(Cupventi.com) – Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect linked to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, is anticipated to agree to a plea deal after being indicted in a scheme involving the Holloway family and extortion charges.
Natalee Holloway, aged 18, vanished during a senior trip to Aruba in May 2005 with Mountain Brook High School. The last sighting of Natalee was leaving a bar with van der Sloot, but her whereabouts remain unknown. In January 2012, a judge officially declared Natalee Holloway deceased at the request of her father.
Van der Sloot is currently facing charges related to extortion and wire fraud in the U.S., having allegedly attempted to sell information to Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, regarding the location of her daughter’s remains.
John Q. Kelly, Beth Holloway’s attorney, informed Fox News Digital that van der Sloot is likely to accept a plea deal, contingent upon him divulging specifics regarding Natalee Holloway’s passing and the disposition of her body. Kelly also confirmed that the search for Natalee Holloway’s remains has concluded.
The plea and sentencing hearing for van der Sloot is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in a federal courtroom in Birmingham, Alabama.
According to federal prosecutors, van der Sloot endeavored to extort $250,000 from the family, with an initial $25,000 for the information and the remainder to be paid once Natalee Holloway’s body was positively identified. However, van der Sloot provided false information to Beth Holloway about the location of her daughter’s remains, as per U.S. prosecutors. This alleged extortion plot unfolded between March 29, 2010, and May 17, 2010. Van der Sloot entered a plea of not guilty during a June hearing after being temporarily transferred from Peru to the United States.
Beth Holloway is expected to deliver a statement following Wednesday’s hearing. Subsequently, van der Sloot traveled to Peru and encountered Stephany Flores, 21, at a Lima casino owned by her father. Van der Sloot confessed to the murder of Flores, stating he killed her on May 30, 2010, in a fit of rage after she discovered his connection to Natalee Holloway’s disappearance.
The charges were initially filed by federal prosecutors in 2010, but Peruvian authorities granted van der Sloot’s release into American custody only this May.
Originally sentenced to 28 years in prison for the murder of Flores, van der Sloot received additional sentencing due to a drug smuggling scandal during his incarceration.
Once van der Sloot’s federal case concludes, he will return to Peru to complete his sentence for Flores’ murder. Subsequently, upon completing his sentence in Peru, van der Sloot will face imprisonment in the United States if convicted.