The 35-year-old suspect in the death of Natalee Holloway almost 20 years ago was extradited from Peru where he was serving time for the murder of another young woman.
Could Joran van der Sloot be plotting a great escape?
The convicted killer finally appeared before an American judge on Friday after a convoy of black SUVs delivered him to a courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama.
The 35-year-old suspect in the death of Natalee Holloway almost 20 years ago was extradited from Peru where he is serving time for the murder of another young woman and selling cocaine while in prison.
On Friday, Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway, thanked the press for their continuing coverage and support as she walked into the courthouse.
Court TV Legal Correspondent Kelly Krapf was in the courtroom on Friday, and tells Inside Edition that Beth stared down her daughter's alleged killer.
Also present in the courtroom were some of the friends who took that fateful trip to Aruba with Natalee.
"I sat next to one of Natalee's best friends," says Krapf. "We were chatting for a bit and she said that she has been waiting for this for 18 years."
Van der Sloot is accused of trying to extort $250,000 from Natalee's mother for information about the location of her daughter's body.
He pleaded not guilty.
Van der Sloot is currently 11 years into a 46-year sentence at one of the toughest prisons in South America.
He will now be booked in Hoover City Jail outside Birmingham pending trial, and that is leading to major security concerns.
In 2020, an inmate even managed to escape the jail.
"They know what they've got," former U.S. Marshall Lenny DePaul tells Inside Edition. "They'll put him in a secure environment and watch him like a hawk."
Van der Sloot has never been charged with the murder of Natalee Holloway.
