The article below comes from http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060530/NEWS02/60530009.
Family of Alabama teen missing in Aruba pass anniversary quietly"The community wants to forget this case"? Ouch! Of course, a lot of us want Natalee's case to be solved, but that statement could easily be misinterpreted.
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press WriterBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Relatives of
Natalee Holloway marked the first anniversary of her disappearance quietly
Tuesday, still searching for answers about what happened to the Alabama teenager
who mysteriously vanished during a high school graduation trip to Aruba.
Father Dave Holloway worked at his insurance agency in Meridian, Miss.,
catching up on claims after a holiday weekend, while mother Beth Twitty spent
the day in Montreal working on the Web site of her new organization to promote
safe travel.
"I thought that would be the best way for me to do it," she said in a
telephone interview. "It's just something that I felt ... would be a good way to
honor Natalee."
There were no public remembrances or ceremonies marking the anniversary in
Holloway's hometown of Mountain Brook, a well-to-do Birmingham suburb.
"It's at Beth's request," said family spokeswoman Sunny Tillman.
Twitty began the International Safe Travels Foundation and often speaks to
high school groups about the hazards of world travel and safety. Holloway
co-wrote a book about the search for Natalee, who was 18 when she was last
seen.
The teen's fellow travelers and friends from Mountain Brook High School
have moved on to college without Holloway, who would be finishing her first year
at the University of Alabama had everything gone as planned.
Victor Winklaar, owner and managing director of the Papiamento-language
AWEMainta newspaper on Aruba, said the island has been hurt by calls for a U.S.
boycott since the teen's disappearance. He hadn't heard of anything being done
in Aruba to mark the anniversary.
"The community wants to forget this case," Winklaar said.
Holloway was an honors student at Mountain Brook High School, where she
graduated before leaving for Aruba, a Dutch protectorate, with 124 other
seniors. Seven adults went along in case of any problems.
The first sign of trouble occurred the morning of May 30, 2005, when the
graduates gathered in a hotel lobby before heading to the airport for the trip
back to Alabama. Holloway, who had been to a popular bar the night before with
friends, was nowhere to be found.
Authorities investigating Holloway's disappearance have arrested nine
people, but all were released for lack of evidence. Repeated searches of Aruba
and the waters around the island have failed to turn up any trace of the missing
teen.
Twitty said getting through the past year was tough.
"You just have to rely on your faith, and we do feel as if eventually it
will come out as to what happened to Natalee," she said. "I just have to have
that belief."
Since then, there has been news of one major development. Nancy Grace discussed it on her show on June 27 (transcript available at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/27/ng.01.html):
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, MOTHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: We want justice, and we
have to recognize the fact that, you know, this crime has been committed on the
island of Aruba and we know the perpetrators.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, LAST SEEN WITH NATALEE HOLLOWAY: I only knew her for
one night. I should have just stayed home and this wouldn`t have happened to me.
It would have happened to another person.
DAVE HOLLOWAY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY`S FATHER: There are some statements out
there that one of her friend`s alibis does not match up. Both things lead me to
believe that he knows more than what he`s telling us.
TWITTY: We just have to, though, keep going. The only way we will get
justice for Natalee is if we do keep going.
VAN DER SLOOT: I just hope that the truth coming out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, Joran Van Der Sloot, maybe it will. Apparently, there is yet
another witness now behind bars in Aruba that claims he observed the murder of
Natalee Holloway. Can he be trusted? Is he for real?Joining us right now is
Natalee`s mother, Beth Twitty. Beth, thank you for being with us.
TWITTY: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: Beth, every time you discover that there is a new witness, does your
heart jump and think maybe there is an end to this?
TWITTY: Well, you know, I was thinking about that just a while ago while I
was listening to your show. And, you know, for the first six to nine months, I
didn`t believe anything. I always knew and was able to remain guarded.But I`ll
be honest. The longer it goes on, I think that I`m a lot more vulnerable now to
just latching onto things that I hear when I know if, I can really stop and keep
myself grounded, that, you know, it`s not true. And it`s probably leading
nowhere with this new witness. But I just can`t help but let myself go the
longer the time passes.
GRACE: Well, recently, Joran Van Der Sloot, the chief suspect earlier named
by the Aruban police, who seemed to have botched the case from the very get-go,
was in New York and was served with legal papers. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back off. Back off. It`s official. Keep walking, bro.
Just keep walking.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are legal papers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please don`t touch me. Please don`t touch me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t you put your hands on me. Don`t you put your hands
on me, pal.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are legal papers, you understand? You understand
me?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a legal process, and you`ve been served.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is private investigator Bo Dietl trying to serve legal papers
on Joran Van Der Sloot, the Aruban judge`s son, who was once named the prime
suspect in the disappearance of an American girl, Natalee Holloway. With us,
Natalee`s mom. Beth, you seem to me like you are not be putting a lot of
credibility in this new witness, Carlos from Colombia`s, statement. What is his
statement? What does he claim to have seen?
