Joran van der Sloot has confessed to extorting money from the family of missing US teenager Natalee Holloway.

He made his statement in an interview with a reporter from the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
He said he wanted to take revenge on the relatives of Natalee Holloway, who disappeared on the Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005. “Her parents have been pestering me for five years now” he told the newspaper.
His confession could cost the 23-year-old Dutchman dear. The US authorities have filed an extradition request with the Peruvian government on charges of extortion, and the footage of the interview could serve as supporting evidence. The interview will be broadcast on Dutch television on Monday.
 

Why not?'
Joran is also a suspect in the killing of Peruvian Stephany Flores three months ago. He said he had contact with the lawyer of Natalee Holloway’s mother Beth Twitty just prior to this killing. The lawyer reportedly offered 250,000 dollars for information on the whereabouts of Natalee’s mortal remains. Joran says he thought to himself 'Why not?' He received an advance of 25,000 dollars after stating that he and his father buried Natalee’s body underneath the foundations of a house in Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. However, the body was never found. An FBI investigation showed construction of the house in question had not even started yet in 2005.
 

'Very sorry'
Joran had travelled to the Peruvian capital Lima to take part in a poker tournament. Stephany Flores was killed in his room there. According to De Telegraaf, Joran no longer denies killing her and says he wants to give an account of himself in court. On the killing of Stephany, Joran now says: “I’m very sorry for her family about what happened." He understands he will be in jail for quite some time.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide