Joran van der Sloot is anticipated to enter a guilty plea regarding his involvement in an extortion scheme linked to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.
The family’s attorney, John Q. Kelly, disclosed that the plea agreement hinges on van der Sloot revealing vital information about how Natalee met her demise and the circumstances surrounding the disposal of her body.
Natalee Holloway vanished during a vacation in Aruba with her high school classmates in 2005. Her official declaration of death occurred in an Alabama probate court in 2012.
Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch national, has long been a person of interest in the presumed murder of the teenager. In 2010, a federal grand jury indicted him on wire fraud and extortion charges.
The charges stemmed from allegations that he sought $250,000 from the Holloway family in exchange for information about Natalee’s disappearance.
Initially scheduled for a plea and sentencing hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco in Birmingham, the proceeding was unexpectedly rescheduled.
This change suggests that the defendant and the government have likely agreed to circumvent a trial. However, the specific charges van der Sloot will plead guilty remain undisclosed.
Joran van der Sloot was already in custody in Peru, having been convicted of the 2010 murder of a Peruvian college student, Stephany Flores.
Source: nbcnews.com