<p>I’m confused by the extortion attempt, and I haven’t had time to read much about it. I did see a document that was online with the charges. The complainant was an FBI agent, so perhaps this was a sting?</p>
<p>It sounds as if they have plenty of evidence against him this time. I’m surprised that he didn’t try to hide the body. Given that the hotel room was booked in his name, running away wasn’t going to do him much good.</p>
<p>This latest crime was horrendous.</p>
<p>Maybe it was a sting, but the money was wired from Birmingham. </p>
<p>And Joe Tacopina - it’s time for you to be quiet.</p>
<p>It’s sad that, as stupid as he apparently is about covering up his tracks, we never managed to find a trace of Natalee. I can’t imagine NOT KNOWING for as long as her parents did.</p>
<p>I agree. I don’t think I would ever give up that last little scrap of hope, or fantasy, that she might come home one day. As badly as you want to know where she is, finding out would be the end of that fantasy. I think there was some truth in the story he told about using a boat to get rid of her body and I don’t think she will ever be found - regardless of whether he ever tells what happened or not.</p>
<p>This generation’s Ted Bundy?</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Be careful before you jump to that kind of a conclusion. There is little similarity between the two cases (at least based on what we know now.) Not defending JvdS for a second - by all indications he’s a sociopath - but it’s still a big leap from where we are to say that this proves anything with regard to Holloway and an even bigger one to pin a Bundy label on him.</p>
<p>You are right, he shouldn’t be compared to Ted Bundy, who murdered the older sister of one of my classmates and (while he was killing other girls, and because psycopaths can be oh so charming) briefly dated the older sister of one of my best friends.<br>
Shouldn’t be comparerd because this guy got caught much sooner. Modern technology tracks who goes where. Thank heavens for the difference. I stand behind my distinction. There, but for the grace of technology, goes another 10 or more women’s lives.</p>
<p>OK, editing for the obvious reason that he hasn’t been proven guilty of anything. Set my comments into the “rant” column for now. Sorry, too close to my own history.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wow. Who checks into a gambling resort hotel with a baseball bat in tow? Kind of makes you wonder about premeditation and/or how much practice he’s had at this kind of violence. At any rate, that’s a lot of rage working there.</p>
<p>I have always wondered how that Holloway case was never solved- between this creep and the 2 Aruban brothers, it seemed like somebody would have slipped up or turned the others in to save themselves. I guess this just poor police work in Aruba.</p>
<p>And I really don’t get this extortion case- if he tells them where the body is and what happened, wouldn’t they then be able to arrest him? </p>
<p>I wish Court TV was still on to explain this one.</p>
<p>Just too creepy! It would be one thing to strangle the girl or smother her with a pillow. But beating her to death with a baseball bat shows such anger and viciousness. </p>
<p>I heard on TV that they found bloody clothes among his possessions when he was arrested. Also maybe she was able to fight back and scratch him or pull out hairs. If they had sex, there may be evidence there, too. </p>
<p>Let’s hope there is enough evidence to lock him up for good this time.</p>
<p>The beating with a bat to a woman that he barely knew shows a hatred towards women.</p>
<p>They have video of the two of them entering his hotel room. They have video of him leaving the room alone (3½ hrs. later) and carrying a backpack and duffle bag. He also made a point to tell housekeeping not to enter the room and disturb “my girl”.</p>
<p><a href=“Van der Sloot remains jailed as murder investigation continues - CNN.com”>Van der Sloot remains jailed as murder investigation continues - CNN.com;
^here’s the link to the video released to the public</p>
<p>Maybe it was a sting, but the money was wired from Birmingham.</p>
<p>Early reports are that it was a Federal sting operation with Joran thinking that the money was coming from Beth Holloway. More details to come later.</p>
<p>And Joe Tacopina - it’s time for you to be quiet.</p>
<p>Absolutely. At first, Joe was claiming that Joran was being falsely accused again. But, now I think he’s seeing the handwriting on the wall. I’ve noticed that many of the biggest defense attys are not hesitating (this time) in saying that Joran is as good as guilty this time.</p>
<p>Joran’s fingerprints are going to be all over that bat.</p>
<p>I don’t think he was using the dad’s insurance money in recent months. Wouldn’t it have gone to his mom? His mom had no idea where he was in recent weeks. I think (sadly) he used the $15k from the sting operation to go to South America. </p>
<p>*It wouldn’t surprise me if his father’s knowledge of exactly the kind of son he had helped drive him to an early grave. *</p>
<p>I agree. His dad helped him avoid prosecution. His dad knew he was involved. There was something about his shoes disappearing. His dad had to realize what that meant.</p>
<p>I thought I had read it was a tennis racket, not a baseball bat.</p>
<p>Have to say the more recent pictures of him that smirk is gone from his face and he does not at all confident any more. Reality hitting him I would guess. I have been reading about Peruvian prisons and they do not sound like too much fun. I hope everyone decides justice would be best served in a Peruvian jail rather than trying to extradite him for the extortion or anything else. I would rather think of him in a Peruvian jail than in a less harsh one. They can do extradition after he has served his time in Peru, if he lives that long.</p>
<p>He’ll be tried in Peru first. He’ll likely get a very long sentence. They don’t have a jury trial in Peru…just 3 judges and the standard of proof is lower than “reasonable doubt” - as it is in the US… It’s preponderance of the evidence in Peru.</p>
<p>He’s going down.</p>
<p>And Peruvian prisons aren’t pleasant at all.</p>
<p>I read that they found a tennis racket too. Supposedly, the FBI was trailing him because of the extortion investigation and they let him get away to go to Peru to gamble. He used the extortion money to travel and for gambling so that will be a tough one for the Holloway family. Not arresting him for extortion when they could will be a tough one for the FBI.</p>
<p>[Van</a> der Sloot remains jailed as murder investigation continues - CNN.com](<a href=“Van der Sloot remains jailed as murder investigation continues - CNN.com”>Van der Sloot remains jailed as murder investigation continues - CNN.com)
Yes, it appears that the murder weapon is now being reported to be a tennis racquet and not a bat (as initially reported).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>When I was in high school we had an active serial killer in our city. His first murder was within a mile of my home. The fear I lived through during my high school years as he would occasionally kill someone changed forever how I experience these types of news stories. I understand completely where you are coming from. It’s so different when you live through this type of thing on a personal basis.</p>
<p>I just watched a series of 3 videos on yahoo video about Peru’s biggest prison. Horrific. The prison is basically run by the inmates and if you are not accepted into one particular area (based on outside affiliations) you can be an outcast and find it difficult to even get food. But money talks so his Mamma can keep buying him an element of protection I guess.</p>
<p>Google “joran van der Sloot’s possible new home in prison”</p>
<p>^^^^^I did that. My first hit was an article describing “law of the donkey,” which Joran may find himself facing in prison.</p>
<p>I also found this sentence, which I hadn’t read prior to this:</p>
<p>"The victim’s father is a prominent Peruvian businessman and one time candidate for the Vice Presidency of that country. " This could spell even more trouble for the murderer.</p>