Natalee Holloway Killer Joran van der Sloot's Second Murder Could Have Been Prevented If FBI Didn't Botch 'Sting,' Claims Journalist

Journalist Greta Van Susteren believes Stephany Flores Ramírez's 2010 murder could have been prevented if authorities didn't fumble a sting operation over her killer, Joran van der Sloot, when they were trying to arrest him for Natalee Holloway's murder.

In a post on her Substack, Van Susteren accused "a US Attorney and the Birmingham, AL FBI" of letting "a self-confessed killer to outwit them after a textbook, perfect sting operation and escape with $25,000 in cash, and then two weeks later, brutally murder another young woman."

She revealed she has the documents — which she obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) — to prove it.

Van Susteren explained she was the one who came up with the idea to offer van der Sloot money in exchange for information on what happened to Holloway following her initial 2005 disappearance in Aruba at age 18.

The writer shared her plan with Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway, who had her attorney make a deal with Joran. The plan started off with a $25,000 down payment but totaled to $250,000.

Before receiving the money, Joran told attorney John Q. Kelly during their hotel meetup that he could provide the location of her body. However, he didn't spill more details because Kelly didn't bring him any money, resulting in Joran leaving the hotel.

Joran then came back around and requested they make a contract stating he would receive $25,000 for him to reveal where Natalee's body was. As a test run, Beth wired him $100.

"That $100 wire opened the door to charging Joran with extortion and wire fraud, charges that would carry significant jail time in the US and would allow him to be extradited to the US for questioning regarding Natalee Holloway’s disappearance," Greta said.

No arrest was made, but plans involving the FBI moved forward.

Eventually, after making a contract to receive $25,000, the men sat down again, with Joran receiving $10,000. The additional $15,000 was wired to Joran.

They didn't expect Joran to tell the truth but believed authorities would be able to arrest him on extortion.

"The plan for the sting was laid out in an email request outlining the costs as well: It was to have Kelly give Joran the money, then Kelly would fly out, while 'Arbuban authorities will receive a ‘tip’ as to the location. Logical investigation to locate and recover any remains…Should any remains be recovered, Aruban authorities will take over," the writer penned.

However, the plan failed.

"All an FBI agent had to do was to swear out a complaint ON THE TELEPHONE to the US Magistrate in Birmingham, Alabama. That would take 15 minutes," Greta said. "Dispatching a follow-up Interpol Red Notice would have stopped Joran from entering another country, including Peru, at a border checkpoint. He would have been detained, and the United States would have been notified."

"Instead, both the US Attorney for Northern Alabama and the FBI in Birmingham, AL allowed him to flee, with Beth Holloway’s money, which they made no attempt to recover," she added. "Then, for sixteen years, they tried to cover up their failures."

Joran went on to kill Stephanie in 2010 in Peru and was convicted of her murder.