Joran van der Sloot Evaded Authorities for Five Years — but He'll Be in Prison for a While

In the Peacock documentary Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot, the actions of the convicted killer are described as psychopathic. The technical definition of psychopathy, according to the National Institutes of Health, is it's a "neuropsychiatric disorder marked by deficient emotional responses, lack of empathy, and poor behavioral controls, commonly resulting in persistent antisocial deviance and criminal behavior." Based on his actions, Van der Sloot was a textbook psychopath.

Not only did he lie to authorities for years regarding the murder of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, but on the five-year anniversary of her disappearance, Van der Sloot brutally killed another young girl. Authorities arrested him for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, but his criminal activities didn't stop with a prison sentence. More time was tacked onto his sentence for drug trafficking while incarcerated.

So, when will Joran van der Sloot be released? Here's what we know.

According to CNN, Van der Sloot is scheduled to be released from a Peruvian prison on June 10, 2045. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the murder of Flores and, while there, was convicted of trafficking cocaine in 2021. An additional 18 years was added to his sentence, but in Peru, a "law prohibits prison sentences from exceeding a total of 35 years (unless given a life sentence)," per Van der Sloot's sentencing memorandum.

In June 2023, Peruvian officials allowed Van der Sloot to temporarily leave prison for the United States where he was arraigned for wire fraud and extortion. Four months later he pled guilty and confessed to the 2010 murder of Holloway. The extortion charges stemmed from a "2010 incident, in which he asked Holloway’s mother [Beth] for $250,000 in exchange for information about where Natalee’s body was hidden and the circumstances of her death," reported People. Beth Holloway paid him $25,000 and got nothing in return.

Per a plea agreement, Van der Sloot was handed a 20-year sentence in the United States that runs concurrently with his time in Peru. He will not be returning to the United States to serve that time.

NBC News reported that Van der Sloot was "injured in a prison brawl" in May 2023, a month before his extradition to the United States. Evidently he found himself in the middle of a gang fight that resulted in a brief stay in the prison's medical wing. Maximo Altez, Van der Sloot's attorney, told the outlet that his injuries were "nothing too serious."

Van der Sloot is serving time in Peru's Challapalca Prison, a facility that Amnesty International believes puts prisoners's health at risk due to its location. The facility is "located between 4,600 and 5,000 meters above sea level," which could contribute to altitude sickness. Also, its remote location 'limits the right of prisoners to maintain effective contact with the outside world, including with relatives, lawyers and doctors," said Amnesty International. Although this may be a concern, Van der Sloot seems to find trouble entirely on his own.