The suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, Joran van der Sloot, is expected to enter a plea deal where he would reveal the details of the victim's death in 2005 that remains unsolved to this day.
The victim was a teenager from Alabama whose mother was extorted and defrauded by the suspect. It is currently unknown what specific charges in the extortion case van der Sloot will plead guilty to or what the sentence against him will be.
Natalee Holloway's Disappearance
The defendant is one of the last people seen with the 18-year-old Holloway before she disappeared. He was indicted 2010 on federal charges of extortion and wire fraud in connection with a plot to sell information about the whereabouts of the victim's remains in exchange for $250,000.
The attorney for the victim's family, John Q. Kelly, confirmed that van der Sloot was planning to plead guilty concerning the disappearance case. He noted that a condition of the plea deal requires the suspect to reveal details of how Holloway died and how her body was disposed of, as per CNN.
He said there would no longer be any further investigation or search for Holloway's remains due to the development. The mother of the victim, Beth Holloway, is set to hold a news conference following the hearing to make public what van der Sloot revealed to authorities from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In June, van der Sloot was transferred to the United States from a prison in Peru, where he was serving a 28-year sentence for the 2012 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores inside his Lima, Peru, hotel room.
Peru and the United States entered into an agreement where van der Sloot would first return to the South American country to finish the murder sentence in the Flores case. Afterward, he would be brought back to the US to begin serving whatever sentence he is given for US-based charges.
Entering a Guilty Plea
Holloway disappeared while on vacation in Aruba with her classmates as they celebrated their high school graduation. According to Yahoo News, she was declared dead seven years later by an Alabama probate court.
Records showed that van der Sloot was scheduled for a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday before US District Judge Anna Manasco in Birmingham, Alabama. However, it was rescheduled, which suggests that he and the government reached a deal to avoid trial.
During van der Sloot's attempts to extort the victim's mother, he was paid $25,000 initially, and a representative for the family of Holloway said they would pay the remaining $225,000 after the deceased's remains had been positively identified.
The US Attorney's Office for Alabama's Northern District said in 2010 that van der Sloot tried to get the money despite knowing that the information he provided was worthless. The defendant's lawyer said earlier this year that the suspect kept the $25,000 he was paid and spent it on gambling, said NBC News.
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