Will Natalee Holloway's family get justice? Suspect arraigned in Birmingham courthouse.

Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal
Updated ·2 min read
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The main suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway is being arraigned in federal court in Alabama this morning on fraud charges. Joran van der Sloot, arrived at the federal courthouse in Birmingham on Friday morning for his arraignment.

What are the charges against Joran Van der Sloot?

Video: Natalee Holloway suspect extradited to U.S.

Van der Sloot is charged with one count of extortion and one count of wire fraud against Natalie’s mother, Bethany Holloway.

The arraignment is expected to take place at 11 a.m. at the Hugo L. Black United States Courthouse.

A side-by-side mock up showing a June 4, 2010 file photo of Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot is escorted by police officers outside a Peruvian police station, near the border with Chile in Tacna, Peru. The second photo is of Natalee Holloway, an American woman van der Sloot is suspected of murdering in Aruba in 2005.
A side-by-side mock up showing a June 4, 2010 file photo of Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot is escorted by police officers outside a Peruvian police station, near the border with Chile in Tacna, Peru. The second photo is of Natalee Holloway, an American woman van der Sloot is suspected of murdering in Aruba in 2005.

Natalee Holloway’s family is expected to be at the court proceeding, including her mother, father and brother.

What happened to Natalee Holloway?

Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, was 18 years old when she disappeared on a high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005. She never showed up for the return flight home.

FILE - A sign of Natalee Holloway, an Alabama high school graduate who disappeared while on a graduation trip to Aruba, is seen on Palm Beach, in front of her hotel in Aruba, Friday, June 10, 2005, as a ribbon in her memory blows in the breeze. The government of Peru on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, issued an executive order allowing the temporary extradition to the United States of Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch, File)

Her classmates said they last saw her with Joran van der Sloot, who was 17 at the time, and two others as they left a club.

Joran van der Sloot told authorities they dropped her off at a hotel. They were questioned and detained, but freed due to a lack of evidence.

Van der Sloot emailed a cooperating witness in 2010. He told them he would accept $250,000 from Holloway's family in exchange for promising to lead them to her body, identifying the people involved in her death and explaining the circumstances of what happened.

He modified his offer so that he would accept the first $25,000 to take the witness to her body, and then on recovery, he would receive the rest of the money.

The first $10,000 was given in cash — with another $15,000 wired, according to reports. This is the basis for the wire fraud charge.

He has not been charged in her disappearance.

Natalee Holloway documentary

The teenager’s disappearance has made headlines for over a decade and the case continues to fascinate fans of true crime.

Here’s where you can watch more on the mysterious disappearance.

The first season of The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway is now streaming on Peacock. More than a decade after the 18-year-old disappeared in Aruba, her father follows a detailed account of where her remains could be.

You can also watch other documentaries that cover the case including one produced by 48 Hours, also called The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

The Oxygen Channel is also producing a series entitled The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway that premieres on August 19, 2023.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Joran van der Sloot: Natalee Holloway disappearance suspect arraigned