- by cnn
- 15 Aug 2024
Beth Holloway has waited nearly two decades for an end to her family's "never-ending nightmare" - and while that doesn't mean getting her daughter back, it does include getting justice for the Alabama teen who disappeared in 2005 on a graduation trip to Aruba.
On Wednesday, Joran Van der Sloot, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court to extorting and defrauding the Holloway family. He was accused of trying to sell information about the location of Holloway's remains to her family in exchange for $250,000.
"It's over. Joran van der Sloot is no longer the suspect in my daughter's murder," Beth Holloway said to reporters following Wednesday's hearing. "He is the killer."
The 18-year-old's body has never been found. In 2012, an Alabama judge signed an order declaring her legally dead.
In a proffer dated October 3, Van der Sloot provided authorities with the details of how he killed Natalee Holloway. A proffer allows a defendant to offer information about a crime, sometimes as part of a plea deal.
As part of Wednesday's hearing, Beth Holloway read aloud an emotional victim impact statement which can be read in its entirety here.
"Joran, for eighteen years you have denied killing my daughter Natalee," Beth Holloway wrote. "Your lies and manipulation, taunting us with fake news interviews and wild stories of what happened to her, have caused indescribable pain and harm to my family and me."
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a non-profit authority on the global wellness market, today unveiled fresh insights into Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning $19.8 billion wellness economy. The new data highlights the Kingdom as one of the fastest-expanding wellness hubs in the Middle East and North Africa, boasting an impressive 66% average annual growth in wellness tourism from 2020 to 2022.
read more