08 June 2023 , 13:58
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Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect in the disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway, has arrived in the United States.
Van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen, is accused of killing Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba and is wanted on charges of extortion and wire fraud related to the case.
An FBI-operated plane carrying van der Sloot landed at Birmingham's Shuttlesworth Airport about 2:30 p.m. - just hours after Peruvian authorities handed him over temporarily to U.S. custody - and the suspect was escorted down the steps into a black SUV, which brought him to a local jail. Van der Sloot will appear in federal court later to face the charges.
He will now face the US criminal justice system just over 18 years after Natalee was last seen during a high school senior trip to Aruba.
Van der Sloot, 35, was seen appearing to grin as he left the prison in Lima and was handed over to US officials on Thursday.
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He appeared uninjured despite his lawyer's previous claim that he had been severely beaten by fellow inmates at a Peruvian prison.
He is wanted on charges of extortion and wire fraud, which link him to the crime despite a body never being found (AP)
The accused killer filed a last-ditch attempt to block his extradition to the US two days ago, but a Peruvian judge overruled the filing. (Aruba Police Force)He has completed less than half of his 28-year prison sentence in Peru for the killing of a woman in 2010.
Authorities transferred van der Sloot from a maximum-security prison in the Andes to Lima before his journey to the United States.
The case of Natalee Holloway, who resided in Birmingham, Alabama, gained widespread attention when she disappeared during a trip to Aruba.
Joran van der Sloot is facing extortion and wire fraud charges in Alabama (AFP/Getty Images)
Holloway disappeared in 2005 at the age of 18 while she was on a class trip to the island of Aruba in the Caribbean Sea just north of Venezuela (Facebook)Miss Holloway, who was 18-years-old at the time of her disappearance, would have been 36 today (June 8).
Van der Sloot, a student at an international school on the island, was the last person seen with her, leading to his identification as a suspect.
He was subsequently detained along with two Surinamese brothers.
While police initially arrested Van der Sloot, he was released due to a lack of evidence against him.
Natalee Holloway disappeared after a night out with friends in Aruba when she was just 18 (ABC)However, in 2010, a grand jury indicted Van der Sloot on charges of wire fraud and extortion.
Prosecutors alleged that he contacted Natalee's mother, requesting a monetary sum in return for disclosing the location of her daughter's remains.
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However, later emails revealed that he had lied about the burial site.
He has maintained his innocence, explaining that he had left an intoxicated Natalee on the beach, where he said she wanted to 'watch the stars.'
Van der Sloot in 2012 pleaded guilty in Peru to murdering 21-year-old Stephany Flores, a business student from a prominent Peruvian family.
She was killed in 2010 five years to the day after Miss Holloway's disappearance.
A 2001 treaty between Peru and the US allows a suspect to be temporarily extradited to face trial in the other country.