States, landing
at Birmingham Airport in Birmingham, Alabama just before 2:30 p.m.[18] After arriving
in Birmingham, he was taken into U.S. custody and transferred to the Hoover City
Jail.[87] On 9 June, he was arraigned in the federal court in Birmingham on one count
of extortion and one count of wire fraud against Bethany Holloway, Natalee Holloway's
mother.[88][18][89] He pleaded not guilty to each charge.[88]
On 18 October 2024, in a
proffer letter as part of a plea deal, Van der Sloot admitted to beating Holloway to
death on an Aruba beach. According to an interview transcript, Van der Sloot bludgeoned
her head with a cinder block and disposed of her body in the ocean. Judge Anna Manasco
sentenced van der Sloot to 20 years on the extortion charges, which will run
concurrently with his existing Peru sentence.[90]
Murder of Stephany Flores [ edit
]
Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez was found dead in Van der Sloot's room at Hotel TAC,
S.A.C. in Lima.
On 30 May 2010 — the fifth anniversary of Holloway's disappearance —
Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez, 21, died at the Hotel TAC, in the Miraflores District
of Lima.[91] On 2 June, a hotel employee found her beaten body in room 309,[11][92]
which had been registered in Van der Sloot's name.[93] He had departed from the hotel
without returning the room key and left the television turned on.[94] A tennis racquet,
identified by the coroner as a possible homicide weapon, was recovered from the
room.[80]
A hotel guest and an employee came forward to say they saw Van der Sloot and
the victim entering the hotel room together, and the police obtained video of the two
playing cards at the same table the night before at the Atlantic City Casino in
Lima.[93][95] Van der Sloot had entered Peru via Colombia on 14 May 2010 to attend the
Latin American Poker Tour.[96][97]
Flores was a business student who was less than a
year from graduation at the University of Lima.[98] She was the daughter of Ricardo
Flores, a former president of the Peruvian Automobile Club and winner of the "Caminos
del Inca" rally in 1991. A prominent businessman and entertainment organizer, he ran
for vice president in 2001 and for president five years later on fringe
tickets.[99]
Ricardo Flores said that police found date rape drugs in his daughter's
car, parked about 50 blocks from the hotel where she died.[100] Her jewelry, money,
identification, and credit cards were missing, including aboutR$1,000 her father had
given her to purchase a laptop computer, and overR$10,000 she had won earlier at the
casino.[82][101][102] Flores reportedly kept this money in her car, but a police search
found no money in it.[103]
After Flores's family reported her missing, police retrieved
the hotel security surveillance tape and obtained Van der Sloot's name and national
identification number. Her brother's wife discovered Van der Sloot's background in a
Google search about an hour before her body was found.[104]
2010 arrest [ edit ]
Aruba
Bogotá Lima Arica Curacaví class=notpageimage| Map of Van der Sloot's travel sites in
South America
Peruvian officials named Van der Sloot as the lone suspect in the
homicide investigation.[93] An Interpol notice was issued regarding Van der Sloot and
it was believed that he had fled to Chile, possibly intending to return to Aruba
through Argentina.[105] Van der Sloot was sighted entering Chile via the Chacalluta
border crossing, north of Arica, on 31 May 2010.[96][106] His ex-girlfriend, Melody
Granadillo, said that Van der Sloot sent her a text message asking for money to buy a
ticket back to Aruba.[107]
On 3 June, Van der Sloot was arrested near Curacaví by the
Investigations Police of Chile while traveling in a rented taxi on highway 68 between
the coastal city of Viña del Mar and the capital of Santiago.[108][109] He was found
with a laptop, foreign currency, a business card case, detailed charts of ocean
currents around Lima, and bloody clothes.[93][110] His phone's SIM card was missing,
which made mobile phone tracking of his location impossible.[111]
He told Chilean
police that unidentified armed robbers hid in the hotel room and killed Flores when she
