The mother of Natalee Holloway has tearfully told how her daughter’s alleged killer described the brutal way in which he committed the murder.
Natalee’s case has been a relative mystery since she went missing in Aruba in 2005, aged 18. Her body was never found, though she was legally declared dead eleven years ago in 2012.
This week, long-time suspect Joran van der Sloot confessed to the killing of Natalee as part of a plea deal for an extortion and wire fraud case linked to Holloway’s case.
Van der Sloot, 36, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco saying:
“I have considered the factual statements about extortion and wire fraud but also considered your confession to the brutal murder of Natalee Holloway.”
Natalee’s mother, Beth Holloway, was in court to hear Van der Sloot’s confession, and spoke afterwards of her satisfaction.
“In the course of […] prosecution, here for extortion and wire fraud indictment, he gave a proffer in which he finally confessed he killed Natalee,” Beth told reporters gathered outside the courtroom.
She went on to explain that her daughter’s murderer had described the grisly details of the killing.
“He said that after killing her on the beach in a Rubet, he put her in the water and that was the last that he ever saw her,” Beth said.
John Q Kelly, Beth’s lawyer, told PEOPLE that Van der Sloot had revealed to the authorities that he had repeatedly struck Beth’s head with a cinder block after she refused his sexual advances.
Van der Sloot’s admission was reportedly “all verified” by “a comprehensive and conductive, conclusive polygraph test.”
Beth Holloway finished: “Even with this confession though, he can’t be tried here for Natalee’s murder, but I’m satisfied knowing he did it, he did it alone and he disposed of her alone.
“Thanks to a lot of very smart and dedicated people here, I got the answer I’ve been searching for for the past 18 years.
“Joran van der Sloot’s confession means we’ve finally reached the end of our never-ending nightmare. And for me, reaching the end of the nightmare being over is better than closure.
“It’s been 18 years since Natalee disappeared and Natalee would’ve been 36 years old today. I still miss her everyday. It’s been a very long and painful journey but we’ve finally got the answer we’ve been searching for all these years.
“We’ve finally today, got justice for Natalee.”
Rest in peace Natalee Holloway! We’re happy that her loved ones can finally get some sense of closure.
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