Convicted killer Joran van der Sloot—who is awaiting extradition to the United States in an extortion case tied to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway—reportedly has been attacked in a Peruvian prison.
The Dutchman’s lawyer, Maximo Altez, told ABC News that his client, who may have run afoul of gang rules in the Challapalca Prison, is now in a medical wing.
Van der Sloot, 35, is serving a 28-year-sentence for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores in Lima. That crime came five years after he emerged as the prime suspect, but was never prosecuted, for the presumed death of Holloway.
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Holloway was an 18-year-old high-school senior when she vanished on a school trip to Aruba. She was last seen with van der Sloot and two brothers, and her body has never been found.
The U.S. charges stem from an alleged extortion attempt in which van der Sloot claimed he would reveal the whereabouts of Holloway’s body for $250,000.
The Holloway family’s attorney went to the FBI and set up a sting operation. He met with van der Sloot and gave him a $25,000 down payment; no remains were found at the house where van der Sloot said they would be found.
An Alabama grand jury indicted van der Sloot for the scheme, but before he could be extradited, he was imprisoned in Peru for Flores’ murder. This month, Peru suddenly agreed to extradite van der Sloot to stand trial for the alleged extortion; it’s not clear what sparked their willingness.
