Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway was declared legally dead by an judge on Thursday, despite the fact that her body was never recovered following her 2005 disappearance in Aruba.
Jefferson County probate judge Alan King made the decision during a death hearing at a Birmingham courtroom this afternoon, honoring a request by Dave Holloway, the father of the young woman who went missing six years ago while on a high school graduation trip with classmates.
Her presumed killer, Joran Van der Sloot, 24, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the 2010 brutal murder of a 21-year-old woman he met at a Lima, Peru casino. He killed Stephany Flores five years to the very day that Natalee Holloway disappeared. If convicted he could be sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Beth Holloway, the young woman’s mother, has adamantly opposed her ex-husband’s attempt to have their daughter declared dead until recently. Her decision to finally stand aside paved the way for today’s declaration of death that will allow Natalee’s estate to be resolved.
Natalee’s mother acknowledges that she understands Dave Holloway’s need to have their missing daughter declared dead. A college fund will be turned over to her brothers and she can now be removed from her father’s health insurance plan.
Photo: WENN