Judge Declares Missing Natalee Holloway Dead … Natalee Went Missing in Aruba in 2005

An Alabama judge has declared Natalee Holloway legally dead.  Although many of us have presumed that Natalee Holloway was dead and was killed the night that she drove off with Joran van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe from Carlos n’ Charlies that fateful night in 2005, the finality and legality of Natalee’s death being declared is a sobering experience. I cannot even imagine the range of emotions that Beth Holloway and Dave must have felt, as well as the rest of Natalee’s family.

Rest in Peace Natalee

The parents of Natalee Holloway, the American teenager who disappeared in Aruba in 2005, say their ordeal hasn’t ended with a judge declaring their daughter dead. Their lawyers say they hope a young Dutchman seen leaving a bar with Holloway on the last day she was seen alive might ultimately be brought before a U.S. court on charges stemming from the case.

Joran van der Sloot, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Peru to the 2010 slaying of a young woman he had met in a Lima casino. That plea from the Dutchman described as the prime suspect in the Holloway case came hours before Thursday’s hearing in a Birmingham court where Dave and Beth Holloway watched the difficult step of a judge ruling their daughter legally dead.

“We’ve been dealing with her death for the last six and a half years,” Dave Holloway said after Thursday’s hearing. He said the judge’s order closes one chapter in the ordeal, but added: “We’ve still got a long way to go to get justice.”

Our prayers go out to the family of Natalee Holloway, so many of them that I personally know and have met. I had always hoped that this day would never come, sadly we knew it was inevitable.

Alabama Judge Decides Today Whether Natalee Holloway Will be Declared Dead … Aruba Remains Silent & Provides No Justice

Will Natalee Holloway be declared legally dead?

An Alabama judge is to consider today whether Natalee Holloway, the 18 year old Mountain Brook teen who went missing while vacationing in Aruba in 2005, will be legally declared dead. Dave Holloway, Natalee’s father, filed the petition to declare her dead in June, 2011. Meanwhile,  Beth Holloway, his ex-wife and the teen’s mother, opposed this measure, saying in a September statement she “will always hope and pray for Natalee’s safe return.”  So what are the reason why after all this time that there is a push for Natalee to be legally declared dead?  Dave Holloway’s attorney has claimed the petition was filed because he (Dave) “is seeking closure for his family.” However, it has also been reported by WBRC, that Dave Holloway wants to use $2,000 of a college fund he had created for his daughter for her younger brother.

A probate judge may make the decision at a presumption of death hearing in a Jefferson County courtroom in Birmingham Thursday afternoon.

Holloway vanished in 2005 while on a graduation trip to Aruba. No one has been charged in the case.

Holloway was 18 when she was last seen in the early hours of May 30, 2005, leaving an Oranjestad nightclub with Joran van der Sloot and two other men.

This is one of those sad and tragic decisions that a family has to eventually make where there are no winners. It is yet just another scab being ripped off the wound that both Dave, Beth and Natalee’s family has suffered at the hand of Aruba and Joran Van der Sloot. The impact of Van der Sloot’s actions and Aruba’s inability and unwillingness to provide justice resonates to the present day. Just ask the families of Natalee Holloway and Stephany Flores in Peru.  Just one day after Joran Van der Sloot plead guilty to the murder of Stephany Flores, the courts will decide on the death of another one of Van der Sloot’s victims where he was the prime suspect.

Joran Van der Sloot Back in Court in Peru to Face Murder Charges in Death of Stephany Flores … Plea or More Game Playing by Van der Sloot?

Sorry, but “SINCERE” and Joran Van der Sloot cannot be used in the same sentence, let alone a legal sentence.

Today, Joran Van der Sloot will head back to court in Peru, just five days after the Dutch national requested more time to decide on a plea deal in the murder of 21 year old Stephany Flores in a Lima, Peru hotel. Last week Joran Van der Sloot continued to play games in this murder trial, no different that the one’s that he has played ever since the disappearance and death of Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. It had been reported that last week Van der Sloot would make a plea and confess to the murder of Flores. Instead, Joran acted with complete contempt for the court.

Joran van der Sloot returns to a Peruvian courtroom on Wednesday, five days after requesting more time to “reflect” on what plea he will make in his murder trial.

The 24-year-old Dutch national indicated on Friday that he was willing to make a “confession” in the 2010 killing of Stephany Flores, but that he did “not agree with the aggravating factors” as defined in the murder charge levied against him.

Given this statement, the panel of three judges decided to give van der Sloot until Wednesday to make a final decision. There is no jury.

