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Natalee Holloway: Her Friends Speak airs on Sunday, May 31 at 9/8c on REELZ. The special unveils new information and interviews around the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, who went missing in Aruba in 2005.
The prime suspect in Holloway’s disappearance in Joran Van Der Sloot, who is currently serving time in prison for the murder of Stephanie Flores in 2010. While he has not admitted to any crimes related to Holloway, his friend John Ludwick has come forward claiming that he had a role to play in Holloway’s disappearance.
In an interview with Oxygen in 2017, Ludwick said that he helped Joran Van Der Sloot dispose of Natalee Holloway’s body.
Ludwick Claimed He Was Paid $1500 to Cremate Holloway’s Remains
According to Oxygen, Ludwick told an informant named Gabe that he had been given $1500 to dig up Holloway’s buried body and cremate it.
Ludwick himself described the location where Holloway was buried, saying “I can take you to where I… I got the remains.”
He went on to describe the experience of digging up a dead body, saying “Yeah once you dug it up, if you opened the burlap, you’re going to have the musty odor of death.”
He then explained that he put dog bones with Holloway’s bones to throw off investigators, revealing “I went in there with $200 cash. And said, ‘this dog means a lot to me and, freakin’, I don’t want anyone to be the last one to touch it except me. If I give you $200 can I push it in myself?’”
When asked if he felt remorse for being involved, he said “It didn’t happen to my kid… Could have thrown it in the ocean, coulda flushed it down the toilet. I don’t give a shit.”
John Ludwick Died in 2018 After Being Stabbed by His Ex-Girlfriend Emily Heistand
Emily Heistand, and ex-girlfriend of John Ludwick, told Dr. Phil she broke up with Ludwick after he told her about his alleged role in covering up of Natalee Holloway’s murder. She said Dr. Phil that his involvement in the murder “creeped [her] out.”
After breaking up, Heistand told Dr. Phil “He was waiting at my house. I just pulled into my house, took my keys out of the ignition, put them in my pocket and I was texting my boyfriend, “Have a good day at work. I love you.” Then, Heistand says she encountered Ludwick, “I think he jumped out at my car and ran at me. I saw him and immediately I knew, “Oh God, that’s John… He got on top of me, I was screaming, he had a knife to my throat. He was shoving something into my mouth and I can’t talk and he was able to shove me into the passenger seat. He got in and he has a knife to my throat with his left hand. And he goes to start the car and realizes the keys aren’t in the ignition.” Ultimately Heistand said she realized “He’s not letting go, so I swung the knife back slowly at him a couple of times and I realize it’s him or me.”
Ludwick died of his injuries, and it was determined that Heistand acted in self-defense.
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