Noir: R.I.P. Natalie Holloway

Natalee Holloway Declared Legally Dead By Alabama Judge

An Alabama judge will decide on Thursday whether to declare Natalee Holloway dead. The decision will come just one day after Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in her disappearance, pleaded guilty to murdering a young woman in Peru.

Probate Judge Alan King will make his decision on whether to sign the court order during a 2:30 p.m. hearing in Birmingham. In September, King ruled that Holloway's father, Dave Holloway, had met the legal presumption of death for his daughter. The decision was delayed to allow interested parties sufficient time to prove that Natalee Holloway was still alive. The father's attorney, Mark White, told the Associated Press Thursday that no new evidence has emerged.

Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway, is opposed to the petition brought by her ex-husband, according to her attorney, John Q. Kelly. However, while Dave Holloway attended the previous court hearing, his ex-wife was notably absent.

The couple divorced in 1993. Their daughter was 18 years old when she disappeared on May 30, 2005, while on a trip to Aruba to celebrate her high school graduation. Her body has never been found. The case received international media attention and has inspired several books and movies.

Dave Holloway's attorney, Karen Hennecy, said her client wants his daughter declared dead so that his family can have closure.