Natalee Holloway: A Timeline of Disappearance and Justice

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Timeline of Natalee Holloway's Disappearance and the Pursuit of Justice

May 26, 2005:

• Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old honors student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, arrives in Oranjestad, Aruba, with 124 fellow graduates for a five-day post-graduation trip.

• The group checks into the Holiday Inn Aruba-Beach Resort & Casino.

May 29, 2005:

• Natalee and her friends spend their final night at Carlos'n Charlie's nightclub.

• Natalee and her group encounter Joran van der Sloot (17) and brothers Deepak (21) and Satish Kalpoe (18) at the bar.

• Around 1:30 a.m. on May 30, Natalee is seen leaving Carlos'n Charlie's in a grey Honda with van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers. This is the last time her friends see her.

May 30, 2005:

• Morning: Natalee's roommates discover her missing from her hotel room; her passport and luggage are untouched.

• Chaperones alert Natalee’s mother, Beth Holloway, in Alabama.

• Beth Holloway immediately charters a private jet to Aruba with her husband, Jug Twitty, and friends.

• Beth and her group arrive in Aruba and, accompanied by Aruban police, confront Joran van der Sloot at his home.

• Joran initially feigns ignorance but later claims he dropped Natalee off at her hotel around 2:00 a.m. and saw a "security guard" approaching her, a lie designed to misdirect the investigation.

• An empty seat is left on the charter flight back to Alabama, symbolizing Natalee's disappearance.

June 1-4, 2005:

• Beth Holloway and supporters launch a parallel investigation, distributing flyers and organizing search parties.

• The U.S. government, including the FBI, becomes involved.

June 5, 2005:

• Aruban police detain two innocent security guards from a nearby hotel based on Joran's initial false story, losing precious investigation time.

June 9, 2005:

• Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers are finally arrested, ten days after Natalee's disappearance.

• Under interrogation, the Kalpoe brothers change their story, claiming they dropped Joran and Natalee off at a beach near the Marriott Hotel.

• Joran also changes his story, admitting he was alone with Natalee on the beach, claiming she wanted to leave after he tried to "take things further," and he left her there to walk back alone.

June 23, 2005:

• Paulus van der Sloot, Joran’s father, is arrested on suspicion of complicity in the crime.

June 26, 2005:

• Paulus van der Sloot is released due to lack of evidence and is never charged.

August 2005:

• Hurricane Katrina strikes the U.S. Gulf Coast, diverting media attention from the Holloway case.

• Around this time, Aruban authorities release the three main suspects for the first time, citing insufficient evidence.

September 3, 2005:

• Joran van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe, and Satish Kalpoe are released from prison, after a series of arrests and re-arrests, in the initial phase of the investigation due to insufficient evidence.

November 2007:

• Joran and the Kalpoe brothers are arrested again for manslaughter based on "newly obtained evidence" (digital communications).

December 2007:

• All charges against Joran and the Kalpoe brothers are dropped, and they are released again due to insufficient evidence.

February 3, 2008:

• Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries airs an undercover recording in which Joran van der Sloot, speaking to an informant, claims Natalee had a seizure on the beach, and he and a friend dumped her body at sea.

• Joran later recants this story to authorities, claiming he lied to the informant to "act tough."

• Later in 2008, Joran appears on Fox News and falsely claims he sold Natalee into sexual slavery, recanting it hours later.

February 2010:

• Paulus van der Sloot dies of a heart attack.

March 2010:

• Joran van der Sloot contacts Beth Holloway’s attorney, John Q. Kelly, offering to reveal Natalee's location and the full story for $250,000.

• Beth Holloway contacts the FBI, initiating an extortion sting operation.

May 10, 2010:

• John Q. Kelly meets Joran in Aruba, monitored by the FBI. Joran provides false information about Natalee's body being buried in a house foundation and receives an initial payment of $10,000 cash and a $15,000 wire transfer.

May 13, 2010:

• Joran van der Sloot sends an email to John Q. Kelly admitting the information he provided was "worthless."

• Joran flees Aruba, traveling to Colombia and then Peru.

• A U.S. federal grand jury in Alabama indicts Joran in absentia for extortion and wire fraud.

May 29, 2010:

• Joran van der Sloot is seen with Stephany Flores Ramírez (21) at the Atlantic City Casino in Lima, Peru.

May 30, 2010:

• Exactly five years after Natalee Holloway's disappearance, Joran van der Sloot murders Stephany Flores in his hotel room at the Hotel TAC in Lima, Peru, after she discovers information linking him to the Holloway case on his laptop. He beats and strangles her.

June 3, 2010:

• Joran van der Sloot is arrested by Chilean police while attempting to flee and is extradited to Peru.

January 2012:

• Joran van der Sloot pleads guilty to the murder of Stephany Flores and is sentenced to 28 years in a Peruvian prison.

May 2023:

• After diplomatic negotiations, Peru announces a "temporary surrender" agreement, allowing Joran van der Sloot to be extradited to the U.S. to face federal charges, with the understanding he will return to Peru to complete his sentence.

June 8, 2023:

• Joran van der Sloot is extradited from Peru to Birmingham, Alabama, to face federal charges for extortion and wire fraud. He is housed at the Shelby County Jail.

