A nearly 20-year-old case that captivated the country’s attention resurfaced Wednesday when Joran van der Sloot, 36, admitted to beating 18-year-old Natalee Holloway to death on a beach in Aruba in 2005 after she rejected his advances.
The admission came as part of a deal in which van der Sloot pleaded guilty to extortion and wire fraud after demanding thousands of dollars from Natalee Holloway’s mother — a key connection to the 2005 killing.
“He said that after killing her on the beach in Aruba, he put her into the water, and that was the last he ever saw her,” said Beth Holloway, Natalee Holloway’s mother, during a news conference outside of the federal courthouse in Alabama. “Today I can tell you with certainty, that after 18 years, Natalee’s case is solved. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”