How could any court accept a “sincere” confession from Joran Van der Sloot? All one would have to do is take a look at how Joran acted in court last week to understand that a sociopath is incapable of being sincere. Of course the manner in how Joran Van der Sloot has conducted himself since 2005 in his confessions, retractions and game playing with regarding to the death and disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

Under Peruvian law, a prison term for a “sincere confession” to a murder is normally much shorter than one for an outright guilty plea. Prosecutors have said van der Sloot robbed and killed Flores before fleeing the scene of a crime to Chile.

But on the first day of his trial in Lima on Friday, he told the court he should not be charged with aggravating circumstances of the murder that could lengthen his sentence.

So will Van der Sloot cop a plea? Please tell me that the Peruvian Court is not going to further allow the miscarriage of justice that has been the actions of Joran. Plea, no plea or more games? Its hard to predict when dealing with a sociopath.

Joran Van der Sloot Trial in Murder of Stephany Flores in Peru Begins Today … Then Extortion Charges in US?

Finally, two murders later … Joran Van der Sloot will be tried in a court of law, it’s been a long time in coming.

Joran Van der Sloot murder trial of 21 year old Stephany Flores begins in Peru today. Van der Sloot is accused of murdering Stephany Flores on May 30, 2010, five years to the day of the disappearance and  presumed death of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Joran Van der Sloot admits to killing Stephany Flores; however, he claims, as per his attorney  Luis Jimenez Navarro, that the murder was not premeditated. Joran Van der Sloot was charged last year with “qualified murder” and simple robbery, that  together could carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

Joran van der Sloot goes on trial Friday in Peru, ready to admit to killing a 21-year-old woman while planning to fight more stringent charges that could land him more time in prison, his lawyer said.

About six and a half years ago, the Dutch national was considered the prime suspect in the case of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, who vanished while on a graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba. He was arrested twice but never charged in connection with Holloway’s disappearance, which is still unsolved.

Yet van der Sloot’s trial in another high-profile case, which his lawyer said has a tenuous connection with the Holloway story, is set to go forward Friday.

The 24-year-old is accused of killing Stephany Flores in his Lima hotel room in May 2010. Police say that he took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile, where he was arrested a few days later.

According to Radio Netherlands, United States authorities are currently involved in negotiations with the Peruvian government to have Van der Sloot extradited to the US for trial immediately after his trial in Peru ends to face trial and extortion charges as he tried to extort $250,000 from Beth Holloway, mom of missing Natalee Holloway.

One thing is for certain, Peru has an opportunity to do what Aruba refused to do … provide justice for a murder victim. This time Joran Van der Sloot does not have pappa Sloot and his connections to get him out of this one. Joran, its time to face the music for the first time in your life.

For more updates and discussion, go to Scared Monkeys Forum: Natalee Holloway/Stephany Flores Case Discussion threads.

Dave Holloway Asks Courts to Declare his Daughter Natalee Holloway Deceased

Dave Holloway, the father of missing Natalee Holloway, has asks the courts to declare her dead.

It has been more than six years since Natalee Holloway went missing in Aruba on a class trip in May of 2005. Dave Holloway is asking the probate court to declare her dead. Natalee Holloway has not been seen not heard from since she left Carlos N’ Charlies in a car with Joran Van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe. The initial court date is set for September 23, 2011. Dave Holloway is looking for an official declaration of death for Natalee Holloway.

Holloway wrote in a sworn statement that it was his “painful” belief that his daughter is dead and recounted the years spent investigating her baffling disappearance in 2005. He said there was no evidence to suggest Natalee is either alive or that she had run away from home.

“Prior to her trip to Aruba, Natalee had no medical issues, psychological issues or family issues,” the statement said.

Dave Holloway’s lawyer, Karen Hennecy, said Dave “is seeking closure for this family.” However, it appears that his ex-wife Beth Holloway was not aware of the legal proceedings.  That may not be the best direction. Beth Holloway, said she was surprised her ex-husband filed the request.

“I only learned about this when I was handed the citation by a process server while addressing a large audience at a conference in Georgia,” she said in a statement. “I don’t know what this is about, or why Dave is taking this action at this time.”

A spokeswoman for Beth Holloway declined comment on whether she would oppose the petition.

The declaration of death, “order on legal presumption of death,” will take several court appearances and according to reports, the court papers reference homicide.

The process, which requires multiple hearings and publication of notices seeking information that she is alive, is expected to last into early 2012. Fewer than a half-dozen such cases are filed annually in Jefferson County, court officials said.

The petition makes several references to the homicide investigation conducted by Aruban authorities and the ongoing focus on Joran van der Sloot in connection with Holloway’s disappearance.