'Natalee Holloway: Her Friends Speak' Premiere: True Crime Facts About Real Case
On Sunday night, "Natalee Holloway: Her Friends Speak" will premiere on REELZ. The new true crime special will focus on the aftermath of her 2005 disappearance in Aruba. After the high school senior went missing, many began taking a closer look into her whereabouts, including her mother Beth Holloway, as they considered various possibilities and suspects.
Now, 15 years later, "Her Friends Speak" will give viewers new ways to think about the case. Prior to the premiere, here's what we already know about Holloway's disappearance.
During her trip in May 2005, Holloway was set to return to her hotel room on the final day of her trip as the group she traveled with prepared to head home. According to ABC News, Holloway had visited a club the night before called Carlos’n Charlie’s in Oranjestad, Aruba, which gave those attempting to find the 18-year-old a clue to follow as they tried to find her.
As those around her began to investigate, they were later alerted to the fact that she had last been seen leaving the location in a gray Honda with a group of men. One of those men, Joran van der Sloot, would later become the prime suspect in her disappearance.
By June of that year, van der Sloot, along with brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, were arrested. Even though they were suspected in playing a role in her kidnapping and murder, they were freed without charges by September of that year.
However, suspicion continued to follow them, and in November 2007, they were all arrested yet again. Then, in 2008, the case, which had previously been closed, was reopened when a new tape of van der Sloot emerged. During the secretly-filmed discussion, Dutch crime reporter Peter de Vries was able to capture him describing his account of Holloway's murder. Even though the efforts seemed promising, officials were ultimately unable to confirm his account.
On May 30, 2010, he killed Stephany Flores at a hotel in Lima, Peru. After new reports emerged about the 21-year-old Peruvian student's death, van der Sloot fled to Chile. Upon arrest, he was sent back to Peru and was faced with charges pertaining to Flores' murder. Later, he was then indicted by the Alabama U.S. district court after allegedly demanding $250,000 from Beth in exchange for information about her daughter's remains.
On Jan. 13, 2012, the case finally began coming to a bit of a conclusion when van der Sloot was sentenced to 28 years in prison for Flores' murder. The development came only one day after Holloway was legally declared dead.
This is not the first time that the case has been recently revisited. In 2019, Beth gave a new interview during an episode of "20/20." Throughout the ABC true crime show, Natalee's mother discussed the $250,000 payment and giving van der Sloot $25,000 as a down payment, which proceeded Flores' murder. Various detectives and attorneys surrounding the case also made appearances throughout the episode.
READ: Six Fascinating True-Crime Documentaries That You Can Stream On Netflix, Hulu, HBO
On Sunday's new REELZ episode, friends Claire Fierman and Mallie Tucker, along with several investigators, will revisit the case's history and the events that transpired leading up to the anniversary of Holloway's disappearance.
"Natalee Holloway: Her Friends Speak" will air Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT on REELZ.
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