On Wednesday (Oct. 18), Joran van der Sloot confessed to the 2005 murder of Natalee Holloway in a proffer letter reviewed by a federal judge. The 35-year-old also pled guilty to the extortion and wire fraud charges brought against him in connection with the murder – resulting in a 20-year prison sentence.
On Thursday (Oct. 19), a number of news outlets obtained partial transcripts of his confession – which was directed towards his lawyer and recorded on video – and it provided some dark and gruesome details behind the murder, which happened in May 2005 while Holloway was on a high school graduation trip.
van der Sloot’s confession details the final hours of Holloway’s life and explains why her body hasn’t been (and may never be) found. Before we share with you some of the details behind her death, we first want to warn you that some of the details are gruesome and the manner in which Natalee dies is quite horrific.
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According to the partial transcripts, Joran van der Sloot (17 at the time) and Natalee Holloway (18 at the time) were lying in the sand on the beach when things went from romantic to fatal. “I lay her down – we lay down together – in the sand and, uh, we start kissing each other,” van der Sloot said in his confession.
It wasn’t until he started ‘feeling her up’ that he crossed a line. Natalee was quick to tell him no, but he was quick to disobey and insisted on feeling her up ‘either way.’ Struggling to get him off her, Natalee kneed him in the crotch – to which van der Sloot responded by kicking her in the face ‘extremely hard.’
The kick left Natalee unconscious – though van der Sloot admits she might’ve been dead, ‘but definitely unconscious.’ He decided to finish the job by smashing her head in with ‘a huge’ cinder block that was situated next to her – he adds that her face collapsed in when he did that. That’s when the panic set in.
Not knowing what to do, he half-walked and half-pulled Natalee’s body through the sand and into the ocean. When the water got to his knees, he let go of her and pushed her off ‘into the sea.’ Natalee Holloway was last seen on May 30, 2005 and her body has yet to be found – and it may never be found.
Will Joran van der Sloot Face Murder Charges?
Joran van der Sloot has officially confessed to the killing of Natalee Holloway, but he will not be charged with murder and likely won’t face prosecution in the future. That’s the beauty of the criminal system – someone can murder someone in 2005 and confess to it 18 years later without facing the consequences.
So, why is that? Well, we first have to remember that the murder happened in Aruba – not the United States. So even though the US doesn’t have a statute of limitations for homicide, Aruba does and it’s 12 years. Since the murder occurred more than 18 years ago, the 12-year statute of limitations has passed.
With that being said, Joran van der Sloot isn’t getting away scot-free. Just a few days ago, he pled guilty to wire fraud and extortion charges in connection with the murder of Natalee, which landed him a 20-year prison sentence for trying to extort $250,000 from the family in exchange for the location of her body.
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That prison sentence will run concurrently with the 28-year prison sentence he’s currently serving in Peru for the murder of a 21-year-old student in 2010 – on the five-year anniversary of Natalee’s disappearance, nonetheless. If that sentence ends early, he’ll serve the remainder of his 20 years in the United States.
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