Lead Investigator: Joran Van der Sloot Involved - Tells Ten Different Stories

Tromp said he is convinced van der Sloot was involved in Holloway's May 30 disappearance. He said the Dutch teenager, who has maintained his innocence, has changed his account of what happened that night more than 10 times.

"We thought we could solve this in a couple of days, but it turned out to be very difficult," said Lt. Roy Tromp, the lead police investigator. "In my 30 years as a police officer, I've never had a case like this."

Comments

[kescah]

Wow, I just heard the brother of the landfill witness- he says the witness called the police to come right away, but they wouldn't come. The brother told him to call them again and again, which I guess he did, but they wouldn't come. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? Van Der Straaten should be investigated, as someone suggested a few days ago.

[Rose]

Add me the list of those feeling frustrated and disgusted here....

Does the Aruban government really want to solve this case or not??!! How hard could it have been to have asked anyone from Natalee's family to tell TJ Ward that he needed a work permit? They have regular contact with the family! Sheeeesh.

Call Ward into the office, fill out the permit, slap a stamp of approval on it, and hand it to him. If Jug, Dave, or Beth were dissatisfied with his work, they could have stopped paying him and asked him to get on the next plane back to the US. It's not really our place to judge the merits - or lack of - his efforts there.

[Kelly3]

If Beth really knows things I think she better start yelling loud and clear. This case has a smell. I would not even say 50/50 that this case will be solved. More like -50.

[annb]

I'm beginning to think that Natalee will never be found. It sounds like the Holloway-Twitty's didn't care what happened to whoever was involved with her demise/disappearance, they just want there daughter back. Somehow I think they will have to go home long before this is over, if it ever ends for them.

[TS]

Well, if its the same police looking for TJ as the ones looking for Natalee, I think TJ has a good chance.
Posted by: Mother of 2 | August 3, 2005 10:49 PM

Good chance? He's got an EXCELLENT chance. Even if someone spots him on a street corner and calls the police, it will take weeks and weeks before they ride down to check out the street corner.

[kescah]

Oh, and BTW, the bro of the witness says that the three men burying the body at the dump were the three that were arrested- a pic of Joran, Deepak, and Satish was shown.

I love the clip of the Kalpoe bro walking somewhere and he sees cameramen running to catch up with him and he heaves a sigh and rolls his eyes. POOR GUY!

[mariaK]

Ria-why should someone by "afraid" if he is found to have not committed a crime? Are you implying vilelante justice? That's just plain stupid.

[sandyst99]

Ria
Great Post. Great mind think alike!

PI Ward is a threat to the Aruban officials. The Aruban gov wants control, and they aren't controling TJ Ward. He may/may not come across info that is damaging to the island.

They do not want anything to upset their "safest vacation spot" for American tourist propaganda. I believe they are doing a PR job on us. They appear to be helping, but believe me, they will NOT allow any info on drugs, etc. to come to press.

Also, Jossey Mansur (sp?) will help the Holloway/Twitty investigation only so long as it helps his political agenda. No more/no less.

Sandy

(PS: I do, however, think TJ Ward is a televison hog.)

[MrsJimiHendrix]

Thank you Father Dan for editing my 9:56 pm post. And for anyone I offended, confession is at 7AM tomorrow morning, breakfast following. After all, I am sure my foul mouth will be at the top of the sin list.

Posted by: Cindi in PA | August 3, 2005 10:49 PM

CINDI

father dan!! LOL!!

just do what i did and become and Episcopalian. it takes the guilt out of all those religions

[WillUSayI'mMad]

Ria,

I would say, yes. Joran would be wise to be afraid. That is unfortunate, because here it goes again, people trying cases based on popular opinion rather than respecting what a jury or judge has determined. We should have come farther along than the time when lynch mobs were formed to take down people who the public had come to hate for whatever reason. Without reliance on these established institutions, we disintegrate into anarchy.

But given recent history, it can be said he's probably going to have a hard road ahead. Consider Kaitlyn Farber who endured all sorts of people stalking her and making her life miserable because she dared to press charges against the great Kobe. As you know, eventually the public wore her down and she was practically forced to drop the charges. Imagine that, and she was not even the accused!

These days we try by the media.

[Sarah #1]

Good chance? He's got an EXCELLENT chance. Even if someone spots him on a street corner and calls the police, it will take weeks and weeks before they ride down to check out the street corner.

Posted by: TS | August 3, 2005 11:10 PM

Oh no.. the ARuban police will conveniently show up quickly to take T.J. into custody but they let murderers walk free.. and won't follow up on interviewing possible witnesses. They don't want T.J. to find witnesses that have possibly come forward but were put off by police.

