Dutch TV Airs Aruba Murder "Confession"
Joran Van Der Sloot Maintains His Statements About Natalee Holloway's Murder Were Lies
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Holloway Case Reopened
Dutch authorities reopened the Natalee Holloway case after new evidence surfaced from hidden camera footage provided by a journalist. Elizabeth Palmer reports.
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Lawyer: Van Der Sloot Innocent
The chief prosecutor in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba says he has a tape that may implicate Joran van der Sloot. Maggie Rodriguez interviews van der Sloot's lawyer Rosemarie Arnold.
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A Dutch television reporter claims to have evidence that reportedly implicates Joran van der Sloot, one of the three young men who had been the primary suspects in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway. (AP)
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Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries reacts prior to attending a live TV show in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jan. 31, 2008. Aruban prosecutors said Thursday that authorities are investigating new information in the Natalee Holloway case provided by the Dutch crime reporter. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Natalee Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared the final night of her high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005. Holloway was 18 at the time. (AP (file))
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Paradise Lost
Star student Natalee Holloway disappears during a senior trip to Aruba.
"She'll never be found," he said.
A series of conversations between Van der Sloot and a man he believed to be his friend were recorded in a Range Rover that had been rigged with three hidden cameras by Peter R. de Vries, a Dutch television crime reporter. They were shown on Dutch television.
Aruba's public prosecutor said Monday he considers admissible in court the secret camera footage. Prosecutor Hans Mos, however, stressed that it was up to a judge to decide whether suspect Joran van der Sloot should be arrested, based on the footage that was shown on Dutch TV Sunday night.
"I take it very seriously," Most told a press conference on this Dutch Caribbean island. "Finally it is for the judge to decide."
Last week, Van der Sloot said he was lying in those conversations and denied that he had anything to do with the Alabama teenager's disappearance.
When CBS News'The Early Show asked Van der Sloot's attorney Rosemarie Arnold why her client would lie, she said, "I think what he was trying to do is he was trying to gain the friendship of this man who he looked up to for an unknown reason."
Arnold said that the man Van der Sloot identifies as the boat man wasn't in Aruba in 2005 and does not own a boat.
Holloway, 18, vanished in May 2005 just before she was due to fly home to Alabama, at the end of her high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island. No trace of her has been found. The mystery of her disappearance has frustrated authorities and garnered wide attention on television and in tabloid newspapers in Europe and the United States.
In the recordings, Van der Sloot said Holloway was drunk and that she began shaking and slumped down on the beach as the pair were making out.
"Suddenly she started shaking and then she didn't say anything," Van der Sloot said, adding that he did not kill her.
"I would never murder a girl," he said.
He said he panicked and tried but failed to revive her. He said that Holloway looked dead but that he could not be sure she was not still alive when the friend took her away.
He used a pay phone next to a hotel's swimming pool to call the friend and asked for help in disposing the body. When the friend arrived at the beach, the two put Holloway's body into a boat. The friend then took it out to sea and pushed it into the water, Van der Sloot said.
"The ocean is big," he added.
He said he and his friend agreed that Van der Sloot would go to school the next day to avoid arousing any suspicion.
Van der Sloot said his friend assured him he had taken care of Holloway's body and that the police were not going to locate it. "They will know nothing," Van der Sloot quoted the friend as telling him.
"I've not lost any sleep over this," he added at one point.
Aruban prosecutors said last week they were reopening their investigation into Holloway's disappearance after seeing De Vries' material. But on Sunday, they said a judge on the island had ruled that while the information merited an investigation against Van der Sloot, it did not meet the threshold for an arrest warrant.
"This means that the office is legally not able to have J.v.d.S. arrested in the Netherlands," prosecutors said in a statement, referring to the Dutch student by his initials. The statement did not say when the judge made the ruling.
The prosecutors said they would appeal the judge's ruling and seek to have the Dutch student re-arrested. They also cautioned that the Holloway mystery was far from resolved.
"While video tape may present a strong case in a TV news show, it may be insufficient for a finding of guilt by a judge. It is up to the court to evaluate the materials and the statements, and to find out their significance," prosecutors said.
Van der Sloot was interviewed last week by the respected Dutch television show "Pauw & Witteman" following reports that De Vries had captured him making statements about the case.
"It is true I told someone. Everybody will see it Sunday," Van der Sloot said, referring to De Vries' planned television show.
"That is what he wanted to hear, so I told him what he wanted to hear," Van der Sloot said, adding that he had built up a relationship with the man he spoke to, but had never fully trusted him.
De Vries has said he paid the man Van der Sloot spoke to, Patrick van der Eem, $37,000 for his help, saying it was to cover his expenses.
Phone calls seeking comment from Van der Sloot's Aruban attorneys and his New York-based lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, went unanswered Sunday.
