EXCLUSIVE: The jailed murderer facing charges in connection to the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway could stall his extradition to the U.S. for months, according to a high-ranking law enforcement official.
Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot, awaiting extradition from Peru to face extortion charges in connection to Holloway's disappearance, could stall his arrival on American soil until as late as August, the official said.
While serving time in a Peruvian prison for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, van der Sloot has proven to be an "unruly person," Col. Carlos López Aeda, the chief of Interpol in Lima, Peru, told Fox News Digital.
Peru's government has agreed to send van der Sloot to the U.S. on a temporary basis to face trial, in part because witnesses connected to the 2010 extortion case would significantly age by the time his sentence expires.
"Taking this background into consideration, we as policemen could presume that he could also have killed [Natalee Holloway]," the colonel said. "That is not ruled out in any way because of the way he acts, those psychopathic traits, that murderous attitude."
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The extradition could happen in a matter of days or months, according to López Aeda. Part of it depends on transportation arrangements, a formal commitment from the U.S. government to agree to return van der Sloot to Peru to complete his sentence there before he goes to federal prison, and whether van der Sloot files a habeas corpus petition that could significantly delay his transfer.
His defense lawyer in Peru, Maximo Altez, told Fox News Digital last week that the move could "paralyze" the extradition for a little while, but he ultimately expects van der Sloot to be sent to he U.S.
The U.S. had 30 days from Friday to agree to Peru’s terms. Once the agreement is in place, extradition could take between a day and a week, the colonel said. But at the latest, he said, it could happen in July or August.
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Van der Sloot will either be flown to Alabama on a U.S. government plane or escorted by U.S. marshals on a commercial flight, he said.
The convicted killer is being held at the Challapalca prison, 4,600 meters above sea level, in Puno, López Aeda said.
Van der Sloot’s lawyer described the maximum security prison as "hell" and told Fox News Digital that some relatives believe the Dutch citizen may be better off in U.S. custody.
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Part of the reason he was placed there is that he disrespected authorities with an "intransigent attitude" and got caught using a smuggled cellphone in his previous lockup. He also had seven years tacked into his sentence for trafficking drugs behind bars.
Challapalca is so remote there is no cell service there, the colonel said. Van der Sloot is expected to return there after a trial in the Northern District of Alabama.
"We assume that the U.S. authorities will have enough evidence about his crimes, and if they find him guilty and he is sentenced after he has served here in Peru, he will be transferred so that he can also be sentenced in the United States," López Aeda said.
Regardless of the outcome, he won’t be getting out of prison for a long time. His Peru sentence runs through 2038, and he faces another 40 years in the U.S.
Van der Sloot is facing federal charges of extortion and wire fraud for allegedly selling fake information about the location of Holloway’s remains to her mother in a $250,000 plot in 2010.
He has not been charged in the teen’s 2005 disappearance and presumed death, but he has been the prime suspect in the case since the beginning.
He and two friends, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, were seen leaving an Aruba nightclub with her on the night she vanished. All three were arrested and released multiple times as Aruba authorities investigated the case.
Holloway was visiting Aruba on a trip to celebrate high school graduation with a large group of friends from Mountain Brook, Alabama. She never made it back to her hotel and missed her flight home.
Van der Sloot’s father, Paul, was a prominent judge on the island before his death in 2010.
The younger van der Sloot met Flores at her father's casino in Lima. He brought her back to his hotel room, and the following morning, five years to the day after Holloway's disappearance, he beat her to death.
The Dutch citizen fled to Chile, where police arrested him and returned him to Lima to face justice, and he received a 28-year sentence for Flores' murder.
Holloway's remains have never been recovered.
