Suvechha Sarkar
Eva Pacohuanaco Huanacuni was leading a peaceful life in Peru when she first met an inmate, Joran van der Sloot, sometime around 2020. She came under the limelight for her relationship with him, raising some troubling questions. Shortly after, she faced legal troubles regarding an incident of drug trafficking. Netflix’s ‘Taken: Natalee Holloway’ delves deeper into Joran’s involvement in two other cases and his incarceration in Peru. The episode also includes information about his personal life, especially her relationships.
Eva Pacohuanaco Met Joran van der Sloot While Visiting the Prison With a Friend
Eva Pacohuanaco Huanacuni was welcomed into the world sometime around 1997. She grew up in a household in Peru, alongside her brother, Jhon Pacohuanaco. However, there is no information available about her early years. It appears she was dedicated to her studies, which helped her graduate from Dos de Mayo National School in Caracoto. Once Eva stepped into adulthood, she believed she had found her soulmate when she first met her partner. It wasn’t long before they got into a relationship, which led to the birth of their son. In one of her interviews, Eva stated that she was completely devastated when her son’s father ended their relationship.
However, Eva believed her life changed sometime around 2020 when she crossed paths with an inmate, Joran van der Sloot, at Juliaca Penal Establishment, or Juliaca Prison, in Peru. She revealed that she visited the prison with one of her friends, who had a boyfriend there. In an interview, Eva stated that during the visit, she first met Joran and was drawn to his beautiful eyes. She further said that he became a source of comfort for her and was someone who made her feel loved and calm. However, in her statements, Eva insisted that she initially didn’t have any information about what Joran was serving his sentence for and presumed that he might have been incarcerated for an offense like robbery.
According to reports, Eva later disclosed that she had received several loving letters from Joran and that he had been affectionate toward her. As the prison allowed conjugal visits, it allowed the two to become intimate on several occasions, as per her statements. Eva claimed during the interview that she one day searched Joran’s name on the internet and that was the first time she learned that he was serving a sentence for the murder of a Peruvian woman, Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez. She further discovered that he was a suspect in the disappearance and potential homicide of 18-year-old Natalee Ann Holloway, who was originally from Alabama but disappeared during a trip in Aruba on May 30, 2005.
Eva Pacohuanaco Faced Drug-Smuggling Allegations in August 2020
In her interview, Eva recalled being completely shocked when she learned about Joran’s background. According to her, when she asked him about it, he initially avoided the topic entirely. He eventually told her he was paying the price for his past actions. Eva revealed that she used to buy items for Joran and often took them to prison because he could not obtain them himself. According to official records, she claimed that in August 2020, she received a call from an individual who asked her to bring certain grocery items to the prison. Additionally, Eva claimed that she was only supposed to receive the items and had no knowledge that the contents were laced with 140 grams of marijuana and 297 grams of cocaine.
The situation took a turn on August 12, 2020, when Eva was detained during her visit to the Juliaca Prison, after officials found drugs inside the packages she had brought at the bag inspection area. The drugs were found hidden inside several beetroots. According to records, when Eva was questioned, she claimed she didn’t know that there were drugs in the package. During further investigation, the detectives found WhatsApp messages between her and Jhon, in which he wrote, “You’re not going to look for anything, just leave it like that; it’s well packaged. It’s going to have to go inside, you understand, to the prison. It’s better that nobody knows, because the fewer people who know, the less risk there is.”
Eva was eventually released from detention with the help of a lawyer that Joran had arranged for her. However, by December 2020, an arrest warrant was issued in her name in connection with the attempt to smuggle drugs into the prison. The prosecutors later requested an 18-year prison sentence for her. However, it is essential to note that Eva has not been convicted of the charge. In 2024, she was interviewed on ‘Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot,’ where she expressed, “I feel an enormous love for Joran, but it would have been better if I had never met him.” She also became emotional, noting that she wonders what will happen to her “children” if she is ever arrested. As of writing, it remains unclear if Eva is still in a relationship with Joran. It appears that she is currently leading a quiet life away from the spotlight in Peru.
Read More: Beth Holloway: Where is Natalee Holloway’s Mother Now?
