Natalee Holloway's suspected killer, Joran van der Sloot, admits to crime, says mother
- Published
Beth Holloway in front of a photo of her daughter in 2010
A man long thought to have killed Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway 20 years ago has admitted to the crime, her mother has said.
Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to extorting money from the family and as part of a plea deal he had to reveal how the teenager died.
"He is the killer," Beth Holloway told reporters outside the Birmingham court.
Her daughter, then 18, disappeared from Caribbean island Aruba in 2005 after leaving a bar with van der Sloot.
The Dutchman will serve his 20-year sentence in Peru where he was already behind bars for another murder.
In 2010 he demanded $250,000 from her mother in exchange for information.
"You have finally admitted that, in fact, you murdered her," her mother, Beth, said to him in court on Wednesday, according to news site AL.com.
She also said he had "bludgeoned" her daughter, who would have turned 37 this month, the site reported.
His confession was documented in a court filing and outlined by Judge Anna Manasco as she sentenced him.
"You have brutally murdered in separate incidents years apart two beautiful women who refused your sexual advances," she said, referring to Stephany Flores, who he killed in 2010.
In exchange for the sentence of 20 years, van der Sloot agreed "to provide full, complete, accurate, and truthful information regarding Natalee Holloway's disappearance", the Justice Department said.
It is not clear how much of that information will be shared with the public, but Beth Holloway said the filing, known as a proffer will be released.
She also told reporters that van der Sloot killed Natalee on a beach and then "put her into the water and that was the last he saw of her."
Natalee was 18 when she disappeared on the Caribbean island of Aruba
Calling van der Sloot "evil personified", Natalee's father Dave Holloway put out a statement saying that "today's proceeding confirmed that this defendant murdered Natalee and then tortured and extorted those who loved her most".
Even though they are divorced, Natalee's parents worked together for years trying to find Natalee's remains and to get answers.
Still, despite international attention, the teenager's remains were never found and in 2012 she was declared dead by a court.
Natalee had gone to Aruba with friends to celebrate graduating from high school.
Her disappearance dominated cable news channels for months and was covered around the globe. One of the people Beth Holloway thanked after Wednesday's hearing was broadcaster Greta Van Sustern, who reported on the case extensively for Fox News.
Joran van der Sloot is escorted to the airport in Peru to be extradited to the US in June.
While van der Sloot was the primary suspect in the case for nearly 20 years, he was never charged.
Beth Holloway told reporters that "even with this confession he can't be tried here for Natalee's murder, but I am satisfied knowing once and for all that he did it, he did it alone, and he disposed of her alone".
A grand jury in 2010 indicted Van der Sloot on two charges extortion and fraud. He had received money from the family to explain how Natalee Holloway died and show them where she was buried, but only gave them lies.
Van der Sloot was extradited from Peru to the US in June to face the extortion charges.
He admitted in 2012 to the 2010 murder of Ms Flores and will return to Peru to serve his new sentence concurrently.