WILLEMSTAD – Dutch prisoner Joran van der Sloot (38) was found in a critical state on Friday inside his cell at the Challapalca high-security prison in Peru, after what authorities believe was an attempted suicide. Prison officials say he received immediate medical treatment and is now in stable condition.
According to a statement released by the prison — reported by the Associated Press and multiple Peruvian media outlets — guards discovered Van der Sloot hanging from what appeared to be an improvised rope made from part of a blanket. Staff intervened rapidly, provided first aid on the spot, and stabilized him before transferring him for further medical care.
The Peruvian Ministry of Justice also confirmed that Van der Sloot was found “in a condition that posed a serious risk to his health” when guards came to escort him to breakfast Friday morning. Authorities said he has since received appropriate medical attention and remains under observation.
Van der Sloot is serving a 35-year prison sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores. In 2023, he also confessed — as part of a plea deal in a U.S. extortion case — to killing American teenager Natalee Holloway on Aruba in 2005, a disappearance that drew worldwide attention for nearly two decades.
Despite his confession in the Holloway case, he is expected to remain incarcerated in Peru until 2045, with no indication of any changes to his status following Friday's incident.
The Peruvian authorities have not commented on whether further security measures will be applied, nor have they released details about Van der Sloot’s mental or psychological condition.