Portrait of a Monster: Joran Van Der Sloot, a Murder in Peru, and the Natalee Holloway Mystery (42 page)

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Authors: Lisa Pulitzer,Cole Thompson

BOOK: Portrait of a Monster: Joran Van Der Sloot, a Murder in Peru, and the Natalee Holloway Mystery

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The only other inmate on the special cell block of ten solitary cells was Hugo Trujillo Ospina, known as “
El Payaso,
” the Clown. The suspected Colombian hitman was accused of strangling a Peruvian businesswoman with an electric cord in 2006. An investigation suggested that the victim’s own daughter had ordered the hit. Like the majority of inmates, Trujillo was in a long wait for a trial, a process that often takes five years.

El Monstruo,
or the Monster, as he had become known in the Peruvian media, and
El Payaso
became fast friends, playing cards and watching TV together outside their cells. Joran was adjusting well to prison life, perhaps because of his past experience.

Joran’s mother, however, refused to visit. Anita van der Sloot had initially defended her son, telling reporters she believed Joran had been framed. But as more factual evidence emerged, she could not deny he was responsible for Stephany Flores’s death.

In an interview with a Dutch reporter for
De Telegraaph,
she maintained her faith in his innocence in the Holloway case in Aruba. “I believed Joran, despite all his lies,” she said. “I sensed that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005. He left her behind at the beach. I still believe that’s what happened.

“However, I say to you now: he could have killed Stephany.… He should have listened to his mother, and none of this would have ever happened.”

Fighting back tears, she muttered, “He remains my son, no matter how awful the thing is that he did. I tried to raise my sons right. Two are doing well. One got into trouble.

“It is my wish that he be treated humanely, nonetheless, and that he receive psychiatric help,” Anita pleaded. She made it clear that the time had come for her “to let Joran go.”

Anita concluded by minimizing Joran’s responsibility, saying the press was partly to blame for her son’s trouble. She cited Peter de Vries in particular. “If Joran hadn’t been so hounded, perhaps that would have kept this from happening,” she lamented.

EPILOGUE

JANUARY 4, 2011
SAN JUAN DE LURIGANCHO, PERU

As of this writing, Joran van der Sloot remains in a solitary cell at the Castro Castro Prison, awaiting trial. The young jailbird seems to have adjusted well. He claims to be receiving countless letters of support, particularly from female admirers. He is giving English lessons to the guards on his cell block.

Police in Aruba have canceled plans for a trip to Lima for the previously planned reenactment. Because of the number of Joran’s false stories, they have decided the trip is not worth the expense or the effort. It would not gain them a break in the Holloway case. The Peruvian authorities seem to have a solid murder case against Joran for the death of Stephany Flores. A conviction for “simple” murder results in a mandatory sentence of fifteen to twenty-five years to be carried out in one of the world’s most violent prisons. However, if prosecutors can convince the judge that Stephany’s demise was an “aggravated robbery resulting in death,” the sentence is much more severe: life in prison.

If Joran is not subjected to jailhouse justice, or the Peruvian court system fails the Flores family, the United States Department of Justice is next in line, ready to try him on fraud and extortion charges. Although their chance to arrest Joran red-handed was an opportunity lost, now the department is prepared.

Joran has received several visitors at Castro Castro, the most newsworthy being Beth Twitty. She came to the prison with a Dutch news crew and Joran’s nemesis, Peter de Vries, in mid-September, and she confronted Joran inside the warden’s office using hidden cameras. The meeting was emotional, but Beth’s attempts to find a compassionate Joran were unsuccessful. He narcissistically responded to her pleas with his own difficulties in talking about the case.

“I hope you can understand also that it is very hard for me to talk to you. It’s really not easy. I’m really doing my best,” he said in a soft voice. Scanning the room as if hoping to find someone with a pad and pen, he told Natalee’s mother to be sure to leave him her address; he would be writing to her soon.

Also since Joran’s imprisonment, Captain Juan Callan has been informed that Joran was recanting his confession. Callan was not surprised. Joran had been interviewed by a
De Telegraaph
reporter and told him the confession had been coerced. He described being threatened by the captain, who, he claimed, kept a bucket of water beside his desk, suggesting he would have no problem using it to submerge the young man’s head.

When Callan learned of this, he reacted with a chuckle. “I know he said there was a bucket of water next to him, but it’s not true,” the captain said. “We never wanted to exert any pressure on him. I know from experience that torturing or pressuring a detainee never yields the truth.”

Callan also pointed out that with four witnesses in the room during Joran’s interrogation, the accusation was baseless.

According to Joran, however, anything he had signed was now null and void because of police tactics. In fact, Joran bad-mouthed his entire team. His translator, Maurice Steins, was not properly certified; his lawyer, Luz Romero, was a double agent working for the police; Elton Garcia, his poker-playing friend at the Latin American Poker Tour, was an FBI plant used to lure him to Peru, a jurisdiction willing to extradite him to the United States. He went so far as to claim that the surveillance cameras at the Hotel Tac had been planted by the feds.

In October 2010, Ricardo Flores broke his own silence. He had dedicated himself to his family’s privacy since Stephany’s death. However, his outrage about Joran’s pastimes in jail compelled him to speak. He had seen photos and videos of the murderer behind bars, buying marijuana and engaging in good times with other inmates. Ricardo had lost his only daughter, and Joran appeared to be “living like a king” behind bars. He told reporters that the Peruvian justice system had betrayed his family.

The worldwide media has not lost interest in the story and a spree that has spanned five years and four continents. As recently as December, a story leaked about the treasure trove of information found on Joran’s confiscated black HP laptop.

