Joran van der Sloot, who confessed in 2023 to killing Natalee Holloway and is serving a long sentence in Peru for murdering another woman, was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt at a high-security Peruvian prison, according to local media.
Van der Sloot, 38, was found hanging from a blanket strip in his cell at Challapalca Prison early Saturday as guards served breakfast, according to La República. Prison staff intervened, took him to the infirmary, and stabilized him. He remains under observation.
Officials told the outlet the circumstances “suggested a possible suicide attempt,” though authorities have not released more details about the incident or van der Sloot’s condition beyond confirming he is alive and under medical and psychological monitoring.
Challapalca Prison, in the Andes near Chile and Bolivia, is known for its extreme isolation, harsh climate, and housing Peru’s most dangerous inmates. Human rights groups have previously raised concerns about conditions, including limited medical and mental health care.
Van der Sloot has been incarcerated in Peru since 2010 for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores Ramírez. This killing took place on May 30, 2010—exactly five years after the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Peruvian authorities said van der Sloot initially confessed to killing Flores Ramírez after she confronted him about his involvement in the Holloway case. Afterward, he tried to recant his confession, claiming coercion by police, but courts rejected his claim. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison, the maximum allowed in Peru at that time.
The murder drew international attention due to van der Sloot’s prior connection to Holloway’s unresolved 2005 disappearance. Despite investigations, Holloway’s body was never found.
Although van der Sloot was never charged in Aruba, where the statute of limitations later expired, he admitted responsibility for Holloway’s killing nearly two decades later as part of a plea deal in the United States.
“Joran van der Sloot is no longer the suspect in my daughter’s murder,” Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway, said after the confession. “He is the killer.”
The plea agreement arose from U.S. federal charges accusing van der Sloot of extortion and wire fraud. Prosecutors said he contacted Holloway’s family in 2010, demanding $250,000 for information on her remains. The family paid a $25,000 down payment but received false information.
“The defendant exploited a family’s grief for financial gain,” federal prosecutors said during sentencing proceedings. “The information he provided was deliberately false.”
Van der Sloot admitted that after receiving the money, he traveled to Peru with Flores Ramírez. Days later, she confronted him about Holloway, leading to a violent attack. He later admitted to beating, choking, and smothering her in a hotel room.
In addition to his earlier murder conviction, van der Sloot’s legal troubles in Peru increased in recent years. In 2023, he was convicted of selling drugs inside prison, receiving an additional sentence that extended his incarceration. Peruvian authorities have not disclosed whether the apparent suicide attempt will affect his housing or supervision status moving forward.
Following his U.S. plea deal, van der Sloot received a 20-year sentence for extortion and wire fraud, to be served after his Peruvian term. The agreement included his formal admission of guilt in Holloway’s death.
The apparent suicide attempt adds another grim development to a case spanning continents, legal systems, and nearly 20 years, leaving behind victims and families irrevocably affected.
