CathInfo.com

Wedding Bells for Natalie Holloway Suspect Joran van der Sloot
by Barbie Latza Nadeau May 31, 2013 4:45 AM EDT

The 26-year-old Dutchman and suspect in Natalee Holloway’s disappearance—now serving time for the murder of a Peruvian girl—is set to marry, his lawyer confirms.


It’s wedding bells for Joran van der Sloot, the 26-year old Dutchman who is serving 28 years in a Peruvian prison for the murder of Peruvian college student Stephany Flores. Van der Sloot gained notoriety in 2005 in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 19, from Alabama, who disappeared on a school trip in Aruba. Van der Sloot was the last person to be seen with Holloway on the night before she was scheduled to fly back to America. Her body was never found, but van der Sloot confessed to several different scenarios, including leaving her drunk on the beach and selling her into the sex trade. He was twice arrested but never formally charged for any crime relating to the case in Aruba. Flores was murdered five years to the day that Holloway disappeared. Van der Sloot admitted to killing Flores, but blamed posttraumatic stress disorder for being accused of Holloway’s disappearance for making him kill the Peruvian.

In 2010, Beth Holloway was able to sneak into the Peruvian jail to question van der Sloot about her daughter’s disappearance. Holloway was accompanied by Dutch investigative journalist Peter de Vries, who captured the visit on camera. Holloway was able to get van der Sloot to admit to the extortion, but not to the truth about what happened to her daughter.

“Marrying a local Peruvian will hinder America’s chances of extraditing him.”
Last May, an accord was reached between the United States and Peru, and van der Sloot was supposed to be extradited to face charges in the United States last year on the grounds that he was a foreign national. The extradition stalled after van der Sloot’s lawyer was able to negotiate an eleventh-hour deal to keep the Dutchman in Peru. Now, by marrying a local Peruvian, he can automatically apply for Peruvian citizenship, which will hinder America’s chances of extraditing him.

This is not the first time van der Sloot has been rumored to wed. Last year, rumors surfaced of his impending nuptials but he apparently got cold feet. This time, according to his lawyer, the news is true. But whether the love is true is anyone’s guess.