Joran van der Sloot leaves Peru to face charges in US
Joran van der Sloot prepares to leave the airport in Lima, Peru on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Van der Sloot faces federal charges of extortion and wire fraud in the United States. (Col. Carlos López Aeda for Fox News Digital)
LIMA, Peru – EXCLUSIVE: Joran van der Sloot left Peru on Thursday morning and is en route to the United States with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Van der Sloot is the prime suspect in the May 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba during a Mountain Brook High School, Alabama, senior trip.
The plane took off shortly before 8:00 a.m. from Jorge Chavez International Airport, according to van der Sloot's lawyer, Maximo Altez.
Altez has filed multiple appeals in attempts to stop the temporary extradition, but Peruvian courts didn't take action on them before his client's departure.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT CASE: FBI PLANE LANDS IN PERU FOR TRANSFER OF PRIME NATALEE HOLLOWAY SUSPECT
Joran van der Sloot prepares to leave the airport in Lima, Peru on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Col. Carlos López Aeda)
In an earlier court filing, Altez says his client wasn't notified by Peruvian officials of the "temporary extradition" process that was ongoing against him, which Altez contends is a "serious constitutional violation."
Van der Sloot is expected to arrive in Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday afternoon.
Joran van der Sloot smiles as he prepares to leave the airport in Lima, Peru on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Col. Carlos López Aeda)
The Dutch national was being held in a Peruvian prison for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in 2010. Van der Sloot was originally sentenced to 28 years in prison for the killing, but more time was added because of a drug smuggling scandal he was involved in while in jail.
Peruvian officials agreed in May to temporarily transfer the Dutch national to the United States in order to face federal charges.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT WILL LIKELY BE TRANSFERRED TO US DESPITE LAST-MINUTE EFFORTS: INTERPOL OFFICIAL
Joran van der Sloot prepares to leave the airport in Lima, Peru on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Col. Carlos López Aeda)
The body of Natalee Holloway hasn't been found. In January 2012, van der Sloot pleaded guilty to killing Flores. That same month, Natalee Holloway was legally declared dead.
Van der Sloot will now face charges of extortion and wire fraud in the United States after allegedly attempting to sell Beth Holloway, Natalee's mother, information regarding the location of her daughter's body.
Federal prosecutors say van der Sloot asked for $250,000 — $25,000 upfront for the information, and the rest to be paid out when the body of Natalee Holloway was positively identified.
Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot, center, is driven in a police vehicle from the Ancon I maximum-security prison, outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba is expected to be extradited Thursday from Peru to the United States. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
However, van der Sloot lied to Beth Holloway's lawyer, John Q. Kelly, about where her daughter's remains were located, according to American prosecutors.
In an earlier statement provided to Fox News Digital when the Peruvian court announced the transfer of van der Sloot, Beth Holloway, Natalee's mother, said this gives a chance for justice to finally be served.
Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot is driven in a police vehicle from the Ancon I maximum-security prison, outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, June 8, 2023. The main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba is expected to be extradited Thursday from Peru to the United States. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
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"I was blessed to have had Natalee in my life for 18 years, and as of this month, I have been without her for exactly 18 years. She would be 36 years old now," Beth Holloway said. "It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee."
