In 2014, Leidy Figueroa spoke with CBS News’ “Crimesider” about her life with Joran van der Sloot. In that interview, she mentioned that the inmate she knew at the same facility in which van der Sloot was serving his sentence acted as a matchmaker for the couple. She saw van der Sloot in prison several times a week, and she often cooked and brought him meals. Van der Sloot has become a new man in prison, she said. Van der Sloot reportedly bought Figueroa’s ring through his lawyer, and the couple married in a civil ceremony.
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During and after their prison courtship, the convicted murderer reportedly wrote Figueroa love letters from behind bars, according to the Daily Mail. “I love you my princess. I want you to know I think of you every day, you are the best thing that has happened in my life. Marry me and share the rest of your life with me in the good and bad times,” one note read. Elsewhere, he mentioned his plans to buy Figueroa a house. Prior to his U.S. extradition in 2023, van der Sloot would have remained in a Peruvian prison until 2038. After this time, he would likely still have been extradited to the U.S. on fraud charges.