[mariaK]

kescah-Have you been following the trail of stories with the dump witness? At first, he couldn't identify the 3 people and he "thought" they may have dropped a body shaped item. He reported his story and it was investigated. How else is there a record of the truck tags and evidence that the truck could not have been in the dump? The witness's story has gotten progressively detailed. Believe it if you want, but the dump was searched twice in early June based on the guy's statements.
The dump story is like the missing shoe story. You know, first there was a missing shoe, maybe. Then, Joran was allegedly trying to buy one shoe to replace the last shoe. Then the pair is supposedly missing and Jossy claimed that Joran walked home barefoot. Then, suddenly the whole shoe story is history. It's crazy.
BTW-did anyone else see Catherine Crier's shoe and the National Enquirer story?

[WillUSayI'mMad]

Vigilante justice is worse than "stupid," MariaK; it is wrong. The attitude sets a dangerous precedent and is very harmful in more ways than are obvious.

But then, many people have lost all objectivity. They have tried Joran and found him guilty, and now want to execute justice. This has all been done via the media.

[kescah]

Maria, I'm not saying it's true, but the possibility exists that it is, and we know that VDStraaten said "How can I do this to my best friend's son?" So 10 days elapsed. It seems to fit.

Nevertheless, we all have to accept that we have mostly what the media tells us and NOT what the authorities have found. If they were to release what they have, we may be quite surprised at the story that has unfolded behind closed doors.

[Big Pappy]

Night all, back in morning, praying for sanity in any of this and some closure, cya :)

[scubajap]

Posted by Rose:
Add me the list of those feeling frustrated and disgusted here....

Does the Aruban government really want to solve this case or not??!! How hard could it have been to have asked anyone from Natalee's family to tell TJ Ward that he needed a work permit? They have regular contact with the family! Sheeeesh.

Call Ward into the office, fill out the permit, slap a stamp of approval on it, and hand it to him. If Jug, Dave, or Beth were dissatisfied with his work, they could have stopped paying him and asked him to get on the next plane back to the US. It's not really our place to judge the merits - or lack of - his efforts there.

Rose, it takes MONTHS to get a work permit in Aruba,it isn't handled by the police, that is an entirely different agency. One must file serveral required papers and certifications of qualifications for the position you are taking with a sponsored company, and the company must show proof there are not native born individuals with the qualifications for the position you are applying for. The states also has some very strict laws about green cards, I believe.
T.J. Ward is not wanted on Aruba because he falsified evidence, which was proved by the American reporters here. He pitched his useless voice layering equipment for weeks, and when nobody was buying he pitched himself to the Twittys. I do suggest you check the former reports about him on this blog site before deciding he is doing a better job than the police. Because of his false statements, money, time and manpower was wasted on draining the pond.

[kescah]

Yes, Joran will have problems whether he is guilty of murder or covering up for someone else. He at least seems to know what did happen and is not talking. So he will probably have a rough life from here on out.

[clintcarter]

Do the Aruban police have press conferences?
What is the basis for this information at this time?
To say they know they have A guilty party but can't prove it?
Why make a public statement of that?

[John]

It is truly ashamed, this whole deal, my hope is the Aruban Justice system has more eveidence than we think. It just seems the truth is very hard to come by and if you are a friend you are above the law unlike the couple of security guards. This is all just opinion. I think they should re-arrest the dad, the Kalpoe brothers and Steven Croes and re-interrogate them all. Once they are there, put pressure on Anita to try and get the truth out of her husband because I believe she is the only one that has a conscious of those closely involved.

[John]

This has probably already been brought up but here goes anyway. When the witness went to the LE about the body at the dump (like day 2 or 3) and supposedly saw a man watching from a distance, got a license plate number (maybe all rumur), police did not go but if their is corruption involved then someone in the LE could have warned Sr. Sloot about the witness and give him time to remove Natalee's body and dispose of the body somewhere else.

[shonane]

Ria-why should someone by "afraid" if he is found to have not committed a crime? Are you implying vilelante justice? That's just plain stupid.

Posted by: mariaK
===================================
I think Joran should be afraid when he is released. There are people who have tried and convicted him and don't care that there is no evidence of a crime or that he committed on.

There are plenty of crazies out there that might just go after him.Hey, consider the logic of these kooks who just put explosives on the subway and bus in UK; did they care that innocent people would be killed?

I think part of reason Joran is being held right now is for his protection till all these people looking for answers leae the island.He definitely will be in danger unless they find Natalee somewhere.

[mariaK]

scubajap:In addition to T.J. Ward not having a required work permit in Aruba, remember someone here the other night showed that his PI license in GA expired in 1999.

