Van der Sloot, 36, was extradited to Alabama in June from a prison in Peru, where he has been serving a 28-year sentence for murdering another woman in Lima.
Eyewitnesses said she was last seen leaving a bar in a car with van der Sloot on the night of her disappearance.
Van der Sloot has reached a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors that require him to also truthfully disclose what happened to Natalee Holloway, according to John Q. Kelly, a lawyer for the Holloway family.
A public defender representing van der Sloot and a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office did not respond to questions about a plea deal.
In 2012, van der Sloot was convicted in Peru after he confessed to beating, strangling and suffocating Stephany Flores, a 21-year-old Peruvian business student, in May 2010.
Persons:
Joran van der Sloot, Natalee Holloway, van der Sloot, Holloway, Van der Sloot, Beth Holloway, John Q, Kelly, van der, Stephany Flores, Jonathan Allen, Jonathan Oatis
Organizations:
U.S, FBI, Thomson
Locations:
Peru, U.S, Alabama, Lima, Birmingham, Aruba, Caribbean, New York