Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway, was being transported from South America to the United States on Thursday to face extortion and wire fraud charges.
The 35-year-old Dutch citizen was handed over to U.S. custody and departed Peru on a flight to Alabama, about one month after both countries agreed on his extradition, the Associated Press reported.
FBI agents were transporting him to the U.S. where he’ll stand trial in the Northern District of Alabama.
Van der Sloot has been serving a 28-year sentence in South America for the 2010 murder of a Peruvian business woman.
His extradition, which moved forward Tuesday after a Peruvian judge approved temporarily transferring his custody to U.S. authorities, stems from an alleged attempt to profit hundreds of thousands of dollars from Holloway’s parents.
The teen was last seen with van der Sloot and two others 18 years ago in the Dutch Caribbean Island of Aruba.
On Thursday, video released by Peruvian authorities shows van der Sloot shake his shoulders and smirk as law enforcement adjust his handcuffs and remove an Interpol-marked vest off him. Photos released by the government also show the FBI and a health care worker in a conference room with the convicted killer.
Here’s what to know about the case and pending trial:
Who is Joran van der Sloot?
The son of a judge, van der Sloot was never charged in the death of Holloway, who was last seen in May 2005 and later declared dead.
Van der Sloot is wanted in the U.S. on one count of extortion and one count of wire fraud − the only charges to have ever linked him to Holloway’s disappearance.
He is serving a 28-year sentence for admittedly killing 21-year-old Stephany Flores in his hotel room in 2010 after meeting her in a casino. Investigators suggested that he was angry Flores had apparently seen information on his computer about the Holloway case. He also stole her money and credit cards and briefly fled the country.
Van der Sloot has been arrested twice in Aruba, but never charged, in connection the disappearance of Holloway, USA TODAY previously reported.
What happened to Natalee Holloway?What to know as Joran van der Sloot is extradited in 2005 disappearance
Who was Natalie Holloway? What happened to her?
Holloway, from Birmingham, was 18 when she was last seen during a trip with classmates to Aruba.
She vanished after a night with friends at a nightclub, leaving a mystery that sparked years of news coverage and countless true-crime shows and podcasts. She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, then 18 years old, outside a restaurant and nightclub in Oranjestad.
Authorities said she was in a car with van der Sloot and two other men − Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe, according to the FBI.
The teen was set to fly home from the Caribbean island on May 30, 2005, but failed to appear for her flight.
Van der Sloot’s pending extortion trial
A grand jury in Alabama in 2010 indicted van der Sloot on wire fraud and extortion charges, accusing him of trying to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Holloways.
In an indictment, prosecutors in the U.S. allege van der Sloot accepted $25,000 in cash from Holloway’s family in exchange for a promise to lead them to her body in early 2010, just before he went to Peru.
An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit that van der Sloot reached out to Holloway’s mother, Beth, and wanted to be paid $25,000 to disclose the location and then another $225,000 when the remains were recovered. During a recorded sting operation, van der Sloot pointed to a house where he said Holloway was buried but in later emails admitted to lying about the location, the agent said.
When will he make his first court appearance in Alabama?
It was not immediately known when van der Sloot will make his first court appearance in Alabama or what he faces if convicted of both charges.
The U.S. Justice Department could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY on Thursday morning.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
