Joran Van Der Sloot, Chief Suspect in Natalee Holloway's Disappearance, Confesses to Murder of Woman in Peru

Five years ago, American teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba while on a high school graduation trip, and Joran Van Der Sloot was the main suspect. Despite five years of investigations, and two confessions, however, Van der Sloot was never charged with Holloway's disappearance and suspected murder.

Shock waves traveled around the world this past week when the story broke that Joran Van der Sloot, now 22, had been arrested for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in a hotel room in Peru. That same day, he was also charged with extortion for a failed plot to sell the information leading to Holloway's body for $250,000. Bo Dietl, a retired New York City detective and private investigator, claims that this extortion attempt led to an FBI sting, where agents reportedly gave Van der Sloot $25,000 (it has since been reported as $15,000), but failed to detain him, and Van der Sloot used that $25,000 to fund his trip to Peru.

Van Der Sloot was captured in Chile and returned to Peru to face prosecution. Van der Sloot and Flores were caught on security cameras walking together in a hotel/casino where Flores reportedly won $5,000. Her battered body was found three days later in Van der Sloot's hotel room with a broken neck. A baseball bat in the room is the suspected murder weapon, and the money was gone.

The Holloway family, particularly her mother Beth Holloway Twitty, is reported to be "overwhelmed" at news of another case involving Van der Sloot. "She's just really very disturbed," said a close friend, Carol Standifer on the CBS "Early Show." Natalee's stepfather, "Jug" Twitty, said he hopes Peru handles this case better than Aruba handled Natalee's disappearance. "We could have had the answers in the first couple of days down there had they done their job right," he told CBS. "And this should have never happened, what's happened in Peru."

Stephany Flores' father, Ricardo Flores to the AP of his daughter, "She was absolutely innocent ... good and without any malice. My daughter resisted," he said. "There was violence, resistance to being raped -- and there's where she was murdered." Despite the brutal circumstances of his daughter's murder, Flores does not want the death penalty for Van der Sloot. In Peru, murder carries a sentence of up to 35 years.

Joran's, father Paulus Van der Sloot, an influential figure in Aruba who may have helped his son escape prosecution in the Holloway disappearance, died suddenly and unexpectedly this past February at age 57, collapsing while playing tennis. A lawyer in training to be a judge, the elder Van der Sloot was always suspected of having a role helping his son escape arrest in Holloway's disappearance.

Peter R. de Vries, a crime reporter, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide, "I am convinced that Mr. Van der Sloot knew more than he had told us. He may have helped his son cover up parts of the truth." After several interviews with the elder Van der Sloot, De Vries concluded, "My intuition as a researcher told me that Mr. Van der Sloot knew more about it, but wanted to protect his son, which is natural. His attitude struck me as tense, for instance when I referred to Natalee being dead. His response was, 'Who says she's dead? There is no evidence.' And his son Joran said that, when he was in prison, his father had smuggled a cellphone into his cell, so he could keep up with developments." De Vries also secretly filmed Joran Van der Sloot claiming he had dumped Natalee's body in the ocean, but that incriminating statement was not accepted by the court. Prosecutors in Aruba told CBS News that "what Van der Sloot said was not credible." They also told a Dutch TV station that, "It became clear that this statement is held together by lies and fantasy."

However, in 2008, Joran Van der Sloot was declared persona non grata in Aruba, making his return difficult, if not impossible. He was permitted to return for his father's cremation in February. Joran has told many stories as to what happened to Natalee. In 2008, after the secret taping by De Vries, he told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren that he sold Holloway to a Venezuelan on the beach for $10,000 for use as a sex slave. In the same interview, Van der Sloot claimed that his father paid Aruban policemen a $50,000 bribe. Authorities also discounted these statements.

I think it's disgraceful that Joran Van der Sloot, and his two suspected accomplices, were exonerated by Aruban police. It is quite obvious his father's influence was responsible for this. And how probable is it that Joran has murdered other women, women who were not missed? The most ironic aspect of the Flores murder is that it actually took place on the same date -- that Natalee Holloway disappeared.

Follow-up Article: Van Der Sloot's Attorney Wants Confession Thrown Out; FBI Denies Providing Money in Sting; Sources: Van der Sloot had $25,000 from FBI sting ; Van der Sloot confesses to Peru Murder; Holloway dumped in swamp; Death of suspect's father complicates Natalee Holloway case; Van Der Sloot Denies Killing Peruvian Woman; Joran van der Sloot Confession: I Killed Natalee Holloway, But Prosecutors Don't Believe Me; Is Joran van der Sloot a Killer?