Beth Holloway, mother of Natalee Holloway, made her first-ever political endorsement on Thursday, supporting Lloyd Peeples. Peeples is challenging incumbent Jim Carns in State House District 48.
"I know Lloyd will fight for you the way he fought for me," said Beth Holloway in her endorsement of Peeples.
In 2023, 18 years after the disappearance of Mountain Brook teen Natalee Holloway, the suspect in her death, Joran van der Sloot, was extradited from Peru to Alabama to face charges in connection with the case.
"As a mother who has tirelessly pursued justice for the abduction and murder of my precious daughter, I stand before you today with a heart both heavy with sorrow and yet lifted by a glimmer of hope," she said in a written statement at the time. "For 18 years, I have lived with the unbearable pain of Natalee's loss. Each day has been filled with unanswered questions and a longing for justice that has eluded us at every turn. But today ... I am hopeful that some small semblance of justice may finally be realized."
Peeples served as senior trial counsel for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama, where he successfully prosecuted van der Sloot for extorting Beth Holloway in connection with the disappearance and death of her daughter, Natalee Holloway, in Aruba in 2005.
As a part of a plea deal resulting in one count of wire fraud against Beth Holloway, Natalee Holloway's mother, van der Sloot admitted to murdering Natalee Holloway and disposing of her body in federal court on Wednesday.
SEE: Joran van der Sloot booked into Hoover City Jail
RELATED: Joran van der Sloot confesses to murder of Natalee Holloway in extortion, wire fraud guilty plea
"I think everyone knows that what Beth Holloway and her family endured is every parent's worst nightmare, a joyous occasion that turns into a tragedy in an instant. It's the kind of thing we all lie awake at night worrying about," Peeples said in a written statement.
"I was honored to be part of bringing some measure of justice to the Holloway story and to see up close how Beth fought for Natalee when Natalee couldn't fight for herself. Even when most of the news crews left Aruba and moved on to other stories, Beth fought on. That's the same kind of motivation that drew me to be a prosecutor, and exactly why I'm running to represent House District 48 now."
"When you work that closely with a victim, they get to know you. They know your character. They know whether you're the kind of person who is going to run or the kind who is going to fight," Peeples added. "Beth knows better than almost anyone what it means to have someone in your corner who won't quit, and I'm deeply honored that she chose to support my candidacy for House District 48."
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