June - October 2023:

• Negotiations for a plea agreement begin between Joran's defense team and U.S. federal prosecutors.

• The plea deal requires Joran to plead guilty to extortion and wire fraud and provide a "full, complete, accurate, and truthful" confession about Natalee Holloway's disappearance and death, verified by a polygraph test. Natalee's parents are permitted to witness the confession.

October 3, 2023:

• In a three-hour session at Shelby County Jail, Joran van der Sloot confesses to murdering Natalee Holloway. He states she resisted his sexual advances, kneeing him in the crotch, which enraged him. He then kicked her "extremely hard" in the face, knocking her unconscious, and then "smashed her head in" with a cinder block. He dragged her body into the ocean.

• Joran undergoes and passes a polygraph examination administered by the FBI, confirming the truthfulness of his confession.

• Beth and Dave Holloway witness the confession via a closed-circuit feed.

October 18, 2023:

• Joran van der Sloot formally pleads guilty to one count of extortion and one count of wire fraud at the Hugo L. Black Federal Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama.

• U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco sentences him to 20 years in federal prison, to be served concurrently with his Peruvian sentence, and explicitly links his crimes to the murders of Natalee Holloway and Stephany Flores.

• Beth and Dave Holloway deliver powerful victim impact statements. Beth declares the "never-ending nightmare is over" and that Natalee's case is "solved."

Late October 2023:

• Joran van der Sloot is flown back to Peru to continue serving his 28-year sentence for the murder of Stephany Flores, transferred to the Challapalca prison.

Cast of Characters

Principle People:

• Natalee Holloway: The 18-year-old honors student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, whose disappearance in Aruba on May 30, 2005, became a high-profile international case. Described as an ESFJ personality type, socially trusting, vibrant, and diligent, she was on a post-graduation trip with friends when she vanished. Her murder was ultimately confessed to by Joran van der Sloot in October 2023.

• Beth Holloway (later Beth Holloway Twitty): Natalee's mother. A fierce and relentless advocate who, from the moment of Natalee's disappearance, embarked on a nearly two-decade-long crusade for answers and justice. She tirelessly pressured authorities, engaged the media, and ultimately played a key role in the extortion sting operation that led to Joran van der Sloot's U.S. indictment and eventual confession. She founded the Natalee Holloway Resource Center and the International Safe Travels Foundation.

• Joran van der Sloot: A Dutch national, 17 years old at the time of Natalee's disappearance, and the primary suspect in her case. Described as charming, confident, and from a prominent family, he was the last person seen with Natalee. He is a convicted murderer (of Stephany Flores) and confessed to the murder of Natalee Holloway. His character is consistently profiled as a malignant narcissist with Antisocial Personality Disorder, driven by entitlement and explosive rage in response to rejection.

• Deepak Kalpoe: One of the two Surinamese brothers who were with Joran van der Sloot and Natalee Holloway on the night of her disappearance. He was 21 years old at the time. He and his brother were repeatedly arrested and released due to insufficient evidence. While legally innocent, forensic analysis suggests high probability of his involvement in the post-offense cover-up.

• Satish Kalpoe: The younger of the two Surinamese brothers, 18 years old at the time, who was with Joran van der Sloot and Natalee Holloway. Like Deepak, he was arrested and released multiple times. Forensic analysis suggests a high probability of his involvement in the cover-up.

• Paulus van der Sloot: Joran van der Sloot's father, a respected lawyer and judge-in-training in Aruba. He was briefly arrested in connection with Natalee's disappearance but released due to lack of evidence. He maintained his and his son's innocence until his death in February 2010, leaving a permanent question mark over his potential role in a cover-up.

• Stephany Flores Ramírez: A 21-year-old business student from a prominent Peruvian family, murdered by Joran van der Sloot in Lima, Peru, on May 30, 2010, exactly five years after Natalee Holloway's disappearance. Her murder led to Joran's conviction and imprisonment in Peru, indirectly paving the way for his extradition to the U.S.

• John Q. Kelly: Beth Holloway’s attorney. He played a crucial role in the extortion sting operation against Joran van der Sloot, meeting with Joran in Aruba to deliver the initial payment under FBI surveillance.

• Judge Anna Manasco: U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama who presided over Joran van der Sloot's federal plea hearing for extortion and wire fraud in October 2023. She sentenced him and delivered a strong condemnation linking his crimes to both Natalee Holloway and Stephany Flores.

Other Individuals Mentioned:

• Jug Twitty: Beth Holloway’s husband, who accompanied her to Aruba immediately after Natalee's disappearance.

• Peter R. de Vries: A Dutch crime reporter who, in 2008, secretly recorded Joran van der Sloot confessing details about Natalee's death and disposal at sea.

• Patrick van der Eem: An informant used by Peter R. de Vries to befriend Joran van der Sloot and secretly record his confession in 2008.

• Gerold Dompig: Former Aruban police commissioner, who later stated that the initial arrests of the suspects were premature due to pressure from the Holloway family.

• Máximo Altez: Joran van der Sloot's Peruvian lawyer, who filed a last-minute writ of habeas corpus to block his extradition to the U.S. in 2023.

• Dave Holloway: Natalee Holloway's father, who delivered a victim impact statement at Joran van der Sloot's sentencing hearing, calling him "evil personified."