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Aruba Closes Natalee Holloway Case
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
ORANJESTAD, Aruba -- Prosecutors closed their investigation into the
disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, saying Tuesday they
still believe three young men were involved in her death but can't prove it
after 932 days of searching failed to turn up a body.
The three main suspects in the case were re-arrested last month after
prosecutors in Aruba discovered online chat sessions they hoped would break
the case open. But none of the men talked in custody, and without the
18-year-old's body, prosecutors said they had no recourse but to close the
most notorious missing persons case in the Caribbean.
If the three suspects were put on trial, the lack of evidence "would lead to
an acquittal," the Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
Moving Holloway into the cold-case files "is a tough burden to bear" for her
parents, they acknowledged, but the prosecutors said they had little choice.
"The public prosecutor's office and the police have gone the extra mile and
have exhausted all their powers and techniques in order to solve the mystery
of the disappearance of the girl," the statement read.
Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, the last night of a trip with members
of her Mountain Brook, Ala., high school graduating class. She was last seen
leaving a bar with the three suspects: Joran van der Sloot and brothers
Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, who all lived on this Dutch island off the coast
of Venezuela.
Holloway's parents, who divorced years before her disappearance, have pushed
hard to find what happened to their daughter _ and Americans have followed
every development.
Police, soldiers and hundreds of volunteers combed hillsides and beaches of
this 75-square-mile island. Investigators partially drained a pond. Divers
searched the sea bed offshore. Dutch F-16 jets equipped with search
equipment conducted overflights. Dogs sniffed for a body.
Investigators interviewed hundreds of potential witnesses and arrested _ and
re-arrested _ several suspects.
At times, it seemed Aruba itself was on trial, as some U.S. politicians and
journalists assailed its ability to investigate the case.
Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, is "terribly disappointed" with Tuesday's
decision, her spokeswoman said.
"She was very hopeful the last couple weeks and she went down there and met
with the prosecutor," Sunny Tillman told The Associated Press. "He told her
face-to-face that he had new and incriminating evidence, and that made her
hopeful."
But the prosecutors' transcripts of the suspects' online chats "didn't have
any incriminating points," according to David Kock, an attorney for the
Kalpoe brothers. The lawyer said it was fanciful to think of the chats as
damning.
"It's like trying to say the Loch Ness monster exists," Kock told the AP.
The prosecutors said they believe van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were
involved in Holloway's disappearance. An attorney for van der Sloot said it
is unfair for them to say so without filing charges.
"Give this kid his due," attorney Joseph Tacopina said. "He's been
incarcerated twice falsely. They've investigated up and down everything in
his life."
Van der Sloot, who was re-arrested last month in the Netherlands where he
attends college and held for several days, was in Aruba on Tuesday enjoying
"a celebratory family event," Tacopina said.
The case was marked by confusion from the start.
The three main suspects first said they dropped Holloway off at her hotel.
Two security guards who worked nearby were quickly arrested and then
released. After hotel security cameras didn't show a dropoff, van der Sloot
said he left her alone on a beach but had no idea how she disappeared.
Prosecutors said the case could still be reopened if "serious" new evidence
emerges. The statute of limitations is six years for involuntary
manslaughter and 12 for homicide.
Tillman said that possibility leaves a glimmer of hope for the Holloway
family, which is now awaiting a deep-water search by a Texas-based private
group.
Few expect the search to turn up anything.
Aruba Closes Natalee Holloway Case
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
ORANJESTAD, Aruba -- Prosecutors closed their investigation into the
disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, saying Tuesday they
still believe three young men were involved in her death but can't prove it
after 932 days of searching failed to turn up a body.
The three main suspects in the case were re-arrested last month after
prosecutors in Aruba discovered online chat sessions they hoped would break
the case open. But none of the men talked in custody, and without the
18-year-old's body, prosecutors said they had no recourse but to close the
most notorious missing persons case in the Caribbean.
If the three suspects were put on trial, the lack of evidence "would lead to
an acquittal," the Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
Moving Holloway into the cold-case files "is a tough burden to bear" for her
parents, they acknowledged, but the prosecutors said they had little choice.
"The public prosecutor's office and the police have gone the extra mile and
have exhausted all their powers and techniques in order to solve the mystery
of the disappearance of the girl," the statement read.
Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, the last night of a trip with members
of her Mountain Brook, Ala., high school graduating class. She was last seen
leaving a bar with the three suspects: Joran van der Sloot and brothers
Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, who all lived on this Dutch island off the coast
of Venezuela.
Holloway's parents, who divorced years before her disappearance, have pushed
hard to find what happened to their daughter _ and Americans have followed
every development.
Police, soldiers and hundreds of volunteers combed hillsides and beaches of
this 75-square-mile island. Investigators partially drained a pond. Divers
searched the sea bed offshore. Dutch F-16 jets equipped with search
equipment conducted overflights. Dogs sniffed for a body.
Investigators interviewed hundreds of potential witnesses and arrested _ and
re-arrested _ several suspects.
At times, it seemed Aruba itself was on trial, as some U.S. politicians and
journalists assailed its ability to investigate the case.
Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, is "terribly disappointed" with Tuesday's
decision, her spokeswoman said.
"She was very hopeful the last couple weeks and she went down there and met
with the prosecutor," Sunny Tillman told The Associated Press. "He told her
face-to-face that he had new and incriminating evidence, and that made her
hopeful."
But the prosecutors' transcripts of the suspects' online chats "didn't have
any incriminating points," according to David Kock, an attorney for the
Kalpoe brothers. The lawyer said it was fanciful to think of the chats as
damning.
"It's like trying to say the Loch Ness monster exists," Kock told the AP.
The prosecutors said they believe van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were
involved in Holloway's disappearance. An attorney for van der Sloot said it
is unfair for them to say so without filing charges.
"Give this kid his due," attorney Joseph Tacopina said. "He's been
incarcerated twice falsely. They've investigated up and down everything in
his life."
Van der Sloot, who was re-arrested last month in the Netherlands where he
attends college and held for several days, was in Aruba on Tuesday enjoying
"a celebratory family event," Tacopina said.
The case was marked by confusion from the start.
The three main suspects first said they dropped Holloway off at her hotel.
Two security guards who worked nearby were quickly arrested and then
released. After hotel security cameras didn't show a dropoff, van der Sloot
said he left her alone on a beach but had no idea how she disappeared.
Prosecutors said the case could still be reopened if "serious" new evidence
emerges. The statute of limitations is six years for involuntary
manslaughter and 12 for homicide.
Tillman said that possibility leaves a glimmer of hope for the Holloway
family, which is now awaiting a deep-water search by a Texas-based private
group.
Few expect the search to turn up anything.
