Natalee Holloway Case: Jordan Van Der Sloot Could Face US Courts
Jordan van der Sloot, the man accused of killing Natalee Holloway in 2005, may be heading back to the United States to face charges of extortion and wire fraud in the Holloway case.
Peruvian officials are taking steps to extradite van der Sloot to the U.S., according to CNN. Maximo Altez, his attorney, has revealed that a Peruvian judge has approved a request for U.S. provisional detention, which is the first step in the extradition process.
Van der Sloot is currently serving time in Peru stemming from charges of killing Stephany Flores in 2010. The U.S. has wanted to try van der Sloot and question him with regard to the Holloway case, for which he is the lead suspect. Authorities have long believed that he is responsible for the young woman's disappearance, with the murder of Flores seeming to cement those views.
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"I think he will be extradited within the next three months," Altez told CNN. "He will go to trial in the United States. Once he is sentenced, he will return to Peru to finish serving his 28 years, and then go back to the States to serve whatever sentence he gets there."
Van der Sloot faces U.S. charges of extortion; he reportedly tried to get $250,000 from Holloway's mother, Beth. He promised to reveal information about Natalee's disappearance in exchange for the money. The police were called, and provided the $250,000 for what turned out to be bogus information.
A few months later van der Sloot turned up in Peru, having used the $250,000 to pay for travel. He confessed to killing Flores, 21, in his hotel room and was sentenced to 28 years in jail. At the end of his sentence, van der Sloot will be banned from the country.
If van der Sloot is tried in the United States he could face five to 10 years in prison. Michael Griffith, senior partner at the International Legal Defense Counsel, told the Huffington Post that he expects van der Sloot to be extradited.
"The key to that [extradition] is that the U.S. has jurisdiction over anybody, anywhere in the world, who kills or injures a U.S. citizen," Griffith said.
