Natalee Holloway Part 2

Truer Crime

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Within days of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance, her mother suspected Joran van der Sloot was involved. What she couldn’t have known was just how much, and for how long, Joran would manipulate the truth. For nearly two decades, he cycled through lies, near-confessions, and sensational claims that kept Natalee’s story in the headlines while dragging her family through hell.

In Part 2, we follow the Holloways through the maze of shifting stories, the scams and false leads, a shocking murder in Peru, and finally, after eighteen years, the shocking revelation that broke the case wide open.

Please be aware that today’s episode contains descriptions of violence. Please take care while listening.

“Beth Holloway in front of a photo of her daughter in 2010.”

“Joran van der Sloot, right, with his father, Paulus van der Sloot, after Joran was released from Aruban custody [in 2007].”

“Joran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot, center, is escorted by Peruvian police June 4, 2010. SEBASTIAN SILVA AFP/Getty Images.”

Stephany Flores Ramirez.

“Joran van der Sloot. Peruvian Mug Shot.”

“Dave Holloway outside the Hugo L. Black Federal Courthouse in October 2023. AP Photo/ Butch Dill.”

“Beth Holloway speaks to media outside the Hugo L. Black Federal Courthouse on October 18, 2023 in Birmingham, Alabama.”

Action Items Related to Today’s Episode:

Across the U.S., far too many families searching for their missing loved ones are met with silence—or ignored altogether.

For Indigenous women, the reality is devastating. Murder is the third leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women. Yet, a study by the Urban Indian Health Institute found that more than 95% of the cases they reviewed involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls received no national or international media coverage. Most weren’t even covered locally.

Black families face similar disparities. Though Black people make up about 14% of the U.S. population, they account for nearly 40% of all missing persons reports—yet their stories rarely make headlines.

These numbers aren’t just statistics. They reflect which lives our systems prioritize—and which they too often ignore.

So today, I want to highlight two organizations working to change that.

The first is the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center—a Native-led organization fighting to end violence against Indigenous women and supporting families of the missing. They provide advocacy, legal resources, and community-based solutions to build safety and sovereignty in places where the system has failed. You can learn more or get involved at NIWRC.org.

The second is the Black and Missing Foundation, which works to close the racial gap in how missing persons cases are handled. They partner with families, law enforcement, and the media to amplify stories that might otherwise go untold. Most recently, they released a documentary revisiting the case of Relisha Rudd, the 8-year-old who disappeared from Washington D.C. in 2014. It’s called The Vanishing of Relisha Rudd: A Cold Case Re-examined, and it’s available now on YouTube. It’s a story we covered back in Season 1 of Truer Crime, and the updates the Foundation shares are well worth checking out.

These organizations are doing the work that should already be done—helping families find their loved ones, demanding accountability, and refusing to let the missing be forgotten.

Visit both sites to learn more, share a case, volunteer, or donate. Because true crime shouldn’t just tell stories about what’s gone wrong—it should help make things right.

Audio Used:

YouTube: Manhunter l 20/20 l PART 3, Uploaded by ABC News.

ABC News: Joran van der Sloot slips away to Peru, kills woman in a hotel room: Part 7.

YouTube: A Killer on the Run? Uploaded by ABC News.

YouTube: Van der Sloot’s Meeting with Flores, uploaded by CBS.

YouTube: Natalee Holloway’s Mom: FULL STATEMENT After Killer Confesses | E! News, Uploaded by E! News.

Sources Used:

People: What Happened to Natalee Holloway? Revisiting Her Case 19 Years After Her Disappearance, by Lynsey Eidell.

The Washington Post: How Natalee Holloway’s case put a spotlight on media coverage of missing White women, by Jonathan Edwards.

Biography: Natalee Holloway: A Complete Timeline of Her Disappearance in Aruba and Unsolved Case, by Tyler Piccotti, Adrienne Donica and Tim Ott.

E! News: The Whole Natalee Holloway Story May Never Be Known: Inside a Journey of Frustration and Acceptance, by Natalie Finn.

Vanity Fair: Missing White Female, by Bryan Burrough.