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.

Justice

Joran Van der Sloot has been arrested in Chile. 

Justice, soon to come, I hope.

From CNN:

Joran van der Sloot, the suspect in a young woman's slaying this week in Peru and previously considered a suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba, was captured Thursday in Santiago, Chile, authorities said.

Previous post here.

Serial Killer

Is anybody surprised by this?

"...Joran Van Der Sloot has been accused in Peru, for the murder of a 21 year old female. Van Der Sloot was the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalie Holloway, an American student who vanished on May 30, 2005 while on her senior trip to Aruba."

It was only a matter of time.

Lo, the similarities:

Stefany Tatiana Flores Ramirez was found dead this morning in the Miraflores hotel Tac, after vanishing on Friday. Her family named Joran as the last person to see her alive. She reportedly left a casino with Joran and was not seen again until her body was found. Joran is said to have fled the country on May 31, and is suspected of being in Argentina. Interpol is searching for him.

I don't think his daddy will be able to help him this time.

This time there's a body.