The award-winning voice of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The Chant
The award-winning voice of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The Chant
The award-winning voice of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The Chant
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Closing the case: Natalee Holloway

Malachi Umeh, Reporter
October 25, 2023
Associated Press with Malachi Umeh
The case of Natalee Holloway comes to a close as long-suspected killer Joran Van Der Sloot pleads guilty 18 years after Holloway’s disappearance. Holloway disappeared May 30, 2005, during a graduation trip with her school. Van Der Sloot now serves 28 years out of his 18-year prison sentence in Peru.

The years-long case of Natalee Holloway concludes as Joran Van Der Sloot pleads guilty to murder. May 26, 2005, Holloway and her classmates along with seven chaperones arrived in Aruba and stayed at the Holiday Inn in Aruba. May 29, 2005 locals spotted Natalee leaving the Carlos N’ Nightclub around 1 a.m. with Van Der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe. The next day, Natalee’s friends struggled to find her in her hotel room. 18-year-old Mountain Brook High School student Holloway disappeared during a school graduation trip in Aruba. 

Natalee’s mother and stepfather arrived in Aruba looking for their daughter in the hopes of finding her. When questioned, Van Der Sloot says that after leaving the bar with Natalee, Deepak and Satish, he drove to a lighthouse before dropping Natalee off at the hotel. Tourists, volunteer teams, Aruban Police, Dutch marines and F-16 fighter planes searched for Holloway before officially proclaiming her as missing. June 22, 2005, authorities took in Van Der Sloot’s father for questioning but released him June 26 after three days of questioning. 

The search for Natalee intensified as police arrested Van Der Sloot, Deepak and Satish. An Aruban judge later released them but held Van Der Sloot for questioning. March 2010, federal prosecutors say Van Der Sloot reached out to Holloway’smother claiming he would reveal the location of her body if her mother paid him $250,000$ while also paying $25,000 upfront. Five years after Holloway’s disappearance, police arrested Van Der Sloot in Chile for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores; Van Der Sloot pleaded guilty to the murder of Flores in 2021.

“Today I can tell you with certainty that after 18 years Natalee’s case is solved as far as I’m concerned it’s over, it’s over, Jordan van der Sloot is no longer the suspect in my daughter’s murder he is the killer in the course of his prosecution here for extortion and wire fraud indictment he gave a proffer in which he finally confessed that he killed Natalee,“ Beth said. 

January 12, 2012, the Alabama courtroom declared Holloway dead. Charged with the murder of Flores, Van Der Sloot received 28 years in jail. Holloway’s missing case finally came to an end October 18, 2023, as Van Der Sloot pleaded guilty to her murder. 

Van der Sloot faced charges from the Peruvian government on October 30; Shelby County released him and he arrived in Peru on Tuesday. Van der Sloot’s flight unfortunately faced a delay due to an undisclosed cause, so now the U.S. government has decided to sentence him to 20 years in prison for Holloway’s murder. He also faces a 28-year charge in Peru for the murder of Flores.  

“I find it unjust that he only got twenty years for both murders. How is it fair that he has the possibility of leaving prison and living his life while two women have lost theirs? And to make it worse he got away with hiding the crime for 10+ years but now he’s only getting 20 years of imprisonment. There are people that have faced more years in prison for stealing a school bus than he has for the murder of two young women,” senior Liana Bonifacio said.

 
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About the Contributor
Malachi Umeh
Malachi Umeh, Reporter
Malachi Umeh is a senior at NC. He enjoys running track and hanging out with his best friends after school. Even though life can feel stressful sometimes, Umeh always found enjoyment in writing, and he would often jot down story ideas he made up in his head.  He never lets the story idea fade away; so he keeps the story ideas in his notes and documents. He has dreams of one day publishing the stories he created and making them into movies or TV  shows. He runs almost every sprinting event in track, including the 300 hurdles and 400-meter dash. NC has taught Umeh more things about himself and his writing ability that he never knew, and the more he learns, the better his literary composition skills become. He is very extroverted and loves to joke around and get to know others. He is very dedicated to graduating and making it into a good college where he can take journalism and run track as well. He values self-respect as well as respecting others including his teachers, and he enjoys getting to know his peers and creating good memories with them. He finds the feeling of striving toward his goals, as well as watching his friends make it to their goals beautiful. Writing is one of his biggest joys in life.