TRUE CRIME NEWSNatalee Holloway Killer Joran van der Sloot's Chilling Murder Confession Resurfaces as He Rots in Infamous Peruvian Prison
Joran van der Sloot admitted to killing Stephany Flores Ramirez in 2010.
April 30 2026, Published 2:19 p.m. ET
Joran van der Sloot killed Stephany Flores Ramirez to keep her from going to the police, he told Peruvian police in a chilling confession that's resurfaced.
The Dutch murderer choked and beat the 21-year-old in the face before smothering her with his blood-soaked shirt in his Lima, Peru, hotel room on May 30, 2010.
The pair was playing online poker on van der Sloot's computer when an instant message appeared that referred to his alleged connection to the disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway.
Joran van der Sloot Claims Stephany Flores Ramirez Hit Him First
Joran van der Sloot was convicted in her murder the same year.
Van der Sloot, then 22, reportedly told police the message from an unknown sender read: "I'm going to kill you, you little Mongoloid," per a transcript of his confession.
According to the Dutchman, when he explained that the message was a threat regarding his alleged involvement in Holloway's disappearance, Flores Ramirez attacked him.
"She struck me on the left side of my head with her fist," he said. "At that moment, impulsively, with my right elbow. I hit her in the face exactly on top of her nose."
'There Was Blood Everywhere'
The killer described smothering her until she stopped breathing.
"I think she started to faint. It affected me so that I grabbed her from the neck and strangled her for a minute," van der Sloot continued. "There was blood everywhere. What am I going to do now? I had blood on my shirt. There was also blood on the bed, so I took off my shirt and put it on her face, pressing hard, until I killed Stephany."
When asked to go into more detail, he responded, "She was on the bed when I hit her hard with my right elbow and I think her head went back and hit the wall, then she begins to bleed."
"Immediately I get on top of her and with both hands I begin to strangle her, keeping her that way for a minute," the killer went on. "After that, I throw her to the floor, but she keeps breathing. At that moment I take off my shirt and put it on her face, pressing on it."
- Did Joran van der Sloot Father a Child in Prison? Natalee Holloway Killer Accused of Impregnating Woman During Conjugal Visit in Resurfaced Report
- Natalee Holloway Was Beaten to Death After Rejecting Joran Van Der Sloot's Sexual Advances, Her Mother Claims
- Disturbing Details: Natalee Holloway's Killer Joran van der Sloot Reveals How and Why He Murdered Her
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'I Think I Caused Her Death'
Joran van der Sloot immediately became a suspect in Natalee Holloway's disappearance in 2005.
Van der Sloot, now 38, claimed he couldn't recall how long he pressed down until she stopped breathing.
"In this way, I think I caused her death," he said.
The Dutch citizen, who grew up in Aruba — where Holloway went missing in 2005 — was sentenced to 28 years in a notorious Peruvian prison for murdering Flores Ramirez.
Joran van der Sloot Also Confessed to Killing Natalee Holloway
In 2023, he reportedly admitted to dragging Natalee Holloway's 'body out to sea.'
Van der Sloot became the prime suspect in 18-year-old Holloway's disappearance since she was last seen leaving a bar with him.
While he wasn't convicted in her purported murder due to a lack of direct physical evidence, he pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal charges of attempting to extort money from Beth Holloway, Natalee's mother, in 2010 in exchange for information about the location of her daughter’s body.
Joran struck a plea deal in which he agreed to "provide all information and evidence" about what happened to Natalee nearly 20 years later. Per AP, he admitted to bludgeoning Natalee to death on a beach before "dragging her body out to sea."