[R Nelson]

I've seen speculation and comment about possibly drugging Nat. How difficult would it be to round up the drug dealers? Joran and the boys would have had to obtain it from someone. If that's their MO, I can't believe that this was their first time. Are there no other victims that can shed some light on their deeds? To believe that they're first time murderers, wow-they are quite accomplished; not to leave a shred of evidence???

Is the shark theory still plausible?

What's with the irony of Free Bird? Does anyone know why Nat chose those lyrics?

Very frustrating!

[LandofOz]

I said over on 100 that I hope they find TJ and lock him up. Right in the cell next to Joran. Then the squirming wil start and we'll see Paulus, saying, "No, Really! I didn't mind him knocking on doors and asking questions. It's OK. You can let him go. I won't press charges."

Then everybody on the outside will wonder what's being said on the inside and it will all open up. Maybe that's the plan....Nah.

HI MRSJH I see you're here. I'm checking out earlier than last night! I'm pooped!

[Texas Joe]

So Satish didn't show up at court huh?

If Furhman is correct about attacking the weakest link that weakest link is Satish. If they could get the Kalpoes back in jail and interogated he would be the most likely to crack and squeal on the other two perps!

[R Nelson]

Hey CIA- No spy satelites over Aruba around the 30th of May. Where's Big Brother when you need 'em.

[Rose]

SCUBAJAP-

Are you Aruban? Just curious. Thanks for the details about acquiring a work permit on Aruba. If I ever need to work there, I now stand advised.

Nowhere in my post did I state that I thought Ward was doing a better job than the police. You misinterpreted what I said.

Further, I have read almost every word on this blog since this case became public, including the various comments and opinions on T J Ward. I did not say that I was a fan, or was not a fan.

[JailLess1]

Hey I just read on another site on a post from a few hrs. ago that ES was in trouble also as well as TJ Ward, I already know about Ward but did I miss something about Tim Miller's group while I was napping?

[LandofOz]

Hey I just read on another site on a post from a few hrs. ago that ES was in trouble also as well as TJ Ward, I already know about Ward but did I miss something about Tim Miller's group while I was napping?

Posted by: JailLess1 | August 4, 2005 12:27 AM

Got into a nest of turtle eggs at the beach site they were searching. I thought that wouldn't be so bad, they could just recover and go on, but ???? said eggs were destroyed. I don't know if he/she meant destroyed accidently, or destroyed vandalism.

[JailLess1]

((Texas Joe)) Furman said that?!! I'm so glad u mentioned that cause I just told my aunt last month when cops & detectives are dealing w/ gang bangers they usually go after the weakest link which is the most timid kid, where as w/ adults they focus on the one that runs his mouth the most. The adults that don't bother being friendly w/ the cops & just ride are usually the ones who won't run their mouth & just do the time & get it over w/ whether it's their case or someone elses.

[JailLess1]

So ((Land)) u mean they may be in trouble for possibly destroying turtle eggs??!! Now that is petty, I guess

[Iamcanadian]

collaboration!
in its best form!
can't break a 17,18 and 20 year old!
my sister is here with me now, and she remembers that when she was younger, that she was influenced by older teens and she followed. being with the crowd, so to speak.

[LandofOz]

So ((Land)) u mean they may be in trouble for possibly destroying turtle eggs??!! Now that is petty, I guess

Posted by: JailLess1 | August 4, 2005 12:35 AM

Ya Think? So far tonight, one witness is being deported for being in Aruba illegally. TJ has a warrent for no work permit. And now the equisearch discovered turtle eggs instead of natalee. I think it is pretty damned petty, well not for the turtle eggs, but I think they should not be so obvious in getting rid of, one at a time, the ones trying to help.

[JailLess1]

Thank you Land.

[Iamcanadian]

helllooo!
NATELEEE!!!
NOT TURTLE EGGS

[AkekoaHoAlethia]

Wait a minute Wait just a minute ---

Something doesn't make sense here???
SCUBAJAP ???

Does Greta have this "work permit"?
Do the News photographers?
Do any EquuaSearch people?
What ANY of the news crews?

None of these people have been given this requirement??

None of these people work for anyone in ARUBA??

AND does TJ WARD work for ANY ARUBANS??

What about all those drug dealers?? Do they have permits???

Are none of them known to any police???

This is really crazy.

I wonder if a "professional gambler" needs a "work permit??

