'20/20' Preview: Natalee Holloway's Mom Revisits Aruba, Discusses Joran Van Der Sloot
In May 2005, 18-year-old Natalee Holloway took a high school graduation trip to Aruba and mysteriously disappeared. In the years that followed, her mom, Beth Holloway, has relentlessly tried to find out the truth about what happened to her daughter.
Now, in a new two-hour "20/20" special, she is returning to the Caribbean island and sharing a look at her life in recent years.
According to Daily Mail, Beth additionally discusses the alleged extortion she faced from Joran van der Sloot, the man who has long been suspected of being the one behind Natalee's disappearance. During Beth's attempts to find out information regarding her daughter's whereabouts, Van der Sloot said he would tell her where Natalee's body was buried in exchange for $250,000.
After receiving a down payment from Beth of $25,000, he fled Aruba and went to Peru. Five years to the day of the date of Natalee's disappearance, van der Sloot killed Stephany Flores Ramírez while on the island.
In a clip shared by the news program on Monday, Beth acknowledged the opinion that her decision to give him the money allowed him to go and kill Ramírez. "Some people have said, 'Well, Beth, if you hadn't sent him that 25 grand he probably wouldn't have had the money to go to Peru and kill Stephany.'" The clip can be seen below.
For the first time, new details regarding Van der Sloot's pending extortion case will also be revealed, reports Broadway World. Additionally, the upcoming episode will feature interviews with John Q. Kelly, who is serving as Beth's attorney, van der Sloot's own defense attorneys, and a lead homicide detective in the Ramírez murder investigation.
Van der Sloot is currently serving a 28-year sentence for killing Ramírez after being convicted in 2010. He is also set to be extradited to the U.S. after he completes that sentence in order to face charges pertaining to the aforementioned extortion. He continues to deny any involvement with Natalee's disappearance and has never faced any charges pertaining to the case.
This episode of "20/20" will air Friday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.