Judge Wants Aruba Witness In Court

Natalee Holloway, 18, missing in Aruba. (AP)

A judge has asked for sworn testimony from a man who claims he saw a suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway driving with two friends on the night the U.S. teenager was last seen in public, the lead investigator in the case said Friday.

Authorities believe the testimony will support allegations that the suspect, Joran van der Sloot, has given contradictory statements about Holloway's disappearance two months ago, said Lt. Roy Tromp.

"The judge wants to hear his statement, take it under oath. Then the prosecution can use it," Tromp told The Associated Press.

Separately, a judge was expected to rule Friday on a petition by the defense to prohibit Aruban authorities from sharing information with the FBI, which gained access to material about the case at the urging of the island's prime minister.

It was not known when the potential witness, whose name has not been disclosed, would appear before the judge. The hearing would not be open to the public.

The investigator said the man told police that he saw van der Sloot, who is in police custody, driving near a pond by the Marriott Hotel around 2:30 a.m. on May 30, and that at the time he was with two Surinamese brothers who were detained and later released.

The account is significant because van der Sloot told authorities that he was already at home by 2:30 a.m. and that he had left the missing teen, unharmed, at a beach near the Marriott.

Based on the witness account, police partially drained the pond but found no evidence.

Another alleged witness, who claimed he saw men dumping a woman's body at a landfill on the Dutch Caribbean island, will not testify because authorities do not believe him.

"We've checked it out a few times and don't think the account is credible," Tromp said.

Holloway was last seen leaving a nightclub with van der Sloot and the two brothers on the final night of a high school graduation trip with 124 classmates to Aruba. Authorities and volunteers have made extensive searches of the island but found no trace of the missing teen.