Natalee Holloway's Killer Joran van der Sloot Attempts Suicide In 'The Toughest Prison in the World' — 'I Didn't Want to Live Anymore'
Natalee Holloway's killer Joran van der Sloot has attempted to take his own life in prison.
Dec. 17 2025, Published 11:23 a.m. ET
Natalee Holloway's killer Joran van der Sloot has attempted to take his own life inside a maximum-security Peruvian prison, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Officials at Challapalca prison confirmed van der Sloot, 38, was discovered with a portion of a blanket tied around his neck on Friday, December 12 while guards were serving breakfast to inmates.
The convicted murderer was said to be on the brink of death at the time prison guards intervened.
van der Sloot Found by Prison Guards
The convicted murderer was said to be near death when guards discovered him in his cell.
The Peruvian Ministry of Justice reportedly said van der Sloot, who was transferred to the prison in October 2023, is in stable condition but remains under medical supervision.
Following the incident, authorities recorded an interview with van der Sloot during which he opened up about his experience at Challapalca, which he called "the toughest prison in the world."
The killer broke down and confessed his mental state has deteriorated to the point where he "didn’t want to live anymore."
van der Sloot was transferred to the Peruvian prison in October 2023.
"Every day I see that the situation is getting worse for us inmates," van der Sloot said. "You can't be with your family, you can't touch them or hug them."
Despite van der Sloot's comments, he was said to flash a chilling smile throughout the interview while also appearing detached at times.
The 38-year-old is currently serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, who was found beaten and strangled in a Lima, Peru, hotel room.
Extortion of Beth Holloway
van der Sloot was sentenced to 20 years for extorting Natalee's mother Beth Holloway.
As RadarOnline.com reported, van der Sloot was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in October 2023 for extorting Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway.
Beth said van der Sloot confessed to killing her 18-year-old daughter while she was in Aruba on a high school senior class trip in May 2005 – and that he would tell her where Natalee's body was if she paid him money.
He was also sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2023 on drug smuggling charges.
Earlier this year, van der Sloot was reportedly among a list of "difficult inmates" Peruvian officials wanted to send to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, where there can be as many as 80 inmates held in a single cell.
van der Sloot told prison officials after the incident his mental state has significantly deteriorated behind bars.
After nearly two decades of wondering what happened to Natalee, an audio recording of van der Sloot revealed the gruesome details of her murder. She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot in the early morning hours.
According to a partial transcript from a proffer meeting with prosecutors two years ago, the depraved killer recalled kicking the Mountain Brook High School graduate unconscious after she rejected his advances on the beach, where they were mere yards away from Natalee's hotel room.
While Natalee fought back, kneeing her killer in the crotch, van der Sloot exploded with rage.
He said he used a cinder block to deliver a fatal blow to her skull before he carelessly discarded her body into the ocean.
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Natalee was reported missing when she failed to catch her flight back home to Alabama on May 30, 2005.
Her body has never been found and she was legally declared dead in 2014.