Last week, Tacopina told The Associated Press that "the evidence refutes what Joran supposedly said."
"It doesn't change the truth of this case. And the truth is, Joran had nothing to do with Natalee's death," he said.
Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Ala., was last seen in public leaving a bar with Van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers - Deepak and Satish Kalpoe - hours before she was due to board a flight home.
The three were re-arrested in November, but released within weeks for lack of evidence. All three have always denied any role in her disappearance.
John Q. Kelly, attorney for Natalee's parents, Dave Holloway and Beth Twitty, say the two are heartbroken.
"Here's a young man that shows just an utter disregard and total disrespect for a young woman who's missing, for a family who's lost their daughter, to his own family, to law enforcement, to the criminal justice system, to his country and everybody," Kelly told The Early Show.
The Dutch student's father, Paul Van der Sloot, declined to comment when reached in Aruba before the tape aired.
De Vries also aired images of Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, as he showed her the footage.
Clasping together her hands, she moved her lips silently as she watched the images.
"They could have just dumped her alive in the ocean, unconscious," she said. "They don't even know."
"I hope his living hell is about to begin and that he never gets another night's sleep," she added.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 71 CommentsPosted by brianp55 at 01:21 AM : Feb 04, 2008
So far this is the best theory I''ve heard about this case. Those kind of drugs are easily found in third world coutries especially by someone coming from Holland.
He is clearly lying about the part where he speaks about disposing of the body.
I would not be surprized if he swam her out. That is why he lost his shoes. It is difficult to swim with shoes. That friend could prove to be imaginary or maybe his father that he made to clear was sleeping at the time. Since when don''t people like him cary a cell phone and have to use a payphone? Because the phonecall to his friend never took place. It is all him. He was drunk and maybe used drugs and made a bad call.
He is planning to make money off this and get a compensation for false arrest too.
If the law can''t take him I hope somebody stands up that wants to do something. But I think her family already did. If I was him I would ask to be in prison,
In the Netherlands he can not show his face anymore. People here hate his guts. I hope he burns forever.
ONE THING :
There are a lot of people insinuate that all Dutch people called accountable for the deed of one man ? that would be the same when i would say that all the U.S inhabitant are responsible for president Bush his action''s against Iraq ?.. thats what the called generalize !
Thanks,
Martijn de Neve
It is clear he knows more than he wants to admit. If he was innocent he might have been able to save her life and he wouldn''t have to lie.
This guy is so egocentric. In the Netherlands we watch the world and its inhabitants critically but we should look as well in the mirror. Society is harshening and that happens everywhere. The demand for compensation money says it all...
1 request: do not blame all Dutch for what 1 spoilt loser did...
Dutch Politician: Islamic Culture Is ''Retarded''
Dutch Politician Plans to Air Film Criticizing the Koran
A Dutch politician known for his views against Islam plans to air a film he produced that is critical of the Koran, which he likens to Adolf Hitler''s hateful writings.
Parliamentarian Geert Wilders spoke to FOX News about the documentary, insisting the Muslim holy book is dangerous and should be banned.
"I believe the Koran is, indeed, ''Mein Kampf.'' They are the same package," Wilders said. "I believe that our culture is far better than the retarded Islamic culture."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325305,00.html
Dutch Braced For ''Koran Insult'' Backlash
If I insult you, am I responsible for your violence?
It''s a question being debated in the Netherlands this week as Dutch embassies around the world beef up their security ahead of the release of a film on the internet which allegedly insults the Koran. It''s reported to show the Koran being torn up and otherwise desecrated.
http://martinstanford.typepad.com/foreign_matters/2008/01/dutch-braced-fo.html
His absolute lack of remorse is reminiscent of a certain cut and paster on this thread, one gets the feeling v.d.S enjoyed causing the death of this young girl, and is enjoying his evasion of justice.
We can only hope his enjoyment is very short lived...
Sound logic, but as you should know by now, Americans like to blame whole countries, or ethnicities, or religions for the actions of a few, they can''t help it, it is the lack of quality education...
Even if J.v.d.S is finally caught, the perception of a corrupt justice system will remain.
Sound logic, but as you should know by now, Americans like to blame whole countries, or ethnicities, or religions for the actions of a few... posted by brianbwb at 08:26 AM : Feb 04, 2008
I''d just like to thank you for saying that, I agree that there are a lot of people who judge an entire race or religion based on the actions of a few, and refuse to look any further. It is incredibly frustrating and just wrong. :)
Her parents? They''''re PARTIALLY to blame for sending an 18 year old to a foreign country without adequate chaperoning and for raising a brazen hussy who didn''''t stay with her group.
