The “important information” that an American journalist said she had last year and with which the disappearance of Natalee Holloway could be solved, according to her, is incorrect. The woman in question has become the victim of deception and manipulation, concludes the Public Prosecution Service (OM) in Aruba after an investigation.
Journalist Greta van Susteren announced the news about the ‘important information’ via social media in May 2022. The investigation cooperation team (RST) then started an investigation a month later in collaboration with the American security service FBI and led by the Public Prosecution Service in Aruba. This has now shown that the information could not contribute to solving the disappearance case.
“On the contrary, the investigation has shown that Van Susteren may have been the victim of deception and manipulation by persons from South America with whom she had come into contact and who, in exchange for payment, deceived her with false information.” it says in a press release on its website.
The American journalist was informed by letter about the investigation results on Friday, according to the Public Prosecution Service. ‘We have also contacted Natalee’s parents.’
According to the Public Prosecution Service, Van Susteren received, among other things, a package from Colombia containing shoes and clothing that, according to the sender, came from Natalee. However, DNA research (by the FBI) did not yield a ‘match’ with cell material from Natalee or with that of main suspect Joran van der Sloot. A shoe turned out to be a counterfeit brand, which was also probably manufactured in 2019. Holloway disappeared fourteen years earlier.
photos
An examination of footage sent to Greta van Susteren also showed that she had been cheated and manipulated. For example, photos of suspected persons involved in the disappearance came from a public Facebook page. Other images, including photos of human bones that according to the sender belonged to Natalee, appeared to come from the public internet, the OM says. “For example, one photo was cut from a 2018 newspaper article about a garbage dump in Costa Rica.”
From further investigation of the ‘important information’, the investigators concluded, according to the judiciary, that there were no multiple sources who independently told the same story. ‘All the people who approached Van Susteren seemed to be connected.’
Joran van der Sloot
Natalee Holloway of Alabama has been missing since May 30, 2005. The 18-year-old American tourist disappeared after a night out in Aruba. The then 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot, who lives on the island with his parents and spent the evening with her, is suspected of involvement in the disappearance. He is arrested but released after a few months due to lack of direct evidence.
Exactly five years after Holloway’s disappearance, he murders 21-year-old millionaire’s daughter Stephany Flores in a hotel room in Peru. Van der Sloot flees to Chile but is arrested and extradited. He confesses to the robbery to the police and later during the trial against him. In 2012, the Dutchman was sentenced to 28 years in prison. In early 2023, he will receive another prison sentence of eighteen years and four months for smuggling large shipments of cocaine into the prison of Juliaca. Because a prison sentence in Peru can never exceed 35 years, this means that the now 34-year-old Van der Sloot will be behind bars until 2045.
He is still facing a criminal case in the United States for extorting the mother of Natalee Holloway. He allegedly offered to reveal the location of Natalee’s body for $250,000. That has not been found so far.
Bone remains
Natalee’s father found bone remains in a park in Aruba in 2017 with the help of a private detective, but it turned out that they did not come from his daughter. Dave Holloway said he was tipped off by a former roommate of former suspect Joran van der Sloot’s best friend. That tipster states that Joran put GHB in Holloway’s drink. The victim then suffocated because she vomited. Joran would then have buried the girl together with his father Paul – a judge – in a park.
The Public Prosecution Service in Aruba debunked the ‘discovery’ by stating that the same place had already been searched but nothing was found. Crime reporter Peter R. de Vries also questioned it. He spoke of ‘a curious story’ and a bizarre investigation.
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