Slip Ups

Joran van der Sloot: FBI Funded Peru Trip

When trying to catch him for extortion.

A terrible blunder: When federal agents were trying to nail Joran van der Sloot for extortion—he told the family of Natalee Holloway, the women in whose murder he was long the prime suspect, that he’d provide details of her death for cash—they gave him $25,000. That money ended up funding the Dutchman’s trip to Peru, where he killed Stephany Flores, he reportedly confessed Tuesday. An intermediary gave Van der Sloot the money in Aruba on May 10, and because the FBI didn’t immediately file charges against him, he was able to fly four days later to Lima, where he allegedly killed Flores in his hotel room. Americans did not request that Van der Sloot, 22, be detained in Aruba, even though they were told he’d be leaving the country soon.