The Natalee Holloway Resource Center Opens in Washington

As news of the Joran van der Sloot confession makes its way through the media, there is also an effort by the Natalee Holloway family to create something positive out of the hand they were dealt.  Natalee's remains have never been found, of course; and it is hoped that Joran's capture and confession to the murder of Stephany Flores Ramirez will lead to a final disposition of Natalee's case.

The Natalee Holloway Resource Center opened today at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington.

The National Museum of Crime & Punishment and Beth Holloway have partnered together to form the Natalee Holloway Resource Center (NHRC). NHRC focuses on education and crime prevention. NHRC is not a recovery center. In the event that a loved one does go missing, NHRC will assist families in obtaining necessary resources to make their search easier.

Hopefully, this will be one more resource for families that undergo the same tragedy the Holloway family has endured.

In addition to the murder charges he faces in Peru, Joran also faces extortion charges in Alabama:

Greta Van Susteren reports that Natalie Holloway's mother transferred $15,000 of what was to be a $250,000 payment to Joran van der Sloot if he told her what happened to Natalie. Beth Holloway and related individuals met a contact person and Joran van der Sloot in Aruba on May 10th. 

Apparently once van der Sloot discovered that Ramirez had made a connection between him and this plot, he became enraged and killed her.

I hope the Holloway family finally finds some kind of closure on what happened to Natalee (as trite as that sounds...what is "closure" exactly and do you ever, ever come to terms with such a tragedy?).  I hope the Ramirez family gets justice.  I hope Joran pays dearly.

In one part of my mind I hold the Aruban authorities somewhat responsible for what happened to Miss Ramirez.  Because of their failed and botched investigation, this maniacal serial killer has been allowed to roam freely and abuse other women. 

At any rate, hopefully the NHRC will provide resources and assistance to any family that needs it and will be an education source for those needing information about traveling safely.