Its possible extradition Joran van der SlootThe missing prime suspect Natalie HallwayThe mystery surrounding an Alabama teenager who disappeared in Aruba in 2005 is back in the spotlight.
The Peruvian government announced Wednesday that authorities had issued an order allowing Van der Sloot, who is serving a 28-year prison sentence in the country, to be temporarily extradited to the United States to face federal charges stemming from an alleged plot to extort money from Holloway’s mother. .
Van der Sloot’s attorney, Maximo Altez, told The Associated Press he plans to fight the order.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment to CBS News on the extradition announcement. A State Department spokeswoman referred CBS News’ questions to the Justice Department.
Who was Natalee Holloway?
Holloway was last seen alive about 18 years ago in the Caribbean island nation of Aruba. The 18-year-old was celebrating her graduation from Mountain Brook High School in Mountain Brook, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, where she was an honor student, CBS News’ “48 Hours” reported in 2006.
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Holloway went on the trip with three of her best friends, Liz Kane, Molly Tucker and Claire Fierman.
“It was so much fun. We’d wake up, brush our teeth, go straight to the beach. We’d literally be in the water all day because it was so perfect,” Fierman told “48 Hours.” “We hung out with our friends on this beautiful island. It was a really fun trip.”
When did Natalee Holloway disappear?
On May 30, 2005, the last night of the trip, the group went to Carlos’ Charlie’s, a local nightspot, Kane told “48 Hours.” The legal minimum drinking age in Aruba is 18.
That night, Holloway is seen getting into a car with three strangers, which surprises Holloway’s friend and her mother, Beth Holloway.
Holloway’s mother told “48 Hours” in 2006, “There was no way he could have left his friends and put himself out there knowing what he was doing.”
Who is Joran van der Sloot?
Among the strangers was van der Sloot, then 17 years old. Van der Sloot, a citizen of the Netherlands, was taken into custody 10 days after Holloway’s disappearance and held for several months.
“It’s amazing to us that a 17-year-old, if he did this, wouldn’t have been dismantled. It’s unbelievable,” Arlen Schipper, an Aruban lawyer who often speaks on behalf of the country’s government, told “48 Hours” in 2006.
Ernesto Benavides/AFP via Getty Images
At the time, van der Sloot denied any wrongdoing in Holloway’s disappearance and no charges were filed against him. He was released to his parents on September 3, 2005.
The case attracted widespread attention in the United States and was cited as an example in the news media A fascination with missing white women. According to the UK’s Guardian newspaper, van der Sloot has given conflicting confessions in the case over the years. In 2016, Holloway’s father, Dave Holloway, told The Huffington Post that the latest alleged confession at the time was not valid in Aruba unless it was in a signed statement.
Were Natalie Holloway’s remains ever found?
Holloway was declared legally dead In 2012. His remains have not been found.
According to the Department of Justice, in 2010, Van der Sloot offered Beth Holloway to reveal the location of his body for $250,000.
A federal grand jury indicted him on charges of racketeering and wire fraud in the alleged scheme.
According to the complaint, Van der Sloot allegedly offered to show Beth Holloway’s lawyer where her daughter’s remains were and provide “certain details regarding the manner of her death” in exchange for an initial payment of $25,000. Van der Sloot will be sent the remaining $225,000 via a wire transfer within 30 days after the remains are confirmed to be Hallway’s.
Prosecutors allege that van der Sloot confirmed in an email that the information he provided was “meaningless” and kept the initial $25,000 payment.
Why can Joran van der Sloot be extradited to the US?
Van der Sloot served a 28 years in jail From Peru Guilty of self In 2012, 21-year-old college student Stephanie Flores was killed in Lima in 2010.
Peru’s attorney general’s office said in a statement to CBS News on Wednesday that Van der Sloot will be extradited temporarily to the United States for trial and will return to Peru at the end of the process.
Peru’s government said in a statement to CBS News on Thursday that the extradition was approved by the country’s President Dina Bolluarte, who took office in December after the country’s former leader’s coup.
“We hope that this action will enable a process that will help bring peace to Ms. Holloway and her family, who are grieving the same way the Flores family in Peru is grieving the loss of their daughter Stephanie.” The Peruvian ambassador to the United States, Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, said this in a statement.
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Alex Sundby