disobeyed their order to be quiet.[112] Van der Sloot's Dutch attorney claimed that his
client was on his way to Santiago to turn himself in.[113] He was subsequently expelled
and transported by Chilean police in a Cessna 310 back to Arica to be handed over to
Peruvian authorities at the Chacalluta border crossing on 4 June.[11][114][115]
Van der
Sloot arrived at Lima police headquarters on 5 June, where he was interrogated about
the Flores murder while represented by attorney Luz Maria Romero Chinchay.[115] The
Dutch embassy provided a translator for his defense.[116] He was held in a
seventh-floor cell and permitted to contact his mother.[117] Van der Sloot was placed
on suicide watch by guards after it was reported that he deliberately hit his head
against a wall.[118][119] On 10 June, he was moved to a cell at the prosecutor's office
in central Lima.[120]
Forensic investigation [ edit ]
The Atlantic City Casino in Lima,
where Van der Sloot and Flores were recorded on surveillance video
Surveillance video
from the Atlantic City Casino recorded Flores winningR$10,000 at a baccarat table area
on 25 May 2010, while accompanied by a male friend who was not van der Sloot. According
to casino spokesperson Luis Laos, she also wonR$237 playing poker on 29 May and it was
common for people to know the identities of big winners. Laos stated that van der Sloot
did not win any money that night. At 3:00 a.m. on 30 May, Flores was recorded entering
the casino alone and walking to a poker table where Van der Sloot was sitting. Van der
Sloot had not registered for the Latin American Poker Tour. The deadline to pay
theR$2,700 entry fee for the 2 June event at the casino was 30 May.[121]
Police
released hotel security video showing van der Sloot and Flores entering the Hotel TAC
together at about 5:00 a.m. on 30 May.[122] At about 8:10 a.m., he is shown walking
across the street to a supermarket and returning with bread and two cups of
coffee.[123] Around 8:45 a.m., he is seen leaving the hotel alone with his bags.[93]
An
autopsy ruled that Flores did not have sexual intercourse before her death, and that
she was not under the influence of enough alcohol to prevent her from resisting an
attack.[118] She suffered blunt-force trauma to her head, which caused a brain
hemorrhage, cranial fracture, and broken neck.[11][78] She also suffered significant
injuries to her face and showed signs of asphyxiation, according to court
documents.[124] Flores tested positive for the presence of amphetamines.[125][126] The
lab report does not indicate whether the victim took the drugs willingly or
unknowingly.[127]
The stains on van der Sloot's clothes matched Flores's blood
type.[128] Blood was also found on the floor, hallway, and mattress in the hotel room.
Police stated that DNA tests would be conducted on the clothes, skin found under the
victim's fingernails,[129][130] and the previously recovered tennis racquet.[93]
Ricardo Flores stated in interviews that his daughter's body needed to be exhumed to
gather the fingernail DNA evidence, and that her body had not been cremated for this
reason.[131]
On 14 March 2011, the National Police of Peru provided a copy of the hard
disk drive from van der Sloot's laptop computer to the FBI. Colonel Oscar González, of
the technical division of the Peruvian police, stated that the U.S. federal
investigation was interested in information related to Holloway's disappearance and the
alleged extortion of her family.[132][133] Peruvian detectives determined that the
laptop accessed information about the Holloway case before Flores arrived in van der
Sloot's hotel room; it was then used to visit two poker Web sites at around the time
Flores was present in the room.[134] According to a police dossier,[135] the laptop was
later used to search Google for the subjects "Relationship between the Peruvian and
Chilean police", "Chilean border pass", "buses in Chile", and "countries that do not
extradite in Latin America".[136]
Confession and retraction [ edit ]
On 7 June 2010,
Van der Sloot reportedly confessed to killing Flores, following hours of interrogation.
