Natalee Holloway’s Mom Says Joran van der Sloot’s Courtroom Apology for Killing Daughter 'Didn’t Mean Anything'

In court this week, Joran van der Sloot apologized to Natalee’s family, but to Beth Holloway, the apology rang hollow

The mother of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama high school senior who was killed while on a class trip to Aruba in 2005, doesn't accept the apology from her daughter's killer.

On Wednesday, Joran van der Sloot, long a suspect in Natalee's death, admitted to killing the 18-year-old after pleading guilty to extortion and wire fraud charges for extorting Natalee’s mother, Beth.

In court, the Dutch national apologized to Natalee’s family, but to Beth, that wasn’t enough.

In an interview with NBC News, Beth said of van der Sloot's purported remorse, “He doesn’t have that in his existence. Just to say the words? It’s fine. It didn’t mean anything.”

As part of his plea agreement, van der Sloot told investigators that he bludgeoned Natalee with a cinder block after she declined his sexual advances, Beth’s lawyer, John Q. Kelly exclusively told PEOPLE. He then threw her body in the water, Natalee’s mother told reporters after Wednesday's hearing.

Related: Natalee Holloway's Mom Reveals How Joran van der Sloot Killed Her Daughter in 2005 (Exclusive)

Despite his confession, van der Sloot likely cannot be prosecuted in Aruba since the statute of limitations for murder is 12 years.

Natalee disappeared on May 30, 2005 while on a senior trip to Aruba with her classmates. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with van der Sloot, then 17, and two other men. That morning, she and her classmates were due to fly home to Alabama, but Holloway did not make the flight and was never seen again.

Related: What to Know About Natalee Holloway's Case After Joran van der Sloot's Confession

Van der Sloot was arrested several times in connection with Natalee’s disappearance but never charged. Natalee was legally declared dead in 2012, but her body has never been found.

During that time, prosecutors said in a 2010 grand jury indictment obtained by PEOPLE that van der Sloot tried to extort about $250,000 from Beth by promising to share information about the location of her daughter’s remains and the circumstances of her death. He took some $25,000 of the grieving mother's money, but never gave her answers.

"I paid my daughter’s killer money," Beth said in court, AL.com reports. "That’s shocking. I don’t think anyone can really wrap their mind around what that means."

Van der Sloot is currently in prison for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores Ramírez in a Lima, Peru hotel room. He has been sentenced to 28 years.

Related: What to Know About Natalee Holloway's Case After Joran van der Sloot's Confession

In May of this year, the Peruvian government issued a decree allowing van der Sloot to be handed over to U.S. authorities to face charges in connection with the extortion case.

Van der Sloot was sentenced to 20 years for the extortion and wire fraud crimes on Wednesday. The American sentence will run concurrently with his Peruvian one, but if officials there release him early, he will serve the remainder of the 20 years in the U.S.

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