[Cathy]

There is something not quite right here. Karin Janssen leaves the island to go on vacation, and new witnesses appear, the gardener, and the landfill witness. The gardener is hesitant to come forward at first because he is in Aruba illegally, and that makes sense. Karin Janssen returns from her vacation, and now the gardener is being deported back to his country. Who is behind his deportation? The Aruban authorities are going to have a special hearing to get his account of events before he is deported. TJ Ward had been in Aruba for quite awhile asking questions, and now they discover that he does not have a work permit. It does not take a brilliant person to know that he (a star glazing mouth piece) was investigating the case on the island before the Holloways hired him. I would guess that Janssen learned of him through the news media and not the police force that is working for her, and that is the reason why now the work permit is so important. I learned on Greta tonight that the landfill witness (through his friend) called the police the day he saw the body. The recordings at the police station can easily confirm if he did call the police on that day or the officer on duty can confirm if he received the call. The police threw the landfill witness in the garbage (along with other evidence) when they arrested the two black men. Joran has given 10 accounts of what happened that night plus lying on the two black men. While the police was busy interrogating the two men in custody, the Van Der Sloots and the two brothers had plenty of time to destroy or get rid of any evidence that would tie them to the case. When one puts it all together, the Van Der Sloots out smarted the police and made a mockery out of them, not unless within his 10 accounts...lies bits and pieces of the truth like a puzzle for someone to piece it together.
It looks right now this case is not going to be solved until another female falls victim to Joran or one of the brothers, and that is sad.

[fiona]

Dont worry Maria and Will, no vigilante crimes will befall poor Joran. After all, no body - no crime.

[disgusted]

with all the documentation and solid proof out there that Aruba has been involved with human trafficking, & now the clearly apparant fact that their judicial system is currupt as hell, I don't think I would ever consider setting foot in such a terrible place. Ok, sure the majority of the people are friendly, and such things can happen anywhere, I've never heard or read of any country so unwilling to do what they can, and to say that they are is total bullshit. There are so many things they could be doing to make this investigation go alot smoother. Shame on every corrupt one of you down in Aruba. May you never have to experience the heartless cruelty that you're putting the Holloways through.

[mrp]

did anyone see the iterview that greta did with the witness friend ? sheesh looked like they got that guy off the streets of new york as a matter of fact i think i passed him this morinin on my way in to work !

[moey]

Cathy:

I'm sure you are right, this is never going to be solved. I'm not positive Natalee is dead, but I don't think whatever happened to her will ever be found out. I'm sure Paul, Joran, Deepak and Satish all know pieces, but I have always thought that Paul is the one who knows exactly what happened to Natalee and where she ended up. I don't think the boys have that piece of the puzzle. It's easier to lie and make up stories if you don't have all the facts yourself, you don't have to 'play dumb' you really are because you truly don't know.

I have been to the Caribbean and enjoyed it off of a cruise ship. At this point I really don't think I will ever return to stay on any island and certainly would not take my grandchildren there, obviously the corruption is rampant everywhere.

I hope the Holloway/Twitty families find some peace, its got to be just awful for them.

[mrp]

i am just sick of this whole damn thing anyone notice that know one in Aruba knows anything !! i live in the city and people see stuff all the time and i have heard people here say oh aruba is a big place.. well the city is also and people see stuff all the time AMAZING HOW KNOW ONE KNOWS NOTHING

[moey]

Its really amazing when you compare this case to the case of the bombings in London. Within two weeks their 'investigators' had arrested 8 of the known suspects in various parts of the world and had pieced together a lot of the plot. Now granted they had forensic evidence, but just think what could have happened in Aruba if the police had gathered evidence right off the bat and interrogated all those on hand from the beginning. Wow.

[shyne235]

ist all about papa vds, he has something on members of that investigative team. he is hanging it over there heads and they are cornered, twisting the case so that not even the FBI will be able to solve it.
Joran's 10 stories? Come one, obviously doing it on purpose.. for the sake of confusion. A suspect proooobbably would not want to change their story and further jeopardize their chances of walking free, UNLESS they have turned it into a game, which Joran certainly has.

I personally don't think there IS a body. During Joran's free period, that body was definitely moved and most likely burned so that it may never be found. No body no case. **No case not for the Aruban investigative team, the NO CASE was for every other person wracking their brains over this, including the FBI and even dutch authorities.

I think the FBI might find its answers by going back to teh time when Joran was free. that is the real critical period

[SusanW]

I think we should send the London police to Aruba. After, of course, they get a work permit.