He had initially proclaimed his innocence.[137] According to an expert in Peruvian law,
the confession fit a defense strategy of trying to get the charge reduced to
manslaughter, which is punishable by six to twenty years in prison, while a conviction
for murder could result in up to 35 years' imprisonment.[138] The prosecution was
seeking a sentence of 30 years.[13]
Peru does not issue life sentences in standard
cases of murder and has abolished capital punishment in all but exceptional
circumstances, such as crimes committed under military law.[139][140] A life sentence
can be issued for a murder committed during the commission of a robbery.[141] Peruvian
president Alan García Pérez used the case to seek the reinstatement of the death
penalty for murder.[142]
In his written confession released by Peruvian police, Van der
Sloot recounted that he briefly left the hotel to get some coffee and bread, and
returned to find Flores using his laptop computer without his permission. A police
source stated that she might have found information linking him to the disappearance of
Holloway. An altercation allegedly began, and she attempted to escape.[139] According
to the aforementioned written confession released by Peruvian authorities, Van der
Sloot stated,
"I did not want to do it. The girl intruded into my private life ... she
didn't have any right. I went to her and I hit her. She was scared, we argued, and she
tried to escape. I grabbed her by the neck and hit her."[137]
Van der Sloot reportedly
stated that he was stoned on marijuana at the time.[139] A detective linked to the case
said that Van der Sloot considered getting rid of the body in a suitcase,[143] but
decided against it because he would have been stopped at the front desk.[110] He then
reportedly drank espresso and took amphetamines to counter fatigue before fleeing the
hotel.[144]
Criminal police chief Cesar Guardia said Van der Sloot "let slip that he
knew the place" where Holloway's body is buried.[143] Guardia stated that the
interrogation was limited to their case in Peru, which he considered "practically
closed", and that questions about Holloway's disappearance were avoided.[120] Guardia
said that the confession contains lies because Van der Sloot's "toxicological report
shows no signs that he had ingested any kind of drug." Felonies committed under the
influence of drugs can gain leniency in Peruvian courts.[125]
Guardia said that the
motive for the crime was robbery.[82] Van der Sloot reportedly offered a different
motive for killing Flores, stating that he "feared that she would go to the police". On
14 June, Peruvian authorities released written transcripts of Van der Sloot's alleged
confession.[145] His mother Anita expressed concern that her son's confession might
have been coerced.[146] According to Van der Sloot's former attorney, his mother
advised him not to make any statements or sign anything, but it was too late.[115]
Van
der Sloot later retracted this confession in a prison cell interview with De Telegraaf,
claiming that he had been coerced and "tricked" by police with a promise to be
transferred to the Netherlands. He stated that at the time he signed the confession
documents, he did not understand the content as it was in Spanish. He was quoted: "In
my blind panic, I signed everything, but didn't even know what it said."[14] Van der
Sloot said that he was lured to Peru and framed by another gambler, named Elton Garcia,
who he claimed was working undercover for the FBI.[15]
Van der Sloot's attorney, Maximo
Alonso Altez Navarro, stated his intention to resign from the case because representing
Van der Sloot "created many problems" for him.[145] He had been threatened and harassed
for taking the case, and Van der Sloot's family was unable to afford his legal
fees.[147] Navarro stayed on to file a motion to void the confession, on the grounds
that his client was not properly represented during his interrogation. On 25 June,
Superior Court Judge Wilder Casique Alvizuri rejected the motion, noting that Van der
Sloot had been represented by a state-appointed lawyer and provided a translator by the
Dutch embassy prior to his confession.[16] Navarro commented that Van der Sloot was as
"depressed" as anyone in prison would be.[148]
Criminal proceedings [ edit ]
The Palace
of Justice in Lima, where Van der Sloot was charged with murder
On 11 June 2010, Lima
Superior Court Judge Juan Buendia ordered Van der Sloot held on charges of first-degree
murder and robbery, determining that he acted with "ferocity and great cruelty". Under
Peruvian law, Van der Sloot was not eligible to be released on bail,[12] and would be
tried by a panel of three judges rather than a jury. A simple majority of the three was
required for conviction.[149] Police transported Van der Sloot on the same day from
Lima's Palace of Justice in an armored truck, while angry onlookers yelled and threw
rotten lettuce. He was taken to the Miguel Castro Castro maximum security prison and
placed in a cell near the prison director's office for his own safety.[10]
He was
registered as inmate 326390 and separated from the general prison population, under
24-hour guard, in a high-security cell block housing only one other inmate.[145] Van
der Sloot reportedly offered to disclose the location of Holloway's body in exchange
for transfer to an Aruban prison, because he feared for his life.[143] Peruvian
president Garcia Pérez declared that Van der Sloot would have to stand trial for the
homicide before any extradition request would be considered.[117] He stated that Van
der Sloot would serve his prison sentence in Peru. No treaty exists for the transfer of
prisoners between Peru and the Netherlands.[143]
On 15 June, Aruban and Peruvian
authorities announced that they would cooperate in their respective cases involving Van
der Sloot. Aruban investigators expected to be able to interview Van der Sloot in Peru
in August, once Peruvian authorities had completed their investigation.[150] At his
first formal hearing within the on-site courtroom of Miguel Castro Castro prison on 21
June,[149] Van der Sloot refused to discuss the case with Judge Carlos Morales
Cordova,[151] claiming that his right to due process had been violated. Van der Sloot
filed a complaint with the National Police of Peru,[124] accusing chief detective
Miguel Angel Canlla Ore of misconduct.[152] He also claimed that his laptop had been
improperly searched.[153]
Van der Sloot's defense counsel filed a motion of habeas
corpus, disputing the legality of his detention, and to nullify statements he gave to
police.[154] The motion was declared baseless by Superior Court Judge Wilder Casique
Alvizuri on 25 June. Casique Alvizuri upheld all three depositions given by Van der
Sloot to police, and stated that the defendant's laptop was sealed by the court.[153]
Navarro vowed to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court of Peru and the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights, with a legal strategy to "paralyze the process".[148] The
Peruvian court replied that this approach would not succeed in delaying the case
against Van der Sloot.[154]
Navarro stated that he filed suit against Chinchay, who
initially represented Van der Sloot during his interrogation, charging her with abuse
of authority, conspiracy to commit a crime, and misrepresentation, as he did not find
her name on the list of public defenders from Peru's Ministry of Justice.[155] Navarro
also filed a complaint against Van der Sloot's translator, insisting that he
misrepresented himself as an official translator of the Dutch embassy.[156]
Chinchay
rejected the claims against her, stating that Van der Sloot had selected her as a
private attorney after declining another defense attorney, appointed by the state. She
contradicted his claims that Van der Sloot did not understand what he was signing,
stating that she was able to speak with him in perfect Spanish. She said that Van der
Sloot expressed interest in talking about the Holloway case, thinking that it might get
him extradited to Aruba. Chinchay also said that, when she told Van der Sloot that she
noticed he was signing various documents with very different signatures, he signaled
for her to be quiet.[115]
Navarro stated, on 21 August 2010, that the case was
stagnating, because an official interpreter was unable to be found for the case in
Peru. The Peruvian association of translators and interpreters and the Dutch embassy
both separately stated at the time that they had been unable to locate anyone to
officially translate Spanish into Dutch.[157] Unlike Aruba and the United States, Peru
does not guarantee the right to a speedy trial.[158] On 6 September, a Peruvian appeals
court voted 2 to 1 to reject Van der Sloot's motion that he was being unlawfully
held.[a] Peruvian statutes permit a suspect to be detained for up to 18 months for
interrogation, though Navarro expressed skepticism that law enforcement officers would
do so with his client.[159]
In February 2011, Navarro filed a "violent emotion" defense
with the court, arguing that Van der Sloot had entered into a state of temporary
