Main suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, Joran van der Sloot, lands in the US
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Alabama student Natalee Holloway has arrived in the US after being extradited from Peru with the help of FBI agents.
Joran van der Sloot is charged with the disappearance of the American student on the Caribbean island of Aruba.
He faces one count of racketeering and another of wire fraud after allegedly offering to reveal Holloway’s whereabouts in exchange for $250,000 from her family.
Van der Sloot’s extradition flight landed in Birmingham, Alabama, Thursday afternoon — hours after he was seen grinning in a Peruvian police car driven by officers who delivered him to Interpol officials.
After landing, FBI officials took Van der Sloot to the Hoover City jail, about 30 minutes south of the airport. His arraignment is expected to take place on Friday, June 9 at the Hugo L. Black Federal Courthouse, where he will plead guilty or not guilty.
The crimes are the only charges ever to link the Dutch citizen to Holloway’s disappearance in May 2005. While not charged with murder, he remains the prime suspect in the case.
Van der Sloot’s extradition flight landed Thursday afternoon in Birmingham, Alabama, and he was escorted by law enforcement officers to a waiting convoy of blacked-out SUVs.
The crimes are the only charges the Dutch citizen has ever linked to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in May 2005. Although he is not charged with murder, he is the prime suspect.
Natalee disappeared in 2005 and her body has never been found, leading authorities to declare her legally dead in 2012
Van der Sloot, who was taken to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, was held in a prison in Lima before being taken into US custody.
The 35-year-old is serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman, who was killed exactly five years after Holloway went missing.
Van der Sloot appeared to have no physical injuries, despite his lawyer claiming earlier this week that he had been “severely beaten” by other inmates in his Peruvian prison.
Authorities removed him from a high-security prison in the Andes over the weekend before taking him to Lima this morning and then to the airport.
It is currently unclear when he will first appear in court on US soil.
The accused killer filed a last-ditch effort two days ago to block his extradition to the US, but a Peruvian judge rejected the request.
The petition appears to contradict previous statements by his lawyer, Maximo Altez, who claimed Van der Sloot wanted to clear his name and welcomed extradition.
Holloway, who lived in Birmingham, Alabama, was 18 when she disappeared while traveling with classmates to Aruba.
She was last seen leaving a bar with Van der Sloot, who attended an international school on the island.
Van der Sloot was identified as a suspect and arrested weeks later, together with two Surinamese brothers.
It is currently unclear when Van der Sloot will first appear on US soil on charges related to Holloway’s disappearance and murder.
Joran van der Sloot smiled before boarding a plane back to the US. The Dutchman, who is accused of murdering Natalee Holloway, landed in the US on Thursday
Joran van der Sloot is accused of the murder of Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba, and is wanted for both extortion and telefraud
Van der Sloot appeared to have no bodily harm when he was photographed on his way to the airport, despite his lawyer claiming earlier this week that he had been “severely beaten” by other inmates at a Peruvian prison.
Natalee was 18 when she disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005 while on a trip with school friends
He was indicted by a grand jury in 2010 for wire fraud and racketeering, each carrying a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege he contacted the teen’s mother asking for $25,000 to disclose the location of her daughter’s body.
He then reportedly demanded another $225,000 if the body was found, and a sting operation initially saw Van der Sloot pick a house in which he claimed her body was buried.
In later emails, the suspect admitted to lying about the location, an FBI agent claimed in an affidavit.
A DailyMail.com investigation revealed that he is expected to protest his innocence and make the extraordinary accusation that it was actually Natalee’s mother, Beth, who approached him to offer money if he took her to the body of her daughter would bring.
Altez said, “He was living his life in Aruba and got a call from Beth Holloway, who cheated on him.
Natalee was last seen leaving a bar with Van der Sloot, who attended an international school on the island.
The 35-year-old had served a 28-year prison sentence for the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman, who was killed exactly five years after Holloway went missing.
She said, “Joran, tell me where the body is and I’ll give you $250,000.” He never asked for money, she offered it.
“She even gave him advances and he never asked the rest. He only got $25,000.”
Altez explained that his client is a “sick person” and “compulsive gambler” who “needed the money to play at the casino.” However, he claimed Mrs Holloway was ‘taking advantage of him’.
In his 2007 book, The Case of Natalee Holloway: My Own Story about her Disappearance on Aruba, Van der Sloot admitted to lying to the police and apologized to the Holloways.
“I understand that my past lies have seriously damaged my credibility,” he wrote.
The 35-year-old had served a 28-year prison sentence for the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman, who was killed exactly five years after Holloway went missing.
Prosecutors allege he contacted the teen’s mother asking for $25,000 to disclose the location of her daughter’s body
Throughout the book, he maintained his innocence, explaining that he had left an intoxicated Natalee on the beach, where he said she wanted to “look at the stars.”
Van der Sloot was found guilty of the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, 21, – who was killed five years after Natalee’s disappearance.
Peruvian prosecutors said van der Sloot killed Flores, a business student from a prominent family, while trying to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met.
They said he killed her with “cruelty” and “cruelty,” beating and then strangled her in his hotel room. He pleaded guilty in 2012.