Joran van der Sloot, the man convicted of murdering American student Natalee Holloway, has tried to end his own life while serving time in a maximum-security Peruvian prison.
A Desperate Act Behind Bars
The 38-year-old Dutch national was discovered in his cell on Friday, December 12, on the brink of death. According to reports, prison guards intervened during breakfast service after noticing the commotion, saving van der Sloot's life.
He was subsequently transferred to the notorious Challapalca prison in October 2023. Following his suicide attempt, van der Sloot reportedly told authorities the facility was 'the toughest prison in the world'.
Life Sentence and Despair
Van der Sloot is currently serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru. The young woman was strangled and beaten in a hotel room.
His legal troubles compounded in January 2023 when he received an additional 18-year sentence for drug smuggling charges. Furthermore, he was sentenced to 20 years, to run concurrently, for attempting to extort money from Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway. He had promised to reveal the location of her daughter's body in exchange for cash.
Van der Sloot ultimately confessed to killing 18-year-old Natalee Holloway during her high school trip to Aruba in May 2005.
Voicing Inmate Anguish
In a stark admission of his despair, van der Sloot allegedly told prison officials he 'didn't want to live anymore'.
'Every day I see that the situation is getting worse for us inmates,' he said. 'You can't be with your family, you can't touch them or hug them.'
While the publication Radar Online reports he remains in a stable condition, he is still under close medical supervision within the prison system.