insanity because Flores found out about his connection to Holloway from his laptop
computer. Under Peruvian law, if the judge accepts this crime of passion argument, the
sentence for such a plea could be reduced to only 3 to 5 years; Navarro noted that this
could allow Van der Sloot to be eligible for parole in as soon as 20 months.[160] Oscar
González of the Peruvian police stated that an examination of Van der Sloot's laptop
determined that Flores could not have accessed any such information while she was
staying in the hotel room with him.[161]
During the trial, the prosecution prepared a
psychological investigation of Van der Sloot, saying that he "presents traits of an
antisocial personality" and is "indifferent toward others' well-being".[154]
Guilty
plea and conviction [ edit ]
On 11 January 2012, Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to the
"qualified murder" and simple robbery of Flores.[1] He was convicted and sentenced to
28 years' imprisonment for the murder on 13 January and he must payR$75,000 to the
Flores family. Hours after learning of the sentence, Van der Sloot was transferred to a
maximum security prison, Piedras Gordas, located north of Lima. He is currently
expected to be released on 10 June 2038.[3]
In August 2014, Van der Sloot was
transferred to Challapalca prison, in the mountainous South of Peru, where conditions
are harsh due to the location's altitude. Two months later, a Dutch online news service
claimed that Van der Sloot was stabbed and critically injured by fellow prisoners in
Peru.[162] Van der Sloot's wife's claim of a stabbing is contested by Peruvian
authorities.[163]
Public reaction [ edit ]
Public outcry in Peru has been fueled by
local media, which labeled Van der Sloot a "monster", "serial killer", and
"psychopath". The coverage of this controversy highlighted cases of other women dying
at the hands of foreigners.[141] Peruvian and Colombian newspapers published articles
about the investigation of the disappearance of two young women who frequented casinos
during Van der Sloot's stay in at least two Bogotá hotels from 6 to 14 May 2010, prior
to entering Peru.[164][165]
The Administrative Department of Security of Colombia does
not consider Van der Sloot a suspect, as they believe his presence in Bogotá was merely
in transit to Peru.[166] Dutch daily newspaper Trouw warned that the overwhelming
pressure on authorities of Van der Sloot's presumed guilt risked turning the case into
a show trial.[167] The Dutch consulate told Peruvian authorities that it was concerned
how Van der Sloot was being treated and presented to the media.[101]
In December 2010,
Time magazine named Van der Sloot's arrest the most notable criminal event of the
year,[20] ahead of the Belgian love triangle skydiving-murder case, the Chinese school
attacks and the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping trial.[21] ABC News listed the coverage of
Van der Sloot's murder confession by Good Morning America among the most read stories
from its website in 2010.[168] The CBS affiliate near Holloway's hometown[b] named the
criminal charges filed against Van der Sloot in 2010 among the top ten stories of the
year.[169] Radio Netherlands Worldwide identified him as one of the most talked about
Dutch people of the year.[170]
Media coverage at Miguel Castro prison [ edit ]
Van der
Sloot's cell became the target of a media circus, with reporters vying to gain
exclusive access and report about his prison surroundings.[171][172] Since his
incarceration, he has consented to interviews only with De Telegraaf, in which he
admitted to extorting the Holloway family and said that he received a number of
marriage proposals in his cell, including one from a woman who wanted to have his
child.[84][173] Van der Sloot reportedly receives fan mail from around the world,
though mostly from women residing in the United States and the Netherlands.[174]
According to sources within the prison, Van der Sloot soughtR$1 million in exchange for
an on-camera interview.[175]
The Office of Internal Affairs of the National
Penitentiary Institute of Peru began administrative and disciplinary action on 23
August 2010, when Peruvian network América Televisión aired a picture of Van der Sloot
with three other inmates that had been taken with official photographic equipment at
Miguel Castro Castro prison. The photo included Van der Sloot casually posing with
Colombian hitman Hugo Trujillo Ospina, and American murderer William Trickett Smith
II.[22] Van der Sloot and Smith have been referred to by local media as "the foreigners
