Joran van der Sloot arrives in US
FBI agents board the plane carrying Joran van der Sloot in Birmingham, Alabama, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Joran van der Sloot pleaded not guilty in federal court during a Friday morning arraignment hearing on extortion charges, entering court with a smile as he faces extortion and wire fraud charges in connection with the 2005 disappearance of Alabama 18-year-old Natalee Holloway.
Van der Sloot is the prime suspect in the May 2005 disappearance of Holloway, who was last seen leaving a bar with him in Aruba during a trip for graduating seniors from Mountain Brook High School.
The court was prepared to provide a translator for him, but van der Sloot said, “It’s really not necessary” because he speaks good English.
Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, sat in one of the first three rows and appeared to keep her eyes on van der Sloot almost the entire time.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT CASE: PRIME NATALEE HOLLOWAY SUSPECT TO BE ARRAIGNED ON EXTORTION CHARGES
Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot, back left, is driven in a police vehicle from the Ancon I maximum-security prison, outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba is expected to be extradited Thursday from Peru to the United States. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Magistrate Judge Gray Borden told van der Sloot he would only accept a not guilty plea in the extortion and wire fraud case — and that if the Dutch national decided to plead guilty, he could do so at a later date.
The Dutch national landed in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday afternoon after being taken from Lima, Peru, with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Van der Sloot is being charged with extortion and wire fraud in the U.S. after allegedly attempting to sell Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, information regarding the location of her daughter’s body.
Joran van der Sloot prepares to leave the airport in Lima, Peru on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Col. Carlos López Aeda for Fox News Digital)
A 2010 federal indictment alleges van der Sloot extorted Beth Holloway, seeking $250,000 in exchange for the location of her daughter’s remains. After deposits of $25,000 were paid, van der Sloot allegedly lied to Beth Holloway’s lawyer, John Q. Kelly, about where her daughter’s remains were located, according to American prosecutors.
Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot is driven in a police vehicle from the Ancon I maximum-security prison, outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba is expected to be extradited Thursday from Peru to the United States. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
While van der Sloot was charged in 2010, the Peruvian government wouldn’t agree to allow him to face charges in America until recently, when a Peruvian court approved the temporary transfer.
Federal prosecutors say the alleged extortion scheme happened between March 29, 2010, and May 17, 2010.
NATALEE HOLLOWAY SUSPECT JORAN VAN DER SLOOT ARRIVES IN US TO FACE EXTORTION, WIRE FRAUD CHARGES
FBI agents board the plane carrying Joran van der Sloot in Birmingham, Alabama, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The Dutch native has been extradited from Peru to the US to face charges of extortion in relation the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital )
After receiving the money, van der Sloot then traveled to Peru and met Stephany Flores, 21, at a Lima casino owned by her father.
He killed her five years to the day after Holloway’s disappearance, fled the country and was eventually captured.
He was initially sentenced to 28 years in prison for the murder, but more time was added because of a drug smuggling scandal he was involved in while in jail.
Natalee Holloway was last seen alive in Aruba while on a Mountain Brook high school senior trip. (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Van der Sloot will remain in America while the federal case against him is ongoing. Under an agreement with the government of Peru, he will go back there to finish his prison sentence after his trial in the Northern District of Alabama. If convicted on the U.S. charges, van der Sloot would return to a federal prison after his Peruvian sentence ends in 2038 to serve up to 40 more years.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In an earlier statement provided to Fox News Digital when the Peruvian court announced the transfer of van der Sloot, Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, said this gives her family a chance at justice.
Fox News’ Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report.
