Natalee Holloway, left, and Joran van der Sloot.Photo:AP; Raul Henriquez/AFP via Getty
AP; Raul Henriquez/AFP via Getty
Joran van der Slootconfessed this week to murderingNatalee Hollowayin Aruba in 2005, but it’s not clear if he can still be prosecuted in the Caribbean country.
Aruba has a 12-year statute of limitations for murder, which has already passed. Holloway, 18, went missing while on a senior trip to Aruba in May 2005. Long suspected of having killed her, van der Sloot finally admitted to the murder as part of hisguilty pleain U.S. federal court in Alabama for extorting Holloway’s mother, Beth.
In his confession, van der Sloot — who was 17 at the the time — said he beat Holloway over the head with a cinder block after she rejected his sexual advances,PEOPLEpreviously reported.
The admission of guilt provides long-sought answers to Holloway’s family, though it’s still possible he will never face charges for the murder itself.
A spokesperson for the Aruba Public Prosecutor’s Office tells PEOPLE that the Holloway case remains an open investigation, and also said the question of whether van der Sloot could still face murder charges in the country in spite of the statute of limitations “cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.”
“The Police Force, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Aruba and other investigative entities will follow up on any serious leads that could solve the disappearance of Natalee Holloway,” the spokesperson said.
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Van der Sloot can’t be prosecuted for the murder in the U.S. The Dutch national was extradited to the U.S. from Peru in June to face charges of extortion and wire fraud after he extorted about $25,000 from Beth Holloway in 2010 in exchange for the promise of information on her daughter’s death, but never gave her answers.
Van der Sloot is currently serving out a 28-year sentence for murder in Peru, after he beat Stephany Flores Ramirez to death in his hotel room on May 30, 2005, five years to the date after Natalee Holloway’s disappearance.
A judge sentenced van der Sloot to 20 years in prison for the extortion charges, which will run concurrently with his sentence in Peru. If he is released early during his murder sentence, he will serve the rest of the 20 years in the U.S.
While pleading guilty in federal court, van der Sloot apologized to Holloway’s family, but in aninterview with NBC, Beth rejected the apology.
“He doesn’t have that in his existence,” she said. “Just to say the words? It’s fine. It didn’t mean anything.”
source: people.com