TWITTY: Well, I think what he was conveying to some of the persons that
have interviewed him was that he`s actually an eyewitness as to what happened or
what transpired that night. And I think that he was describing a tall male. And
the young lady he was with, he thought at the time, could have been Natalee. And
I think he had some pretty detailed accounts as to what happened. And it even
led to the recovery -- I believe John had mentioned earlier -- a recovery of a
cable that was from the location where this witness described that he had seen
this activity transpire between these two individuals. And I think that was sent
to the forensic institute in Holland. No, we have not heard back, though, any
results as to, you know, what they found from this piece of cable.
GRACE: To the Holloway Twitty attorney joining us tonight, a veteran trial
lawyer himself, John Q. Kelly. John, thank you for being with us.
JOHN Q. KELLY, HOLLOWAY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Sure, Nancy.
GRACE: John, tell me about the cable that was found as a result of Carlos,
the witness`s story, the alleged witness?
KELLY: Well, Carlos took the Aruban police to the location. He indicated
that he had witnessed certain events. He had indicated that he saw the male take
a female body, dispose of it at sea, and dispose of it by weighting it down with
some steel cable. They actually had Aruban divers go into the sea at that
location, recovered steel cable matching generally the description given by the
eyewitness. So that was a form of corroboration.They`ve x-rayed the cable.
They`ve sent it to the Netherlands forensic institute for further testing. And,
you know what, Nancy? It`s been two months, and we haven`t heard anything about
the results of that testing, which is sort of par for the course, but we`d like
to hear something.
GRACE: Well, according to Beth, as well as Natalee`s dad, they never tell
them anything. Why do you think this would be any different, John?
KELLY: Well, you know, I`ve had a line of communication with Karen Janssen,
the prosecutor. And, you know, everything just takes so long. Remember, the
search in the sand dunes took six months. You know, I`ve been waiting on the
results of the cable examination for a month and a half now. And they just sort
of move at their own pace and don`t realize, you know, you`ve got a family
that`s very anxious, going through hell here, and lot of other people who want
to see some justice done and get some answers here.
GRACE: Let`s go to our producer, Eric Marrapodi. Eric, what else does this
guy, Carlos the Colombian, as he`s referred to, what else does he say he saw?
ERIC MARRAPODI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, this young man says that he saw
the murder of Natalee Holloway and the disposal of her body, as John was
explaining. And what`s important is to how much detail he gave in that
statement. And that`s really what`s at issue here and whether or not those
details can be corroborated. Nancy, a source very close to the case tells me
tonight that the devil is in the details, that some of those details that he`s
claiming to have seen, the investigators believe are just too detailed for him
to have seen from his vantage point.
GRACE: Right. Let`s go to Kelly in Texas. Hi, Kelly, what`s your question?
CALLER: Yes, I would like to ask Beth Holloway how does she deal with every
day of not having her daughter and how does cope with...
GRACE: OK, thanks, Kelly, for calling in. To Beth Twitty, response?
TWITTY: Well, I mean, we really rely on the supporters. And it`s just been
amazing, their endless support for the family. And I mean, days are difficult.
Some days, especially, you know, when it gets quiet for a couple of weeks. You
really begin to get discouraged that, you know, that this will just be forgotten
and Aruba will not be accountable for any action that, you know, had taken place
on their island. And, you know, it`s difficult to have that hope that, you know,
we will get to the bottom of it. But, you know, we just rely on the supporters
to continue to keep us going.
GRACE: And, Keith Lindsay, what do you do as a prosecutor when you`ve got a
witness that has credibility problems but also has some valid points? How do you
deal with that?
LINDSAY: Well, I think that the more points of corroboration that you can
place in front of a jury in a visual manner that has been corroborated by the
investigators, by the physical evidence, of course, will also bolster his
credibility. But if you can`t corroborate his testimony, and if he`s got a
motive to lie, then, of course, you have real problems.
I would like to hope that something will come of Carlos and the steel cable, and that it won't be the latest in a long list of dead ends, like arresting the security guards, draining the pond, the blonde hair on the duct tape, the arm found in Venezuela...
If you have any information on Natalee's disappearance, call 1-866-SOS-LOST (1-866-767-5678).
Natalee's website: http://www.natalee-holloway.com
One of probably many blogs about Natalee: http://blogsfornatalee.com
Wristbands to pay for searches for Natalee are still on sale at http://www.bandsonhand.com/products.php?cat=61.
Photo of Natalee from America's Most Wanted website.
No comments:
Post a Comment