A federal judge set a plea and sentencing hearing for Joran van der Sloot on October 18, 2023 in Birmingham, Alabama. Van der Sloot was extradited to Alabama from Peru, where he’s serving a 28-year sentence after confessing to killing a Peruvian woman in 2010.
Van der Sloot is the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalie Holloway of Mountain Brook. He’s indicted on extortion and wire fraud. He previously entered a plea of not guilty in the case.
District Judge Anna Manasco entered an order for a change of plea hearing and a sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
Van der Sloot is facing charges of extortion and wire fraud in the U.S. after allegedly attempting to sell Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, information about the location of her daughter’s body.
Beth Holloway’s lawyer, John Q. Kelly, now tells that van der Sloot is expected to take a plea deal, which is conditioned on him releasing details on how Natalee Holloway died and what happened to her body.
The lawyer also told that the search for Natalee Holloway’s body is over. “It [the plea agreement] was conditioned upon Mr. van der Sloot revealing details of how Natalee died and how her body was disposed of,” Kelly first told “Today.” A plea and sentencing hearing is scheduled for van der Sloot on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in a Birmingham, Alabama, federal courtroom.
According to federal prosecutors, van der Sloot tried to extort the family for $250,000 – $25,000 upfront for the information and the rest to be paid once Natalee Holloway’s body was positively identified.
However, van der Sloot lied to Beth Holloway about where her daughter’s remains were located, according to U.S. prosecutors. The alleged extortion scheme took place between March 29, 2010, and May 17, 2010.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges after a June hearing when he was temporarily transferred from Peru to the United States. Beth Holloway is expected to give a statement following Wednesday’s hearing.
Van der Sloot then traveled to Peru and met Stephany Flores, 21, at a Lima casino owned by her father. Van der Sloot admitted to killing Flores, saying he murdered her on May 30, 2010, in a fit of anger after the 21-year-old found out he was connected to Natalee Holloway’s disappearance.
He was originally sentenced to 28 years in prison for killing Flores, but more time was added because of a drug smuggling scandal in which he was involved while behind bars.
Once van der Sloot’s federal case concludes, he will head back to Peru to finish his sentence for murdering Flores. After finishing his sentence in Peru, van der Sloot would then come to an American prison, if convicted.
