The main suspect in the disappearance of the Alabama student, Natalee Holloway, arrived in the United States after being extradited from Peru with the help of FBI agents.
Joran van der Sloot is accused of the disappearance of the American student on the Caribbean island of Aruba.
He faces one count of extortion and another of wire fraud after he allegedly offered to reveal Holloway’s whereabouts in exchange for $250,000 from his family.
Van der Sloot’s extradition flight landed in Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday afternoon – hours after he was seen smiling in a Peruvian police cruiser driven by officers who turned him over to Interpol officials.
After landing, FBI officials took van der Sloot to Hoover City Jail, located about 30 minutes south of the airport. His arraignment is scheduled for Friday, June 9 at the Hugo L. Black Federal Courthouse where he will plead guilty or not guilty.
The crimes are the only charges to ever link the Dutch citizen to Holloway’s disappearance in May 2005. Although he is not charged with murder, he remains the prime suspect in the case.
Van der Sloot’s extradition flight landed in Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday afternoon and he was escorted by law enforcement officials to a waiting convoy of blacked-out SUVs.
The crimes are the only charges to ever link the Dutch citizen to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in May 2005. Although he is not charged with murder, he is the prime suspect.
Natalee disappeared in 2005 and her body was never found, leading authorities to declare her legally dead in 2012
Van der Sloot, who was brought to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, had been held in a prison in Lima before being taken into police custody in the United States.
The 35-year-old is serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman, who was killed exactly five years after Holloway disappeared.
Van der Sloot does not appear to have any physical injuries, although his lawyer claimed earlier this week that he was “severely beaten” by other inmates at his Peruvian prison.
Authorities moved him from a maximum security prison in the Andes over the weekend before he was taken to Lima and then to the airport this morning.
It is not yet known when he will make his first court appearance on American soil.
The accused killer filed a last-ditch attempt to block his extradition to the United States two days ago, but a Peruvian judge overturned the filing.
The petition appears to contradict previous statements by his attorney, Maximo Altez, who claimed van der Sloot wanted to clear his name and welcomed his extradition.
Holloway, who lived in Birmingham, Alabama, was 18 when she disappeared while traveling with classmates in Aruba.
She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, who was a student at an international school on the island.
Van der Sloot was identified as a suspect and detained weeks later, along with two Surinamese brothers.
It is not yet known when van der Sloot will make his first appearance on American soil on charges related to Holloway’s disappearance and murder.
Joran van der Sloot smiled before boarding a plane for the United States. The Dutchman, accused of killing Natalee Holloway, landed in the United States on Thursday
Joran van der Sloot is accused of killing Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba, and is wanted on one count of extortion and wire fraud
Van der Sloot did not appear to have any physical injuries when he was photographed en route to the airport, although his lawyer claimed earlier this week that he had been ‘severely beaten’ by other inmates of a Peruvian prison.
Natalee was 18 when she disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba while traveling with school friends in 2005
He was indicted by a grand jury in 2010 on one count of wire fraud and extortion, each of which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege he contacted the teen’s mother asking for $25,000 to reveal the location of her daughter’s body.
He then allegedly demanded another $225,000 if the body was found, and a sting operation saw van der Sloot initially identify a house in which he claimed his body was buried.
In later emails, the suspect admitted to lying about the location, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.
A DailyMail.com investigation has found he is expected to protest his innocence and make the extraordinary accusation that it was in fact Natalee’s mother, Beth, who approached him to offer him money. he was taking her to the body of his daughter.
Altez said, “He was living his life in Aruba and got a call from Beth Holloway, who cheated on him.
Natalee was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, who was a student at an international school on the island.
The 35-year-old was serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman, who was killed exactly five years after Holloway disappeared.
“She said, ‘Joran, tell me where the body is and I’ll give you $250,000. He never asked for money, she offered it.
She even gave him a promotion and he never asked for the rest. He only received $25,000.
Altez explained that his client is a “sick person” and a “compulsive gambler”, who “needed the money to gamble in the casino”. However, he claimed Ms Holloway ‘took advantage of him’.
In his 2007 book, “The Case of Natalee Holloway: My Own Story of Her Disappearance in Aruba,” van der Sloot admitted to lying to police and apologized to the Holloways.
“I understand that my past lies have seriously tarnished my credibility,” he wrote.
The 35-year-old was serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman, who was killed exactly five years after Holloway disappeared.
Prosecutors allege he contacted the teen’s mother asking for $25,000 to reveal the location of her daughter’s body
Throughout the book, he maintained his innocence, explaining that he left an inebriated Natalee on the beach, where he said she wanted to “look at the stars”.
Van der Sloot was convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in 2010 – who was killed five years to the day after Natalee disappeared.
Peruvian prosecutors say van der Sloot killed Flores, a business student from a prominent family, as she tried to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met. are encountered.
They said he killed her with “ferocity” and “cruelty”, beating her and then strangling her in her hotel room. He pleaded guilty in 2012.
