Natalee Holloway's Killer Joran van der Sloot's Mom Said He Was 'Sick in the Head' Following His Arrest in Resurfaced Interview

Joran van der Sloot, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal extortion charges tied to Natalee Holloway’s disappearance, was described by his mother as someone with serious mental health issues in a resurfaced 2010 interview.

"My son is sick in his head," Anita van der Sloot admitted, per De Telegraaf, shortly after Joran’s arrest nearly 16 years ago.

Anita also revealed that her son often snuck out of their Aruba home at night. That Caribbean island is where 18-year-old Natalee mysteriously vanished on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip.

In his October 2023 proffer letter, Joran confessed to killing Natalee while pleading guilty to extortion charges related to her disappearance — though her remains were never found and the exact location of her death remains unknown.

While Anita noticed Joran leaving the house after dark, she had no idea he was secretly going to casinos, according to the ABC News-obtained interview. Gambling was a major part of his life and later played a role in both Natalee’s death and the May 30, 2010, murder of Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru.

Joran met both young women at casinos and confessed to killing Stephany exactly five years after Natalee’s disappearance during a June 2010 interrogation by Peruvian authorities. He claimed the deadly fight happened after Stephany discovered information linking him to Natalee’s case.

Anita said her son denied involvement in Natalee’s disappearance at first, and his parents believed him — until his story began to shift.

"If you know something, tell us, because you're going to the police, and you tell the truth," Anita recalled her husband, Paul, telling Joran.

Before his 2023 confession, Joran gave reporters multiple versions of how Natalee died — claiming it was an accident, that he killed her, or even that he sold her into slavery — before later saying his confessions were fake and that he had been bragging.

"Maybe he missed a chance to become an actor," Anita reflected. "Maybe that should've been a role in his life. I really don't know. I can hardly believe that he can … fake this."

During the 2023 hearing, Natalee’s mother, Beth Holloway, delivered a powerful statement to Joran.

“Joran, for 18 years you denied killing my daughter," she said. "You have finally admitted that you, in fact, have murdered her."

"You are a killer. I want you to remember that every time that jail door slams," Beth continued. "Even if you have finally confessed ... you can't be tried here for her murder. But I do employ the court to give you the maximum sentence possible.”