5. Extortion of the Holloway Family
Over the course of the next three years, the investigation into Natalee Holloway’s disappearance would take many twists and turns, but would make very little progress. In 2008, Van der Sloot was secretly recorded stating that Holloway had a violent reaction to something she ingested and become unresponsive. Not knowing what to do, he disposed of the body. Later, his story would change when he said he sold Holloway into sexual slavery and she was sent to Venezuela.
In 2010, two major events took place. First, Van der Sloot stated in an interview that he killed Holloway and buried her body in a marsh. However, the story was dismissed due to the inaccurate timeline of events. Second, Van der Sloot tried to extort money from the family of Natalee Holloway, stated he would reveal the location of her body in exchange for $250,000. The FBI tracked the transaction and he was indicted for extortion and wire fraud.