Joran Van Der Sloot's Life In Prison Is Worse Than We Thought

Prison is not meant to be easy, but Joran van der Sloot's time behind bars has just gotten even worse. Van Der Sloot pleaded guilty to killing Stephany Flores in 2012 after strangling her in a hotel room in 2010. Speaking in court about the murder, van der Sloot told the judge, "Yes, I want to plead guilty. I wanted from the first moment to confess sincerely. I truly am sorry for this act. I feel very bad." Van der Sloot was sentenced to 28 years in prison for Flores' murder and followed it up with a 20-year concurrent prison run for his involvement in the Natalee Holloway murder case.

However, his time in prison has been worse than probably many have thought it would. In April 2024, while serving his sentence at Peru's Challapalca Prison, van der Sloot was attacked. As everyone gathered in the common area, van der Sloot was attacked by two inmates. Fellow inmates joined the fight once it broke out before prison guards separated everybody. Van der Sloot was seen by medical professionals following the incident, despite only suffering minor bruises and cuts. Reps from the prison refused to reveal too many details from the incident but did share with the New York Post that van der Sloot wouldn't face any repercussions because he wasn't the one to start the fight. Van der Sloot's time in prison has shifted over the years, and this incident just shows how much worse it has gotten.

Joran van der Sloot's attack in prison is a complete 180 from how his time behind bars had been just months prior. In October 2023, it was reported that van der Sloot was living a cushy life in prison. The convicted murderer has bounced from Peruvian prison to Peruvian prison and reportedly had access to the internet, television, and a cell phone during some of his stays in certain locations. At one point, van der Sloot even felt comfortable enough to threaten a guard while serving his sentences.

Besides all the amenities van der Sloot had access to in prison, the convicted murderer also struck up romantic relationships. A report from the New York Post in February 2024 revealed that van der Sloot was reportedly having sex with three different women. When asked about his relationships by the outlet, a spokesperson for Peru's National Penitentiary Institute responded, "He was approved for conjugal visits. He has the same rights as any other prisoner." As shocking as this may seem to the public, it doesn't seem like much of a shock to former childhood friend Cas Arends. Arends shared, "He's [van der Sloot] a player, and has always been a player. Women have always been attracted to him for some reason." Van der Sloot's time in prison has been bizarre, as he continues to face the consequences of his dark past.

While Joran van der Sloot may have initially been thrown in prison for the murder of Stephany Flores in 2012, he received an additional sentence for the Natalee Holloway murder case. Holloway's case took the world by storm, and even Dr. Phil got involved. After Holloway disappeared in 2005, van der Sloot became a prime suspect but continuously denied that he was involved in her disappearance. In 2006, van der Sloot told ABC News, "The last time I saw her, she was sitting on the sand by the ocean." Years went by, and authorities could never get him to admit to any wrongdoing, until 2023.

In 2023, van der Sloot was extradited from Peru to the U.S. as he faced extortion and wire fraud charges for taking money from Holloway's parents after telling them he would reveal the location of her body, although he never did. In order to get a lighter sentence for these charges, van der Sloot revealed the disturbing details of her murder. Van der Sloot admitted that he kicked Holloway hard enough to knock her out after she refused his sexual advances before taking a cinder block and hitting her with it. The confession turned out to be more shocking than anyone anticipated, yet it led to a lighter plea deal for Van Der Sloot. He was sentenced to 20 years for extortion, a term that would run concurrently with his sentence for Flores' murder.