TRUE CRIME NEWSNatalee Holloway’s Disappearance Resurfaces as Cold Case Is Transferred to Dutch Authorities Amid Complaint Against Suspect Joran van der Sloot
Natalee Holloway's mother is hoping Joran van der Sloot will face charges in his native country.
April 6 2026, Published 5:49 p.m. ET
Natalee Holloway's case has been handed over to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service by authorities in Aruba.
"The transfer comes after Holloway’s mother filed a complaint in the Netherlands against Joran van der Sloot," NL Times reported on Friday, April 3, revealing that "the Dutch OM requires the file to evaluate the complaint."
Holloway was 18 when she vanished during a high school graduation trip to Aruba in May 2005. Van der Sloot, now 38, was arrested later that year, as well as in 2007, but never faced any formal charges in relation to her disappearance.
Natalee Holloway went missing on May 30, 2005.
He became the prime suspect in her disappearance as she was last seen leaving a bar with him.
However, 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.
The Dutch citizen, who grew up in Aruba, struck a plea deal in which he agreed to "provide all information and evidence" about what happened to Natalee nearly 20 years later.
In 2012, Van der Sloot was also sentenced to 28 years in a Peruvian prison for murdering 21-year-old student Stephany Flores in 2010.
Joran van der Sloot Admitted to Killing Natalee Holloway
Joran van der Sloot was seen leaving a bar with Natalee Holloway.
Aruba acknowledged that in the state of Alabama, where Natalee was from, Van der Sloot reportedly confessed to her murder, and submitted a request for legal assistances from the United States Justice Department.
But after receiving documents released to the case in January, Aruba’s Public Prosecution Service determined there was insufficient evidence to charge him with murder or qualified manslaughter.
The offense of manslaughter has also already reached the statute of limitations in Aruba, but not in the Netherlands. As such, Van der Sloot could possibility faces charges there.
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Joran van der Sloot reportedly confessed to Natalee Holloway's murder in October 2023.
Per AP, Van der Sloot admitted to bludgeoning Natalee to death on a beach before "dragging her body out to sea."
According to an October 23 transcript of his meeting with her parents. the former student revealed he kicked her "extremely hard" in the face while she attempted to physically fight off his sexual advances.
"Van der Sloot said the teen was already unconscious, or even dead, when he picked up a nearby cinderblock and brought it down on her face," AP reported.
The Dutch citizen allegedly detailed how he bludgeoned the 18-year-old to death.
"I smash her head in with it completely," he allegedly said.
"It’s just blistering to your soul, and it hurts so deeply," Beth told the outlet of hearing the horrifying details. "But you know that you’re there in a functionality role because this is the moment where I’ve been searching for for 18 years. Even as hard as it is to hear, it still not as torturous as the not knowing. It was time for me to know."
Dave Holloway, Natalee’s father, branded van der Sloot "evil personified" in a statement.
