Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch connected in 2005 disappearance of American Natalee Holloway in Aruba, will be temporarily extradited to the US to face extortion and wire fraud charges, Peruvian authorities announced Wednesday. Van der Sloot is currently serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old university student Stephany Flores in Lima.
Holloway disappeared in May 2005 while on an upper class trip to Aruba, where van der Sloot is from. She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, which she did arrested and interrogated, but never charged. The United States is accusing van der Sloot of trying to extort money from Holloway’s family by promising to lead them to his body, which has never been found.
Holloway was declared dead by an Alabama judge in 2012, more than six years after her disappearance. A day earlier, van der Sloot pleaded guilty to murdering Flores.
Peru’s attorney general’s office said in a statement to CBS News that Van der Sloot will be temporarily extradited to the United States to face trial and will return to Peru “immediately following the proceedings.”
“We hope that this action will allow a process that will help bring peace to Mrs. Holloway and her family, who are suffering in the same way that the Flores family in Peru is suffering from the loss of their daughter, Stephany.” Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Peru’s ambassador to the US, said in a statement.
A State Department spokesman told CBS News on Thursday that the department does not comment on extradition matters and referred questions to the Justice Department. A DOJ spokesman declined to comment Wednesday.
Alex Sundby contributed to the report.
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