Joran Van der Sloot Confesses to Extortion
The truth of what happened to Natalee Holloway in Aruba may never be fully known, but some confessions have now been made by the man often linked to her death, Joran van der Sloot. Van der Sloot has revealed that he lied when contacted by Holloway's family for information about the whereabouts of her remains. Van der Sloot was charged with wire fraud and extortion in Alabama, for allegedly attempting to extort more than $250,000 from Holloway's family in return for disclosing the location of her body.
Van der Sloot is currently being held in Lima, Peru, on charges of murder in the death of student Stephany Flores, according to CNN. Flores was found in dead in a hotel room registered to van der Sloot in May. The two were seen together on the hotel surveillance camera video.
Although arrested twice in connection with Natalee Holloway's death, authorities have never been able to make charges stick and Joran van der Sloot has been released both times. CNN reports that according to the attorney for Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, it was van der Sloot who contacted him about revealing the location of Holloway's body in exchange for payment. "We knew he was going to lie, and was going to make up the basis for wire fraud," attorney John Q. Kelly said. Van der Sloot could be charged not only under state laws, but under U.S. federal law, which specifically addresses the communications of threats of extortion in interstate or "foreign commerce."
Van der Sloot also has admitted he extorted money from Holloway's family in an interview with a Dutch newspaper. Van der Sloot's attorney has suggested that his comments may have been mis-translated. Although van der Sloot is currently being held in Peru, there are questions surrounding the constitutionality under Peruvian law regarding his detention. It is possible Van der Sloot's rights have been violated and he "could be released because of the mistakes made by the police during the investigation," his attorney, Maximo Alteza, told CNN.
If van der Sloot is released from jail in Lima, he could still be brought in on the charges of extortion and taken into custody in Alabama.
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