Posted by Newsdream at 07:54 AM : Feb 04, 2008
Man you''re a real piece of work. I saw his confession in the car - no coercion went on. If he really didn''t do it and said what he said in that car then he is the biggest moron ever born. Now about your "brazen hussy" remark. What, you ticked off she wasn''t wearing a burqua? Unbelievable. The girl gets murdered and you blame her and play apologist for the killer. Nice, real nice.
Hmmm dumping a body of someone that you do not know if they are alive or dead is wrong.
Unbelieveable...he makes a confession on tape calls her a *** and your here defending him.
He basically admits to raping her and dumping her body and all is fine with you.
You don''t dispose of a body if you have nothing unless its to hide soemthing such as date rape drugs and signs of trauma and rape.
Urine der Sloot has lied every step of the way in the investigation - especially in his implication of the black security guards at the hotel. He lied when he said they returned her to the hotel. The lying brat was known to have given date rape drugs to women before.
I guarantee you in my home town if there is video of 3 men leaving with a woman and she is never seen again there wuold be no problem in convicting the liars of what they had done.
I don''t completely exonerate the girl''s parents either. This was not a school sponsored trip. It was a bunch of high school coaches taking "kids" down to an island for a profit where they could get drunk and do who knows what. That however, does not excuse Urine''s lies.
You have video of 3 men leaving with a young woman and she is never seen again. Open and shut case where these liars should be kept in a prison rather than a friendly local lock-up jail until one of them breaks down and finally tells the truth.
If this liar truly has not lost any sleep over this then he will kill again. It''s absurd he would lie about disposing a body just to gain the friendship of an "older man?" How weird is this liar?
Im not really defending him, and i didn''t see anything about rape, it sounds more like it was consensual. He may be a jerk, but my point is he hooks up with a girl he does not really know. If she was doing coke that night and overdosed how is that his fault. sure he should have called the police but he was probably scared. In todays world anytime something like this happens everyone assumes the guy had something to do with it.-
Posted by tomanyt at 11:18 AM : Feb 04, 2008
Not that long ago since it was done in January.
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Posted by wrman27
You should be ashamed of yourself.
I don''t think anyone should jump to the rape conclusion.
An admission like this certainly points to guilt. But notice, he never said he killed her. He said she died and he didn''t know why.
Hiding a dead body (that you didn''t kill) isn''t the worst thing someone could do. And in the "heat of the moment" he probably wasn''t thinking clearly. After that he was scared.
Or he is just cold-blooded. Either way, no rape. And no admission of murder.
Uh-huh, and OBVIOUSLY you haven''t got a clue what happened, just like everyone else. Do society a favor: don''t ever apply for work as a trial judge.
To those of you saying tourism to Aruba will suffer you are wrong. It is a great place with great people. A group of us are plannig a trip there in October, cannot wait.
Posted by killtheliars at 10:35 AM
1. You''re stupid.
2. The tourism industry there has probably been worried about this for sometime.
2. A very large group of people I know have scratched Aruba as a vacation destination. Whether it is right or wrong they have done it. Nothing great about the island anyway.
3. I myself know of plenty of other more worthwile places to visit.
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Posted by crzmeat
Right, obviously. ...Do you know anything about him or her?
Why would he lie to this guy? They were "friends." This isn''t a story he is telling to the police. In fact, if he were going to lie, why wouldn''t he just stick with the previous story?
I don''t think we should jump to conclusions.
Hey - anyone hear that Natalee''s momma dumped husband #2 to hook with wealthy father of that little girl from the beauty pageants who was killed?? Apparently looking for Natalee wasn''t all mom was looking for.
Posted by random_radar
Ted Kennedy is a good example of that.
Buy it or not, fact is he said it. Fact is a judge will decide to admit it as evidence. As Ricky would say to Lucy, he has some splanin to do.
He was caught in more then one or two lies. I always thought she was a tease and it all want too far. I think he may have accidentally killed her during forced sexx or rough sexx. Up to this point he was the last one "known" to have seen her alive. Thats pretty dammingg.
but you also got to remember this is not the US legal system so who know if it can even be used in court???
Im not really defending him, and i didn''''t see anything about rape, it sounds more like it was consensual. He may be a jerk, but my point is he hooks up with a girl he does not really know. If she was doing coke that night and overdosed how is that his fault. sure he should have called the police but he was probably scared. In todays world anytime something like this happens everyone assumes the guy had something to do with it.- "
Don''t buy it.
He disposed of the body or should I say its more likely his father disposed of her body for a reason. He didn''t want the GHB being found or possible trauma to her body. If one does nothing wrong why dispose of the evidence, allow 2 completely innocent security gaurds get arrested, lie on numerous occasions to the police?
Remember the Greta interview where he stated that he had done this 20 times without issues?
And if you pass out and die during what he calls *** how can you be in a position to concent?
BTW where is your proof she ever did coke?
This is the first I have heard of it
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