Natalee Holloway

Natalee Holloway (born October 21, 1986) is a U.S. teenager from Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, whose disappearance on May 30, 2005 during a post-graduation trip in Aruba caused citizen concern in Aruba along with a media sensation in the United States.

Investigation

On May 30, immediately following her missed flight, Natalee's stepfather and mother, Jug and Beth Twitty, traveled to Aruba with friends by private jet. Within four hours of landing in Aruba the Twittys went to the Aruba police with the name and address of Joran van der Sloot, the person last known to be seen with their daughter. Accompanied by two Aruba policemen, they went to the Van der Sloot home looking for Natalee. During this encounter, Joran and Deepak related their first story.

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This initial story was that they drove Holloway to the "California Lighthouse" area of Arashi Beach where she and Joran "made out" for a short time before they dropped her off at her hotel around 2:00 A.M. They said she fell down and hit her head as she got out of the car, but refused help, and that she was approached by a black security guard as the boys drove away. On June 5, Aruban Police, led by Superintendent Jan ven der Straaten, detained Antonius "Mickey" John, 30, and Abraham Jones, 28, former security guards for the nearby Allegro Hotel. On June 9 Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were arrested as suspects involved in a crime against Natalee with ?reasonable suspicion of murder, manslaughter or intentional containment with the dead as consequence.? John and Jones were released on June 13.

Related Topics:
Arashi Beach - June 5 - June 9 - June 13

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On Friday June 17 a fourth person, later identified as disc jockey Steve Gregory Croes, 26, was also arrested. On June 22 Aruban police detained Joran's father, Paulus van der Sloot, for questioning, and arrested him the same day. Paulus was released on June 26 after agreeing to waive his right not to testify against his son. Croes was released on June 27. On Monday, July 4, a Judge Commissioner released Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, but they were re-arrested on August 26 along with another new suspect, Freddy Arambatzis, Joran's friend and neighbor. http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5596857.html

Related Topics:
June 17 - Disc jockey - June 22 - June 26 - June 27 - July 4 - August 26

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On Saturday, September 3, 2005, all four suspects were released from pre-trial confinement on the condition that they remain available to police, however on September 14 all restrictions on the remaining suspects were removed by an Aruban Court of Appeals. Though all arrestees technically remain suspects, they are no longer in custody. Joran Van Der Sloot now resides in Holland, where he is attending college.

Related Topics:
September 3 - September 14

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Beth Twitty has alleged in televised interviews that both Joran van der Sloot and Deepak Kalpoe have, at different times, admitted to having sexual intercourse with Natalee while she was 'slipping in and out of consciousness'. If true, this would appear, according to Aruban law, to be an admission of rape. http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/?p=1616 Twitty's allegations have not been confirmed by any official or independent source.

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The search for physical evidence has been unsuccessful, and marked by false leads. Blonde hairs attached to a piece of duct tape found by an Aruban park ranger were DNA tested, but the hair was not from Holloway. A small lake near the Aruba Racquet Club was partly drained between July 27 and 30, after a witness claimed to have seen Joran, Deepak, and Satish sitting parked on a dirt road nearby between 2:30 AM and 3:00 AM on the morning Natalee disappeared. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/27/world/main712230_page2.shtml. Another witness claims to have seen Joran, Paulus, and Deepak burying a nude, blonde-haired woman in a landfill during the first week after Natalee disappeared. The police searched the landfill by hand for two hours on one day, finding nothing of interest. Later, when a volunteer search team learned about the witness, the landfill was extensively searched with heavy garbage-moving/digging equipment. On August 15 it was reported that when search team members arrived at the landfill, the excavated area had been filled in with new garbage. Several bones had washed up on an Aruban beach and generated some interest, until an analysis of the bones determined they were not from a human. A blood-stained mattress was discovered, but the blood was canine. On July 4, the Netherlands deployed three F-16 warplanes, equipped with infrared sensors, to aid in the search. This attempt was also without result.

Related Topics:
July 27 - 30 - Landfill - August 15 - July 4 - Netherlands - F-16 - Infrared

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The reward for information leading to Holloway?s safe return, contributed by the Holloway's family, private donors, the Aruban government, and Carlos'n'Charlie's Restaurant, has grown to $1,000,000. A $250,000 reward is also offered for information about her whereabouts, alive or dead. http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1123521115283450.xml&storylist=alabamanews.

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