Joran van der Sloot left Peru to head to the United States, Thursday morning, to face justice in a trial that can hopefully shed some light on charges involving fraud and extortion after the mysterious disappearance of 18-year-old Alabama high school student Natalee Holloway.
The 35-year-old Dutch killer remains a primary suspect in the 2005 disappearance and suspected murder case that remains enshrouded in mystery and has dominated headlines for decades.
Eighteen years later, he faces extortion and wire fraud charges for allegedly attempting to sell information regarding Holloway’s whereabouts to her mother for $250,000.
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With a star-studded panel of crime experts, Grace dissected the extortion charges and the alleged cover-up that hints at Aruba’s attempt to protect its tourism industry from negative publicity.
If van der Sloot ever faces justice for the alleged murder alone, the trial will have to take place in Aruba.
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Licensed clinical psychologist and author Dr. Chloe Carmichael joined Grace where she characterized van der Sloot as a “vicious sociopath” who “toyed with” the Holloway family by trying to pry hundreds of thousands from Natalee’s mother, Beth.
“We know that he’s murdered one person,” he said, pointing to van der Sloot’s conviction for the 2010 death of Stephany Flores Ramirez. “You [Grace] believe he has murdered two people, but that hasn’t been proven in the court of law, and we can’t just say this is his MO [modus operandi].”
Joran Van der Sloot (C) of the Netherlands is escorted by Peruvian police officers at the police headquarters in Lima June 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Pilar Olivares )
Art Harris, a CNN investigative correspondent, and esteemed forensics professor Joe Scott Morgan, also joined Grace’s guest lineup, saying the facts could be convincing if woven together – but that proving the murder would still be an uphill battle.
“There is no corpus delicti. There is no body when it comes to the physical person,” Morgan said. “In Aruba, that’s going to be a very steep hill to climb… it’s a tough road when you don’t have a body because the basic things like the manner of death, cause of death… you can only speculate about that.”