[Granny]

Only a liar (Joran) needs to lie to cover up lies, and then can't remember the lies he's already told...hence, the 10+ different stories. It's obvious to any mother or grandmother (or anyone with a brain for that matter) that the little brat is a Liar with a capital "L". He is so used to Mommy and Daddy getting him out of trouble, and that's what he's hoping for now. Daddy already told him not to worry..."no body, no crime". What does that statement alone say about Daddy Dearest? I say get father and son alone together and grill the heck out of them. Threaten Joran to toss his father in prison for life if baby boy doesn't fess up what he REALLY knows. He'll spill it.

[Granny]

A question: Since baby boy will be 18 on Saturday, does that now mean he'll be in adult prison? Maybe THAT will shake him up a bit. That's not the place for a baby faced criminal.

[Mork]

Enough! This whole “investigation” is a joke. It’s pointless to worry over what is being done now. The whole case was blundered in the first few days. As many investigative experts have said the first 72 hours are the most crucial in a murder investigation. Joran and the Kalpoes were known to have been amongst the last to see Natalee alive and yet they were allowed to go free for 10 days. In their place two bewildered black men were jailed based on a generic sounding claim that a black man in a security uniform helped Natalee into her hotel after the boys dumped her out of their car into the parking lot. So let the boys, who many people saw with Natalee, go free and find a couple of black security guards, who only those boys claimed to have seen, to lock up.

It’s clear from this and subsequent lack of much visible police work that the investigators are at least not competent to handle a murder investigation. Particularly in a system that sets timelines for evidence collection – and let’s suspects go free if not enough is found. Yes, that is very fair to the suspect (maybe they are not guilty), but it also allows them the wherewithal to get stories straight, fix up any evidence and so forth. Not a very solid practice if you actually want to solve a case. No, you should not be able to frivolously hold a suspect but if you are the last known person to have been with the victim (even without a body) and you have told different versions of your story, that should be reason enough to suspect involvement.

I said it’s clear that the Aruban investigators on not competent to solve this case. What is not quite as clear is whether they are also corrupt. Is it taboo to actually convict a member of the ruling class? Also the some of the laws are quite peculiar. For instance it is apparently not illegal to lie to investigators investigating a crime. We know Steve Crues (party boat DJ) was caught lying and released. We know by virtue of the fact that they have told more than one version of their stories that the Kalpoes and Joran have lied repeatedly (they admit they did not drop Natalee off in front of her hotel where the black security guard was supposed to have helped her up). Greta asked Arlene about that point and Arlene did admit that it is not against the law because you are not required to participate in your own investigation of yourself. So you may lie and there is no law against it (I still don’t see how Steve Crues was cleared under this logic since he was not being investigated as far as I know).

There’s no question in my mind that this investigation is already lost. As has been pointed out by several professional investigators on news shows, even the FBI could not solve this case now. No one can. The evidence is long gone, Joran knows that all he has to do is keep his mouth shut (“no body, no crime”), Joran is smarter than the police, Joran has already held out this long and has already seen the worst of the interrogations, and time is running out. Either in September, or after yet-another 30 day extension to his detention, Joran will be let loose. The investigation may continue (ostensibly) but for all intents and purposes it will be over (it’s really already over). We’ll never know what happened to Natalee. I feel quite sure that whatever it was was an accident of sorts – precipitated by fast and loose behavior on Joran’s and the Kalpoe’s parts. It was probably a drug overdose. Whether Natalee knew she was taking drugs (such as ecstasy) or not (such as a date rape drug) I strongly suspect she was intentionally given enough to incapacitate her so the boys could have a little fun. Only she stopped breathing and 10 minutes later the boys knew they had killed her.

But with detention deadlines, no laws against lying to further dissuade you from doing so (no penalty so just do it ad nauseum), a lumberingly slow and unfocused investigation, plenty of time at the start to clean up evidence and synchronize stories, and plenty of time to understand the law enough to formulate a strategy of never confessing (“no body, no crime” means only a confession will do the trick here) it’s plain to see that this crime will never be solved. Indeed, according to Greta, she has met exactly 0 Arubans who think Natalee is actually dead. Instead they think she either ran off on her own or was kidnapped by sex slave traders. But definitely not killed by an Aruban.

[Pacifistone]

Beat it out of the bastard and his dad. Starting with his dad and his friends the Kapoles. Either that or just let the prick out of jail, and let things calm down for a while, and in time, someone will take care of the problem......bank on it. This situation will NOT pass without being satisfied.

[SusanW]

Josse M. seems to think that Poppa VDS has more to do with this case than meets the eye. He also said that Baby-boy (who is a "man" today) is finally cooperating with questioners. Maybe because he knows he's going to big-boy jail today? Not a nice place in ANY country. I'm sure they will have to put a baby-faced newbie in segregation for his own safety. I say, put him in with the hardened criminals...maybe that's just what he needs to break his silence.