Joran Van der Sloot is the primary suspect in the disappearance of American Natalee Holloway from Aruba in May of 2005. Now the Peruvian court system says they will extradite him to the United States–but not for 26 more years. He must finish serving a 28 year sentence that was imposed upon him for the murder of Stephany Flores in 2012. He confessed to murdering the 21-year-old in his Lima hotel room.

Natalee Holloway was just 18 years old when she disappeared in Aruba while there on a school trip. The teenager’s body was never found and she was declared legally dead in 2012–seven years after her disappearance. Investigators believe Joran Van der Sloot killed Stephany Flores because she discovered something on his computer while in his hotel room that connected him to Natalee Holloway’s disappearance.

Van der Sloot has been indicted in the U.S for both extortion and wire fraud. He is accused of extorting money from Natalee Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, in exchange for offering her information about her daughter’s whereabouts.

It is reprehensible to think a court system would prevent a murderer from facing a judge about other serious and potentially related crimes. He has been convicted of murder and likely was involved in the death of Natalee Holloway. If he was returned to the United States to face his charges there, who knows what someone might unearth during his questioning? It might be the answer that Natalee Holloway’s family has waited almost seven years for. They know their daughter is dead. They desperately need and deserve some closure.

Joran Van der Sloot confessed during a hidden camera interview to being involved in the Natalee Holloway case.

It seems ludicrous that the Peruvian courts won’t send Joran Van der Sloot packing. He wouldn’t get out of his sentence in Peru if he was extradited. He would simply serve it elsewhere.

Do you think their decision to extradite him in 26 years is a done deal or might there be room for negotiation?

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