Joran van der Sloot, suspect in disappearance of Natalee Holloway, to be extradited to U.S.
Joran van der Sloot, the Dutchman connected to the 2005 disappearance of American Natalee Holloway in Aruba, will be temporarily extradited to the U.S. to face charges of extortion and wire fraud, Peruvian authorities announced Wednesday. Van der Sloot is currently serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 killing of 21-year-old college student Stephany Flores in Lima.
Holloway went missing in May 2005 while on a senior class trip in Aruba, where van der Sloot is from. She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, who was detained and questioned, but never charged. The U.S. is accusing van der Sloot of attempting to extort Holloway's family with promises of leading them to her body, which has never been found.
Holloway was declared dead by an Alabama judge in 2012, more than six years after her disappearance. One day earlier, van der Sloot pleaded guilty to Flores' murder.
The Peruvian attorney general's office said in a statement to CBS News that Van der Sloot will be temporarily handed over to the U.S. for prosecution and will return to Peru "immediately following the proceedings."
"We hope that this action will enable a process that will help to bring peace to Mrs. Holloway and to her family, who are grieving in the same way that the Flores family in Peru is grieving for the loss of their daughter, Stephany," said Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Peru's ambassador to the U.S., in a statement.
A State Department spokesperson told CBS News on Thursday that the department doesn't comment on extradition matters and referred questions to the Justice Department. A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday.
Alex Sundby contributed reporting.