Natalee Holloway’s killer Joran van der Sloot has reportedly survived after he attempted suicide at a Peruvian Prison. He attempted to take his own life two decades after Natalee Holloway disappeared. The 18 year-old American had disappeared when she went on a high school trip to Aruba. She was last seen leaving a bar early morning with Joran van der Sloot.

Joran attempted suicide on Friday, December 12, 2025 at the Challapalca maximum security prison in Peru, according to officials. He was reportedly found with part of a blanket around his neck. Authorities said that guards had intervened and saved him although he was close to death.

Prison officials in Peru made him record an interview where he said that he was incarcerated in “the toughest prison in the world.” He said that he had reached a mental state where he “didn’t want to live anymore.”

Joran van der Sloot was released from Shelby County Jail on October 30, 2023 and sent to a prison in Peru to serve the remainder of his sentence. 

He had confessed to killing Natalee Holloway when he entered a plea deal for wire fraud and extortion charges. He admitted bludgeoning Natalee to death as she had rejected his advances. He also claimed that he had disposed her body in the ocean.

Joran van der Sloot admitted that he had attempted to extort Holloway’s mother Beth in 2010. He wanted $250,000 to give her information about the place where she could find her daughter’s remains.

Natalee Holloway disappeared in 2005. Joran van der Sloot claimed that he was innocent when he was questioned about the disappearance. 

During legal proceedings, he asked for forgiveness from his family and Natalee Holloway’s family. Her mother refused to accept his words of remorse.