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After nearly two decades, Joran van der Sloot has finally confessed in chilling detail to the brutal murder of Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. In a newly released 3 minute and 45 second audio recording, van der Sloot calmly describes to investigators how he killed the 18-year-old Alabama high school student after she rejected his sexual advances on a beach.
The fresh evidence comes as shocking evidence in the mysterious high-profile cold case. Although he was never legally indicted, Van der Sloot was long suspected of being behind Holloway's abduction. N Now 36 years old, he was convicted of a different murder in 2010 and is serving a 28-year term in a Peruvian jail.
According to the recording, van der Sloot stated that he met Holloway at a bar while she was on a high school graduation trip on the Caribbean island. After leaving together, they stopped on the beach where they began kissing. When Holloway refused his attempts to sexually touch her, van der Sloot said he "insisted" and she kneed him in the crotch.
Angered by her rejection, van der Sloot admitted that he kicked Holloway in the face "extremely hard", leaving her unconscious and possibly dead. He then noticed a large cinder block nearby which he used to "smash her head in completely." Van der Sloot stated chillingly that "her face basically, you know, collapses in," though it was dark out.
After the brutal murder, van der Sloot carried Holloway's body into the ocean, ostensibly to hide the evidence of his crime. He then nonchalantly went home to watch pornography and check sports scores before going to sleep. The next day he showered, went to school and otherwise carried on normally.
The shocking confession matches details that Holloway's family previously said they were told about her murder. However, Natalee's sister Kaitlyn has questioned van der Sloot's claim that he simply released the body into the ocean, believing he likely had help disposing of it. The body was never found despite extensive searches.
Van der Sloot was indicted by U.S. prosecutors in 2010 for extorting $25,000 from Holloway's family in exchange for revealing the supposed location of her remains. After receiving payment, he fled to Peru where he killed 21-year-old Stephany Flores, who also rejected his sexual advances.
The Holloway extortion charge led to van der Sloot's extradition from Peru to face trial in Alabama this week. As part of a plea deal, he received a 20-year sentence after admitting to the "heinous" extortion and wire fraud. The deal precludes prosecutors from using the murder confession against van der Sloot for other charges.
At the sentencing hearing, van der Sloot apologized and claimed he had become a changed Christian man. But Natalee's mother Beth Holloway lambasted him in court, declaring “After 18 years, Natalee’s case has been solved, Joran van der Sloot is the killer.”
The murder confession provides definitive evidence of van der Sloot's guilt after years of speculation. But it does little to provide Holloway's family the closure they have long sought, as van der Sloot cannot be charged for the crime itself due to the statute of limitations in Aruba.
Still, Beth Holloway said afterwards that her daughter's murder case has finally been resolved. For a family left without answers for nearly two decades, van der Sloot's chilling admission of brutally killing Natalee Holloway may be the closest they come to justice.
