There are some inescapable similarities between Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez and Natalee Holloway which suggest both would be vulnerable for targeting by a predator. Based upon interviews I did at the time, Natalee was as insecure, as she sometimes was flirtatious - and there was a certain element of substance abuse in her past. I'm not suggesting she had a deep issue with it, only that she was reported to have over-indulged at times, as well as having the ability to seek out the attention, or approval, if you will, from members of the opposite sex.
Sadly, that defines many young women today and in certain circumstances it makes them vulnerable. Please don't equate that with my saying any attack is their fault.
Flores, who was reportedly an out lesbian struggling with her sexuality, was found beaten and stabbed to death in a room at the Miraflores Hotel Tac in Lima booked in van der Sloot's name, police said. The two were seen on surveillance video leaving a casino together. A hotel employee told police that Flores entered the hotel early Sunday morning with van der Sloot.
As for Van der Sloot, if he did this, then it's impossible to include that he's anything but a serious sociopath. During the Holloway investigation, despite any charges of incompetence or corruption, top notch military interrogators were brought in to work on Van der Sloot while he was in custody. As I recall, one concluded there was no there there, as he felt positive he would have broken Van der Sloot given his experience with hard core criminals in the past.
Add to that his post investigation interview with Greta Sustern, a smart woman and an attorney. Even she came away feeling ambiguous about Van der Sloot's guilt based upon that. Point being, if he murdered two young women and is able to portray himself as innocent to professionals only interested in getting to the truth. It suggests a personality type that doesn't internalize guilt. And that, in a sense, is a working definition of a sociopath.
His lifestyle also fits the pattern. And, unfortunately, both Natalee and Stephany profile as potential victims. Given Stephany's lesbianism, it's at least possible she refused him sex, leading to a fatal confrontation in a hotel room.
It's purely speculative, but it is possible that in the end, Natalee's mistake was refusing him sex on a beach one night, leading to her tragic murder.