How Did Natalee Holloway Die? The Unresolved Mystery

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Natalee Holloway’s homicide was lastly solved years after her case made headlines. Over 15 years after the 18-year-old’s disappearance from a bar in Aruba, Joran van der Sloot confessed to her killing as a part of a plea deal for a federal trial for extortion and wire fraud on October 18, 2023.

Her mom, Beth, shared a press release with Fox Information on March 12, 2025, relating to an identical case involving College of Pittsburgh scholar Sudiksha Konanki, who went lacking in Punta Cana whereas on a visit with mates. She mentioned, “The household is so lucky to have an American embassy there to work with.” She added, “I didn’t have that in Aruba.”

In February 2024, Peacock launched Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot, a documentary in regards to the tragic killing. Right here’s all the pieces you could find out about Natalee’s dying amid the brand new movie.

Natalee Holloway’s 2005 Disappearance

Natalee was one in every of over 100 college students from Mountain Brook Excessive College participating in an unofficial commencement journey to Aruba. She was final noticed leaving a nightclub on Might 30. Joran, then 17, was one of many three different males noticed getting within the automotive along with her. When she didn’t arrive for her flight the following day, an investigation started, and Joran was one of many suspects. Joran was arrested in June on suspicions, however he was by no means charged.

Natalee Declared Lifeless in 2012

Nearly six years following her disappearance, Natalee’s father, Dave, filed a petition to have her declared legally useless in Alabama. Her mom, Beth, challenged the submitting, however a decide signed the petition in January 2012.

Joran van der Sloot Admits to Her Homicide

Joran, now 36, was convicted of the 2010 homicide of Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez. He was discovered responsible in 2012, and sentenced to twenty-eight years in jail in Peru. Previous to fleeing to Peru, Joran had supplied Natalee’s household details about the place her physique was in alternate for $15,000. The household wired him cash, however the info he gave ended up being false. He was tried within the U.S. for fees of extortion and wire fraud. As a part of a plea deal, he was required to admit to Natalee’s homicide. “For 19 years you denied killing Natalee Holloway. Your lies have induced indiscernible ache,” Natalee’s mom mentioned in a sufferer impression assertion, per CNN. “I’m hopeful that some small semblance of justice might lastly be realized, despite the fact that no act of justice will heal the ache we’ve endured.”

As a part of the plea deal, Joran needed to confess to what had occurred to Natalee on the night time that she was killed. Beth Holloway’s lawyer shared what occurred to her daughter in a press release to Folks. He mentioned that Natalee had denied sexual advances that Joran made towards her. He mentioned that the 2 of them had laid down and had been kissing. “She tells me ‘no.’ She tells me she doesn’t need me to — to really feel her up. Uh, I insist. I preserve feeling her up both manner,” he mentioned in a recorded confession, through Folks. 

He mentioned after he stored touching her, she kicked him “extraordinarily onerous” within the groin. He then kicked her within the face. He mentioned that after he kicked her she was unconscious and presumably useless, after which he struck her with a cinder block. ” I smash her head in with it utterly. Uh, yeah, her face principally, you recognize, uh collapses in,” he mentioned. He then mentioned he pushed her physique off into the ocean.

After his conviction, he will likely be extradited again to Peru to proceed serving his sentence. He was sentenced to twenty years in jail within the U.S. for the extortion fees.

‘Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot’ Documentary and Natalee’s Brother’s Feedback

Most not too long ago, Peacock’s documentary, Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot, is ready to premiere on February 27, 2024. Not solely does the doc discover Natalee’s tragic dying, however her brother, Matthew Holloway, additionally shared heartbreaking new particulars within the trailer. “I keep in mind my dad leaping down right into a landfill and simply bodily ripping open trash baggage,” he mentioned within the clip. “Shifting massive home equipment, selecting up stuff along with his naked palms, and simply looking for Natalee’s physique. Dad was in that one hundred pc and seeing that was actually highly effective.”

In the identical trailer for the doc, Natalee’s dad, Dave, recalled the somber occasions when he suspected that his daughter had died. “I had a intestine feeling that, simply as a dad or mum, you’ve got that feeling that she’s not right here anymore,” he mentioned. “However alternatively, I needed to persuade all people else that I had the improper emotions. That possibly we might discover her alive. However I had a sinking feeling that issues aren’t proper.”