Aruba hands over Nathalee Holloway disappearance case to Dutch authorities

Aruba’s Public Prosecution Service has handed over the Natalee Holloway disappearance case to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) in Amsterdam. The transfer comes after Holloway’s mother filed a complaint in the Netherlands against Joran van der Sloot. The Dutch OM requires the file to evaluate the complaint.

Natalee Holloway went missing at 18 on the night of May 30, 2005, in Aruba. Van der Sloot was arrested that year and again in 2007 but was never formally charged in connection with her disappearance or death.

In 2023, he was sentenced in the U.S. to 20 years in prison for extorting Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, demanding 250,000 dollars for information about her daughter. Later, he reportedly shared details about Natalee’s death in exchange for a reduced sentence in the extortion case.

The Aruban OM filed a request for legal assistance with the U.S. Department of Justice. In January, it received the requested documents but determined there was insufficient evidence to charge Van der Sloot with murder or qualified manslaughter, a killing committed to conceal another crime.

Manslaughter prosecution is also barred in Aruba due to the statute of limitations, but in the Netherlands, the offense has not expired, meaning Van der Sloot could potentially face charges there.

Van der Sloot was sentenced in Peru in 2012 to 28 years in prison for murdering 21-year-old Peruvian student Stephany Flores in 2010.