Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot - Was Natalee Holloway's body ever found?

The disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005 brought international attention to the case owing to the extensive search operation that ensued. Holloway had been to Aruba with her classmates to celebrate her graduation when she went missing. She was last seen with the Dutch student, Joran van der Sloot, and the two Kalpoe brothers, Deepak and Satish, who were eventually convicted of the crime.

The manhunt involved several special agents from the FBI, fifty Dutch soldiers, three Dutch Air Force F-16 airplanes, cadaver dogs, sea vessels, specially trained divers, and several hundreds of volunteers. However, Natalee Holloway's body was never found and she was declared dead on January 12, 2012, at her father, Dave Holloway's request.

The Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot focuses on the 18-year-long mystery of Natalee Holloway as it airs on May 27, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST on Oxygen exclusively. The official synopsis reads,

"Delves into Joran van der Sloot's lifelong pattern of violence and pathological lying through rare interviews and new insights years after he brutally murdered American Natalee Holloway and Peruvian Stephany Flores."

---

How did Natalee Holloway disappear? Details explored

The 18-year-old graduate of Mountain Brook High School, Natalee Holloway, had been to the Caribbean island of Aruba to celebrate her graduation with 124 of her batchmates. However, Natalee failed to return home from her trip and was never seen again after she took off with three men in a car from Oranjestad bar and nightclub Carlos 'n Charlie's in the early hours of May 30, 2005, per CBS News.

As one of the chaperones on the trip, Jody Bearman, called Natalee's mother, Elizabeth "Beth" Twitty, to inform her of the tragedy, she feared the worst. Beth Twitty shared with Vanity Fair,

“I knew immediately that my daughter had been kidnapped in Aruba.”

The group of graduates met the 17-year-old Dutch national, Joran van der Sloot, at the Holiday Inn. He had claimed to be 19 years of age and a tourist in Aruba when in reality, he had been a student at the International School of Aruba. Joran was accompanied by two of his friends - the Surinamese brothers Deepak Kalpoe (21) and Satish Kalpoe (18).

The deputy police chief in charge, Gerold Dompig, spoke to Vanity Fair to share that the group of students had a wild time on their vacation involving a lot of alcohol. He shared,

"We know the Holiday Inn told them they weren't welcome next year. Natalee, we know, she drank all day every day. We have statements she started every morning with cocktails—so much drinking that Natalee didn't show up for breakfast two mornings."

The four of them took off from the local nightclub around 1:30 a.m. local time in a gray Honda owned by Deepak Kalpoe. They had reportedly been to the California Lighthouse area of Arashi Beach to watch sharks, per NBC News. The confession from van der Sloot revealed that Holloway had been bludgeoned to death with a cinder block and dumped into the ocean as she refused his sexual advances, per CNN.

---

When was Natalee Holloway declared dead?

Natalee Ann Holloway was declared dead on January 12, 2012, after innumerable search operations on the ground and underwater, per Reuters. The Probate Judge Alan King of Alabama declared the missing woman dead after almost seven years to allow the issuance of a death certificate.

The declaration came at the request of Natalee's father, David "Dave" Holloway, to resolve the estate of Natalee Holloway. Dave Holloway could discontinue payments on her medical insurance and also make use of her $2,000 college fund for her younger brother, Matthew, per The Guardian.

According to CNN, Elizabeth Twitty opposed the petition filed by Dave, citing lack of evidence.

---

Catch all the details of Natalee Holloway's disappearance as Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot airs on Oxygen on Monday.