Natalee Holloway Suspect to Fight Extradition After All

Lawyer says Joran van der Sloot changed his mind
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2023 5:27 PM CDT
Updated Jun 5, 2023 7:10 PM CDT
Natalee Holloway Suspect Injured in Prison Brawl
The Challapalca maximum-security prison, where Joran Van der Sloot is serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of Stephany Flores, stands in Tacna, Peru, Friday, May 12, 2023.   (AP Photo/Elmer Jilaja)
UPDATE Jun 5, 2023 7:10 PM CDT

After the government of Peru confirmed Monday that Joran van der Sloot would be sent to the US this week, the lawyer for the suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway said his client now wants to fight the extradition. The Dutch inmate "was visited today by his embassy (representatives) who made him see the mistake he was making by being extradited without due process," said Máximo Altéz. The head of the nation's prison system had said van der Sloot would be turned over to Interpol on Thursday morning, the AP reports, then put on a plane in Lima.

May 30, 2023 5:27 PM CDT

Dutch murderer Joran van der Sloot was "severely beaten" during a fight between gangs in the Peruvian prison where he is awaiting extradition to the US, his lawyer says. "It was a fight between prisoners. I don't know who assaulted Joran," lawyer Maximo Altez tells CBS. Altez disclosed the injuries to Van der Sloot on Tuesday, May 30—13 years to the day after Van der Sloot killed 21-year-old Stephany Flores and 18 years to the day since Natalee Holloway was last seen alive. Van der Sloot is serving a 28-year-sentence at Peru's Challapalca Prison for the murder of Flores.

Van der Sloot has long been considered the prime suspect in the disappearance of Holloway, an 18-year-old from Alabama who vanished while on a class trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with Van der Sloot and two other men. He is being temporarily extradited to the US to face charges that he tried to extort money from Holloway's family with promises that he could lead them to her body. Altez tells NBC that Van der Sloot, against his advice, has decided not to fight extradition. The lawyer says no extradition date has been set yet but only a few "administrative issues," including a health check and travel arrangements, need to be resolved before his client can be sent to Alabama. (More Joran Van der Sloot stories.)

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