Why Joran van der Sloot hasn’t been convicted for Natalee Holloway’s murder, and might never be

After Netflix’s Taken: Natalee Holloway, everyone’s wondering why Joran van der Sloot hasn’t been prosecuted following his confession, and it all comes down to Aruba’s laws. 

The new true crime series follows the story of 18‑year‑old Natalee who went missing while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba with her friends on 30th May, 2005. Dutchman Joran van der Sloot was one of the last people known to see Natalee Holloway alive after she left nightclub Carlos’n Charlie’s and got in a car with him. 

He was long a suspect in her disappearance. In 2023, 18 years after Natalee went missing, the now 39-year-old confessed to killing her with a cinder block and dumping her body in the ocean as part of a plea deal in relation to his separate extortion and wire fraud trial in Alabama.

Van der Sloot remains behind bars in Peru for the murder of another woman, Stephany Flores Ramírez, but has never been convicted or prosecuted for killing Natalee Holloway. 

Credit: Netflix

Why Joran van der Sloot hasn’t been convicted for Natalee Holloway’s murder

As the crime took place in Aruba, van der Sloot can only be charged and prosecuted there. Aruba has a 12-year statute of limitations, which means a suspect can’t be criminally prosecuted for murder if 12 years have passed since the crime was committed. It’s been 21 years since Natalie Holloway disappeared, so he can’t be convicted. 

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However, a spokesperson for the Aruba Public Prosecutor’s Office told PEOPLE that the Holloway case was still an open investigation in 2023, and they hadn’t completely ruled out prosecuting him. They added that whether he will face murder charges despite the 12-year statute of limitations “cannot be answered with a simple yes or no”. 

“The Police Force, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Aruba and other investigative entities will follow up on any serious leads that could solve the disappearance of Natalee Holloway,” the spokesperson said.

Van der Sloot is currently serving a 28-year sentence at a maximum-security jail in Peru for the murder of Flores Ramírez and isn’t due to be released until 2045. 

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