An
Alabama judge in Alabama has declared Natalee Holloway dead, 6 1/2
years after she disappeared while on a school trip to Aruba. Holloway
was 18 when she went on the post-graduation trip with other students
from Mountain Brook High School. She has not been seen alive since she
left a nightclub with three men – including Joran van der Sloot,
identified by investigators as a suspect in her disappearance. The FBI
is treating the matter as a homicide but no charges have been filed
against van der Sloot, 24, who pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing
Stephany Flores, 21, in Lima. Natalee’s father Dave Holloway said he
hopes the court in Peru will sentence van der Sloot to 30 years, as
prosecutors are requesting.
