Who Was Joran van der Sloot’s Wife? What to Know About Leidy Figueroa and Their Reported Split
Joran van der Sloot on June 5, 2010 in Lima, PeruCredit: MARCEL ANTONISSE/AFP via Getty
Leidy Figueroa met Joran van der Sloot while visiting her cousin at a Peruvian prison in 2010
They married in prison in 2014 while Figueroa was seven months pregnant with their daughter
There have been unconfirmed reports that van der Sloot sought a divorce in 2023
Years after violently killing Natalee Holloway and Stephany Flores Ramírez, Joran van der Sloot went on to start a family while behind bars.
“He’s been able to get married. He’s been able to have children,” Dani Sloane, who co-directed the 2026 Netflix docuseries Taken: Natalee Holloway, told Oxygen in November 2026. “It is very tough to see the life that he’s able to live there.”
The Dutch national — who confessed to killing Holloway in May 2005 but has never been charged with her murder — was serving a prison sentence in Peru for the death of Flores Ramírez when he married Leidy Figueroa in July 2014. They later welcomed a daughter.
In 2023, reports surfaced claiming that he had sought a divorce but neither has confirmed the news.
So, who was Joran van der Sloot’s wife? Here’s what to know about Leidy Figueroa.
Van der Sloot and Figueroa met while he was in prison for murder
Joran Van der Sloot on January 13, 2012 in Lima, PeruCredit: STR/AFP via Getty
In May 2010, van der Sloot was arrested for murdering Flores Ramírez, a 21-year-old business student he met at a casino in Lima, Peru on the five-year anniversary of Holloway’s disappearance. Flores Ramírez was killed after learning about van der Sloot’s then-alleged involvement in Holloway’s death, ABC News reported.
Shortly after, van der Sloot was charged with Flores Ramírez’s murder and while awaiting trial behind bars, he met Figueroa in July 2010, per CBS News. She had accompanied her cousin to visit a different inmate, who introduced her to van der Sloot.
From then on, Figueroa visited him twice a week and often brought him home-cooked meals, she told CBS News. In January 2012, he was sentenced to 28 years and she later bought a house near the Peruvian prison.
They married in 2014
Van der Sloot and Figueroa wed in a private ceremony at the maximum-security prison where he was incarcerated on July 4, 2014, per the .
Though none of his relatives attended, the then-26-year-old convicted killer reportedly wore a tailored suit and dress shoes sent by his mother, Anita van der Sloot. Figueroa, then 24, was seven months pregnant with their child.
John Barrera, the mayor who officiated the wedding, told the outlet that during the ceremony, van der Sloot expressed his desire to marry Figueroa again after his release from prison, and she said the same.
Figueroa said van der Sloot had become “a new person”
Joran van der Sloot on January 6, 2012 in Lima, PeruCredit: ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP/Getty
Despite his criminal history, van der Sloot’s wife believed he had changed during his time behind bars. She claimed in her interview with CBS News that he had transformed “into a new person” and was spending his time taking arts and crafts classes in prison.
In addition to his conviction for Ramírez’s murder, van der Sloot was the prime suspect in Holloway’s disappearance after the 18-year-old Alabama native was last seen with him in Aruba. He was arrested twice in connection with her disappearance but released due to insufficient evidence.
After years of changing his story, van der Sloot finally confessed to killing Holloway in 2023 as part of a plea deal for attempting to extort her family for $250,000. However, he was never charged with her murder.
They have one child
Three months after they got married, Figueroa gave birth to their daughter on Sept. 28, 2014. CBS News reported that the couple named her Dushy after van der Sloot’s grandmother.
Though Dushy was initially unable to visit her father at the remote, high-altitude prison where he was incarcerated, she eventually spent time with him behind bars.
In the 2026 Netflix docuseries Taken: Natalee Holloway, retired FBI special agent Alexandra Montilla recalled how van der Sloot discussed his daughter while being extradited to the United States in 2023.
Montilla said he told her that he was allowed to keep animals in prison, including a pet rabbit. However, when the rabbit scratched his daughter’s face, van der Sloot claimed he “ripped his head off.”
Van der Sloot reportedly sought a divorce in 2023
Joran van der Sloot on June 8, 2023 in Lima, PeruCredit: ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty
In 2023, reports surfaced that van der Sloot had filed for divorce from Figueroa after nearly a decade of marriage.
However, neither publicly confirmed the news, leaving their marital status unclear.
Source: Crime
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