According to the Peruvian television program
Cuarto Poder,
the laptop’s hard drive confirmed that Joran had indeed visited the online European gambling site, Online Poker Stars (
www.pokerstars.com
), early in the morning of Stephany’s death. How much time elapsed between this event and his next Web activity is currently unkown. However, Joran is rumored to have next researched options for routes out of Peru. Stephany would have been dead or dying on the floor of the room while he was Googling on his laptop. The search engine revealed the following queries were made:

• Relationship between the Peruvian and Chilean police

• Chilean border pass

• Buses in Chile

• Countries that do not extradite in Latin America

The poker king had been loose and cold and calculating after his attack on his Peruvian friend. He plotted an escape, he calculated the benefits and risks of various destinations, he fled with a plan, and he expected to avoid justice.

The itinerant gambler still peddles his life story, but his asking price has been raised to $1 million. A ghostwriter on an authorized visit was busted for trying to smuggle in a bottle of vodka. Other than that, Joran isn’t left with much to sell.

El Monstruo,
still manipulative and greedy, sits in his rat-infested cell. He is still in solitary, but wouldn’t mind being in the general prison population. He is not concerned for his safety and doesn’t find the isolation for his own protection necessary. He would rather be mainstreamed and partake of the athletic opportunities the other inmates enjoy. The prosecution hopes to begin the trial in the spring of 2011, an incredibly expedited process considering most Castro Castro detainees wait five years. His defense is hoping for an acquittal based on a coerced confession. However, self-defense is an option should the case go to trial.

Natalee Holloway may never be found. But Beth Twitty and Dave Holloway’s commitment to discovering her fate is as strong as it is unwavering. Ricardo and Mariaelena Flores have lost their only daughter, but her teddy bears remain to remind them of her. Natalee will never be a doctor. Stephany will never open her own restaurant.

However,
El Monstruo
is no longer a wanted fugitive. As he awaits his trial, only his future and his personal safety remain in jeopardy.

In March 2011, Joran’s lawyer announced that he intended to plead guilty by reason of insanity, thus reducing a possible sentence to three to five years, minus time served. Also in March, U.S. federal agents were in Peru, accessing the Peruvian authorities collected evidence against Joran, including his laptop computer. Hopefully, it holds answers to what happened to Natalee, at least giving peace to the Holloway family.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, we would like to extend our sympathies to the families of Natalee Holloway and Stephany Flores, whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the unimaginable and senseless loss of their cherished daughters.

To all the friends, family, and associates of the Holloway and Flores families who graciously agreed to speak with us, we extend our heartfelt thanks.

We are grateful to Dave Holloway for permitting us to quietly observe him during his anguished days on Aruba, working with Tim Miller and members of Texas EquuSearch, and for allowing us to shadow him and the family’s private investigator, Art Wood, as they worked to piece together clues. Thank you, Veronique Louis, for all your reporting and photographs from this segment. You are a true professional and a good friend.

We would also like to extend a special thank-you to Ricardo “Richie” Flores for introducing us to the Floreses’ world.

We could not have written this book without the expert translation services of Cole’s wife, Marcela, an Argentine native, and Shannon McKenzie, an American now living in Holland. For months, Marcela and Shannon translated hundreds of pages of police documents and helped us sift through dozens of newspaper articles and television accounts in both Spanish and Dutch.

We also had the luxury of working with linguistic genius Martha Smith, whose objectivity, literary mind, and editorial savvy helped us through many difficult moments.

In Aruba, we would like to acknowledge Mickey John, members of the Mansur family, and attorneys Helen Le Juez and Vinda de Sousa.

In Peru, Peruvian narcotics officer Eduardo Martin Cruz Chavez, Francisco Alberto Pineda Pecart of Platino Tours, and translator Roxana Rolon were invaluable, as were Rosa Deustua Landazuri, Carlos Deustua Landazuri, and Javier Polti Figallo.

Of course,
“!Muchas Gracias!”
to members of the Peruvian National Police Department. Many portions of this book would not have been possible without the assistance and guidance of Captain Juan Callan Vargas, lead investigator of Homicide Team 2 of the Peruvian National Police Department. Captain Callan took us behind the scenes, made himself available to us over the course of many months, and we thank him for his professionalism, patience, and friendship.

In New York, we would like to thank Steph Watts, Dr. Larry Kobilinsky, Joe Tacopina, and Jean Casarez of CNN. We also extend our gratitude to good friend Teresa Rodriguez of Univision television, whose leads and assistance proved invaluable.

And, a special thank-you to Barbara and Jim Gordon, Jill Fitterling and Tim Hurley. And to Susan Panetta, who tirelessly ran the Pulitzer & Panetta Creative Studio in Lisa’s absence.

To our editorial team at St. Martin’s Press, Charles Spicer and Yaniv Soha, as well as Heather Florence, John Murphy, John Karle, and Danielle Fiorella, the pleasure was all ours. To our literary agent, Madeleine Morel of 2M Communications, working with you brings out the best in us.

On a personal note, our families always sacrifice so graciously and we love you for that. To Marcela Rotela Thompson, and Douglas, Francesca, and Juliet Love, hats off!

Authors’ Note: While writing this book, we reached out to Joran’s Peruvian attorney, Maximo Altez, and attempted to arrange a jailhouse interview with inmate #326390. After conferring with his client, Altez responded. “His mother doesn’t think it is a good idea,” he told us in a telephone call. “Perhaps after the trial?” he suggested.

INDEX

The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

Altez, Máximo

Amesz, Jaap

Aruba.
See also
Holloway disappearance