Court Blocks Arrest Of Holloway Suspect

Judges Reject Dutch Student's Pretrial Arrest In Case Of Teen's 2005 Disappearance In Aruba

(AP)  Judges have rejected an attempt to re-arrest a Dutch college student in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, a prosecutor said Friday.

An appeals court ruled Thursday that authorities do not have enough new evidence to arrest Joran van der Sloot for a third time, prosecutor Dop Kruimel told The Associated Press.

Aruban prosecutors had asked to re-arrest Van der Sloot based on the hidden-camera recordings made by a Dutch TV crime show.

It showed Van der Sloot saying he was with the Alabama teenager when she died on the Dutch Caribbean island and that he had a friend dump her body at sea.

But Kruimel said the three-judge panel decided his statements in the recording conflicted with some of his previous statements to investigators and other evidence in the case.

"The evidence has to be very, very strong," she told the AP by a telephone from Oranjestad. "The court says, 'We have reason to doubt the declaration."'

The Prosecutor's Office also noted in a statement that Van Der Sloot has "a history of contradictory statements" and the courts are generally reluctant to jail people if they have been previously detained and released.

Prosecutors brought the case to the Court of Appeals for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba after a lower court judge said there was enough evidence to reopen an inquiry but not enough to detain Van der Sloot.

"Some of the things he says (on the tape) we can verify," Kruimel said. "But what happened on the beach, what happened to Holloway, we do not have proof."

Kruimel said the interview produced new leads and the investigation remains open.

"We still see him as a suspect," she said of Van Der Sloot, who now attends a university in the Netherlands.

Holloway, an 18-year-old from Mountain Brook, Ala., was last seen in May 2005 leaving a bar in the Aruban capital Oranjestad with Van der Sloot, 20, and two Surinamese brothers on the final night of a high school graduation trip to the island. Extensive searches have found no trace of her.

Van der Sloot, 20, was detained twice before, but was released for insufficient evidence.

Van der Sloot has told authorities he had no involvement in her death. But in the Dutch TV video he says she collapsed on the beach after they left the bar and that he called a friend to dump her body at sea. The statements were recorded in installments inside a car.

[scottyusa]

The Aruba keystone cops are at it again. The guy makes a confession that was not in any way coorced and that is not enough evidence? Does he have to show a video of the murder to convinced these bozos that he did it? Smug little rich puke that he is makes me sick.

[gce65]

Natalie''s fish food. Get over it and quit whining. That being said, I''m okay with the family sending in someone "private" to make all 3 of them disappear, but don''t pretend to be Christian or law-abiding or any of the other *** rhetoric that people throw around. You''ll be murderers, just like Vander Sloot is.

[tiredofthebs]

Glad to see there is a government on this planet that does not cave in to pressure from the US. The video is NOT probable cause to re-arrest the suspect. As tragic as the disappearance of this young woman is, the law is clear. It is alarming to see so many people advocate vigilante justice in this blog. Imagine if all of society shared this same sentiment on every case.

[notopennshut]

This would probably remain one of the unsolved mysteries. We have had too much ceverage on this over the last years. Meanwhile, it happened in a foreign country and we really have no jurisdiction over their laws just as foreigners have to be charged according to US laws including water boarding. However, what the analysts do not talk about is how we must educate our young people and how they have to behave when overseas. You can''t just go and get totally smashed and go off with strangers. What ever happened to the "buddy system" where your group look out for one another? How about not letting your friend go off with strangers, report to the chaperones even if you end up not being friends? You may have saved a life. YOur child may be the best kid ever, but not having a proper upbringing or advice may turn out to be fatal. Teach our young people the correct behavior.

[ca2282ludlow]

SOME WILL TAKE HIM OUT - SOMETIME - SOMEWHERE

HIS PARENTS RAISED A MONSTER - ARROGANT WITH NO BOUNDARIES

[iowa0319]

OK, this has been "world-wide" news for how long now? If the rest of the world would boycott the Netherlands and Aruba, and any other country that is tied to them (tourism, commodities, etc.) Make them pay for what happened to Natalie. They never have taken the first step in any of the arrests, the only reason they ever arrested Joran was under pressure from the US and then it was just for show. I say hit them where it hurts, in their $pocket$.

[prinzowhales]

libsrweak--I would think that the safest place for a murdering piece of filth like young Master van der Sloot would be in the Bush Administration...where any crime would likely remain uninvestigated, or where his sentence could be commuted like Libby...or in the Demopublican Congress where Senator Toe Tapper was briefly scolded and Representative Barnyard Frank holds court.

I hope a ''Dexter''-like character decides to vacation in Aruba and makes the aquaintance of the young smirking Master.

[azmka]

Another article last week had more details of the recording. In it, van der sloot says Natalie "started shaking and collapsed" He said that he tried to perform cpr but "she looked dead."
If that was true, why did he not call for help. Instead he had a friend dump the body where "it will never be found" He also said that he never really thought about her and hadn''t "lost any sleep over it."
This guy is a true punk m.f. Hope justice prevails.

[prinzowhales]

His taped admission is enough. If Aruban justice won''t bring this dog down...I hope someone will. Let there be justice...put this case on ice.

[ramos937]

I do not know if this kid and his pals are guilty or not. But I do know that the world is very sick of this charade. Everytime this kid is arrested, the courts rule that the evidence is not valid. Yet these cops keep doing it. Is there a way that the cops can be sued to stop this?

Also, why don''t the cops have someone legally competent look at what they have next time before trying to arrest anyone?

[tbweb]

Its obvious his dad has used his clout and influence to protect him. But it highlights another important issue or maybe the right word is important "reality". Wealthy and influential parents will in most cases protect their kids even when guilty, no matter how obnoxious, spoiled, arrogant or selfish they may be, even if they have a fetish for date-rape drugging and ocean dumping the body afterwards. The key to this case now is to focus attention on his friend with that boat used to dispose of Natalee. Which friend could he call that has a boat who is that close to him that would just show up on a moments notice?

[dgal878]

He''ll get OLD fast watching his back for street warriors for the rest of his life!

[fstop100]

dga878

i think like you.

[dgal878]

I think street justice is in order for people like him and OJ Simpson.

[dgal878]

It will be a shame if this psyco gets away with murder, but her mom now knows what happened and she needs to do what Natalie would want her to do.. move on.

[manhatten50]

All of this is a shame. I''ll be willing to bet his dad had a lot to do with this scam. Don''t like the smirk on the dad face.