Joran van der Sloot, the convicted killer of Natalee Holloway, reportedly made a suicide attempt at the Challapalca Prison in Peru where he is serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of another woman. According to Peruvian newspaper La Republica, the 38-year-old was found hanging from a piece of blanket in his cell when guards delivered breakfast.
Officials confirmed that this incident suggested a suicide attempt at the maximum-security prison known for housing the country’s most dangerous inmates. Van der Sloot was promptly taken to the infirmary and is currently in stable condition, but will remain under observation due to his mental state.
Van der Sloot was convicted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, 21-year-old business student Stefany Flores Ramirez, who was beaten to death in a hotel room in 2010. This crime occurred five years after the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old high school student from Alabama, during a class trip to Aruba.
In 2023, Van der Sloot confessed to murdering Natalee Holloway and dumping her body in the Caribbean Sea, but he could not be charged due to the statute of limitations. He made this confession as part of a plea deal for extorting money from the Holloway family. In 2010, he demanded $250,000 from the family in exchange for information about Natalee’s death and disappearance. The family paid him $25,000 as a down payment, but he provided false information about Natalee’s whereabouts.
Van der Sloot then went to Lima, Peru, with Stefany Flores Ramirez, where she confronted him about his involvement in the Holloway case. This confrontation led to her violent death at the hands of Van der Sloot, who confessed to the crime in 2010 and received a 28-year prison sentence.
In addition to his murder conviction, Van der Sloot was also found guilty of selling drugs in prison in Peru in 2023, resulting in an additional 18 years being added to his sentence. His release date is currently set for 2045.
