Judge grants request to delay trial in extortion case against Joran van der Sloot

A judge has granted a motion to delay the trial date in the case against Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch national accused in the alleged extortion of the mother of Natalee Holloway, the American teenager who disappeared during a high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005. Van der Sloot’s attorney, federal public defender Kevin Butler, filed the unopposed motion Monday asking for a delay to allow “the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation of trial,” according to court documents. US Magistrate Judge Gray Borden granted the extension request not to go past October 2. A trial date is expected to be set later, the court order stated.