The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Aruba (OM Aruba) has offered to make the entire Aruban case file regarding the disappearance of Natalee Holloway available to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Amsterdam (OM Amsterdam).
OM Amsterdam requires this information to evaluate the recent criminal complaint of murder and/or manslaughter filed by Natalee Holloway mother with OM Amsterdam.
OM Aruba took note on October 18, 2023, through American media reports, that in the state of Alabama in the United States, Joran van der Sloot allegedly confessed to killing Natalee Holloway in 2005 in Aruba.
In relation to this, OM Aruba submitted a request for legal assistance (a so-called rechtshulpverzoek) on October 19, 2023, to the United States Department of Justice.
In this request, assistance was sought to obtain all documents that could serve as evidence in the disappearance case of Natalee Holloway, including statements made by Joran van der Sloot.
The United States Department of Justice provided full cooperation and delivered, in January 2026, a large quantity of the requested documents to OM Aruba.
Further investigation of the supplied documents has not, up to this moment, led to evidence supporting either murder or manslaughter charges. Considering that the offense of manslaughter has already reached its statute of limitations in Aruba, it is no longer possible to prosecute Joran van der Sloot criminally in Aruba for this matter.
During the month of March, Natalee Holloway’s mother filed a criminal complaint in Amsterdam for murder/manslaughter against Joran van der Sloot.
Due to the fact that the statute of limitations for manslaughter has expired in Aruba, and considering the recent complaint filed in the Netherlands, OM Aruba will make the case file available to OM Amsterdam. The statute of limitations has not yet expired in the Netherlands. Furthermore, since the suspect is Dutch, criminal prosecution in the Netherlands is in principle possible.
OM Aruba will not make any further statements regarding legal questions at this time, as OM Amsterdam will decide on the complaint