He claimed he helped dispose of Natalee Holloway’s remains — now he’s dead, cops say

Early Wednesday, police were called to a stabbing in Sarasota County, reported the Tampa Bay Times.

The victim, who later died of his injuries, was John Christopher Ludwick.

Those who followed the case of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who disappeared in Aruba while on a high school graduation trip in 2005, might recognize the name.

Ludwick, 32, of Port Charlotte, claimed to have helped the prime suspect in her disappearance, Joran van der Sloot, dispose of the girl’s remains.

During an interview on last year’s Oxygen Media documentary “The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway,” Ludwick stated that in 2010 he was paid $1,500 to dig up Holloway’s remains and have them cremated.

“The idea was to crush everything to the point where it wasn’t recognizable as her bones or skull or anything like that,” Ludwick said on the show that aired last fall.

Neither man was charged and no evidence has been found to support his claim. Van der Sloot was arrested in 2010 on charges that he murdered a woman he met in Peru. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

As for what happened to Ludwick, North Port police say he was attempting to kidnap a woman and there was a scuffle with a knife.

“It appears that the male subject who has passed was attempting to kidnap a young woman as she exited her vehicle in her driveway. They are familiar with each other,” police said in a statement on Facebook. “A struggle ensued, and he is the one who ended up stabbed. He then fled the area on foot. He was found nearby suffering from the stab wounds.”

Police added that they know of the tie between the victim and Holloway.

“We are aware of Mr. Ludwick’s history and comments surrounding the disappearance of Natalee Ann Holloway in Aruba during May of 2005,” police said in the Facebook post. “The correct authorities who are working that case have been notified. Our investigation in this local case is ongoing. Currently, there are no reports yet available. We will provide when they are.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 9:22 PM with the headline "He claimed he helped dispose of Natalee Holloway’s remains — now he’s dead, cops say."