Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch citizen who has admitted to killing American tourist Natalee Holloway in 2005, appears to have attempted to end his own life in a Peruvian prison.
The 38-year-old murderer was found in critical condition with a sheet tied around his neck Saturday morning, according to local outlet La Republica. He’s serving a 28-year sentence for killing 21-year-old Peruvian woman Stephany Flores in Miraflores, Peru, in 2010.
Van der Sloot was suspected of killing Holloway after the pair met in a bar in Aruba when she was 18 years old. Holloway’s body was never found and authorities lacked the necessary evidence to charge van der Sloot. He confessed to the killing in 2023 as part of a plea deal after attempting to extort Holloway’s mother.
Peruvian prison staff found van der Sloot in need of assistance in his cell when they came to deliver his breakfast around 10 a.m. One end of a sheet was reportedly tied around his neck while the other end was wrapped around one of the bars in his cell.
He was rushed to the prison’s infirmary for treatment and was placed on suicide watch.
Van der Sloot told local news program Panorama last week that he’d been feeling depressed about his incarceration.
“There comes a point when my mind told me I didn’t want to live anymore,” the double-murderer said.
Van der Sloot added that he was sorry for killing Flores and apologized to the victim’s family.