accused of the most talked-about assassinations in our country".[176]
On 11 September
2010, Beth Holloway and de Vries traveled to Peru with a Dutch television crew to visit
the prison.[177] According to Navarro, his client was taken to meet them "practically
by force".[178] Navarro stated that the meeting with Holloway took "less than one
minute". Holloway said that she told Van der Sloot that she had "no hate in her soul"
for him and asked about her daughter's disappearance, to which Van der Sloot responded
he could not speak to her without his lawyer present and handed her Navarro's business
card. However, Holloway also stated in interviews about the encounter,
"I've hated him
for five years. I wanted to peel his skin off."[179]
According to Navarro, Holloway was
sneaked into the prison without identifying to the Dutch television crew who she
was.[180] A prison spokesperson stated that Holloway's name was not found in the
visitor registry.[177] Holloway and the crew were removed from the prison, reportedly
after a hidden camera was discovered by the guards.[181] Representatives for Holloway
and de Vries denied that a hidden camera was involved, or that anything was
seized.[182] Miguel Castro Castro prison warden, Alex Samamé Peña, was suspended after
video segments of the confrontation between Holloway's mother and Van der Sloot later
began airing on the Dutch network SBS6.[23]
In October 2010, América Televisión
broadcast video of a transaction for marijuana within the prison that was conducted by
a shirtless man addressed as "gringo Van der Sloot". Navarro said that the situation
was "staged" and asked the National Penitentiary Institute to investigate how it was
leaked. Prison spokesperson Bruno Guzman said that Van der Sloot had been painting his
cell "to improve his conditions" and the incident was being investigated.[183]
Van der
Sloot's mother, Anita, stated in a Dutch interview that her son could have killed
Flores, and that she will not visit him at the prison.[15] She said in another
interview that she hopes to talk to the family of the victim and apologize to
them.[175]
"I believe in karma, I believe that very strongly. I believe that if you do
things that you shouldn't do, that a lot of shit happens to you," she said. "He didn't
want to listen to his parents. He didn't listen to me, this last time. I tried to do my
best. I don't think I could have done more. He's considered an adult right now. He has
to do whatever he needs to do, and that is tell the truth (about) what happened." —
Anita v.d. Sloot-Hugen (2010 Dutch TV interview)[175]
In February 2011, Navarro
protested a decision by prison officials to deny Radio Netherlands Worldwide permission
for a subsequent interview with Van der Sloot. Navarro claimed that the ruling was
influenced by upcoming general elections.[184]
Drug trafficking in Peru [ edit ]
In
February 2024, Van der Sloot was convicted of drug trafficking while serving his
sentence in Challapalca Prison in Juliaca. He had set up a cocaine trafficking
operation inside the prison, where a family member of a fellow detainee used sugar
beets to smuggle cocaine into the prison in August 2024. Van der Sloot proceeded to
deal the cocaine inside the prison, as well as setting up a trafficking network by
forwarding packages of cocaine from the prison to other destinations abroad. He was
eventually found out by prison officials.[185][17]
Van der Sloot had an additional 18
years added to his original sentence. He is scheduled for release in 2045, because of a
Peruvian law prohibiting prison sentences from exceeding a maximum of 35 years when the
prisoner has not been sentenced to life imprisonment.[185][17]
Personal life [ edit
]
On 4 July 2014, Van der Sloot married a Peruvian woman named Leidy Figueroa, whom he
met while she was selling goods inside the prison. She was seven months pregnant with
his child at the time.[8] On 28 September 2014, Figueroa gave birth to a daughter[186]
in Peru. The two divorced at some point in 2024,[9] and Figueroa stated later in the
year that she intends to change her daughter's last name to avoid any association with
her former husband.[186]
^ [84] 2 to 1 is a rejection, because 3 votes are required for
a decision, if a fourth judge voted in Van der Sloot's favor, a fifth judge would be
required to break the tie. ^ WIAT , in Birmingham Alabama , is a CBS affiliate
television station near Holloway's hometown. It has published several of the news
reports, both on the air and on its website CBS 42, cited in this article.
