Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Crimes Against Natalee Holloway When did the Cover up Begin?
May 30, 2005
BUSY DAY IN ARUBA - MAY 30, 2005
Police statements given by Joran van der Sloot and Deepak Kalpoe purporting the Holiday Inn drop off lie was created in haste after receiving a phone call from Paulus van der Sloot in the early morning hours of May 31st, while on their way to the van der Sloot home. Yet movements of these suspects on May 30th, as well as communications records and statements from Aruban officials regarding these events that were taking place on May 30, 2005 imply that the cover-up had begun prior to Beth and Jug Twitty's setting foot on Aruban soil.
1. FREDDY KNOWS
The following words of Freddy Zedan in his June 12, 2005 witness statement would imply that the Holiday Inn fabrication was collaborated on May 30, 2005 - many hours prior to Jug and Beth Twitty's arrival at the van der Sloot's residence on the morning of May 31, 2005.
(a) On Monday afternoon on the 30th, Joran came to my house. He told me that the previous day, Sunday, he had befriended a girl in the Holiday Inn casino and that she had invited him to come to Carlos and Charlies that evening.
...They drove to the Lighthouse, she wanted to see sharks. But Deepak only drove up to the Lighthouse because his car is very low to the ground and cannot drive up to the North side of Aruba. The girl had said to Joran that if Deepak and Satish would have lived in her town, they would be slaves. After that they drove to the hotel. When the girl had pushed open the door of the car, she fell to the ground. Joran wanted to help her but she shoved him away.
(b) The next day, Tuesday May 31st 2005 in the afternoon, I was with Joran at the raquet club.
2. THE EARLY MORNING PHONE CALL
Paulus Van der Sloot claims in his witness statement of June 18, 2005 that he went to bed after picking up his son at the McDonalds at 11:00 PM on the evening of May 29, 2005 and slept through the night. Paulus denies Beth Twitty's claim that he stated on the early morning of May 31, 2005 that he picked up Joran and Natalee at McDonalds at 4:30 AM on May 30, 2005. However, according to Greta Van Susteren, Paulus concedes to a Dutch TV correspondent that he may have used his phone throughout the night. Also, the Superior Court judgment in January, 2007 which denied compensation for wrongful detainment ruled that the Department of Justice acknowledges that Paulus own declaration states that he picked up Natalee and Joran. The court stated that this could be considered just cause for detainment in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.
3. THE MISSING PERSON'S REPORT
According to Jan van Straten, a missing person's report was filed with the Aruban Law Enforcement by the beach patrol on behalf of the chaperone, Paul Lily on the morning of May 30, 2005. It could be assumed that this report would have included a description of the people who Natalee Holloway was last seen with as well as a description of the vehicle. It could be concluded that those within the ALE who had a personal and/or working connection to Paulus van der Sloot would have clued in regarding the identities of those described in the report. Is it possible that the van der Sloots were forewarned in regards to what info Natalee's friends had reported - information that could implicate Joran in the happenings of that fateful morning of May 30, 2005.
4. INTERNET CHATTER WITH A PURPOSE
Deepak Kalpoe conveys in his June 11, 2005 suspect statement that after dropping Joran and Natalee off at the beach on the morning of May 30, 2005 he and Satish returned home. He states that after Satish goes to bed he chatted on the internet with a friend named John Charles Croes. In his June 29, 2005 suspect statement Deepak convey that the purpose of his chatting "was to help the police and the Office of the DA with regard to the investigation so that they could see that I was indeed home in the night from Sunday to Monday." It can be assumed that Deepak Kalpoe’s attempt to create an alibi on the morning of May 30, 2005 prior to Natalee Holloway being reported missing would imply that Deepak knew that "something bad" had happened.
5. CHANGING STORIES
On June 30, 2005 Karin Jansen was being interviewed on the "Abrams Report" when she claimed that on May 30, 2005 Paulus van der Sloot assured Joran, Deepak and Satish that without a body there is no case. However, her words changed on subsequent days. Could Karin Janssen be part of the cover-up?
(a) “He confirmed to me that he told them that a few days after she disappeared." July 1, 2005 - FOX NEWS
(b) "He also spoke about the case with his son and the two other suspects some days after Holloway's disappearance." July 5, 2005 - CNN
6. QUESTIONINGS OF MAY 30, 2005
Prior to Jug and Beth Twitty's arrival on the Island, certain happenings of May 30, 2005 would imply that someone within the ALE was assisting Joran, Deepak and Satish in getting their stories straight regarding their encounter with Natalee Holloway.
Joran van der Sloot
On July 12, 2005 Anita Van der Sloot stated in a Joe Scarborough interview that Joran was picked up from school by police on Monday, May 30, 2005.
Deepak Kalpoe
Deepak Kalpoe claims in his official statement of June 10, 2005 that he vacuumed his vehicle prior to picking up Joran Van der Sloot on Sunday May 29, 2005. He remembers telling interrogators at Bubali that his vehicle was very clean because he had vacuumed his car the prior evening. This would imply Deepak was questioned by police at Bubali station on May 30, 2005.
Satish Kalpoe
On June 29, 2005 in a secretly recorded conversation in a police van, Satish Kalpoe tells Joran he told police about the choller in his first police statement. Satish's witness statement of May 31, 2005 has been revealed and there is no mention of the choller. It can be assumed that the first statement must have been taken on May 30, 2005.
7. THE RACQUET BALL CLUB?
Art Wood's investigation revealed that Joran Van der Sloot lied in his June 14, 2005 suspect statement in regards to his tennis lesson on May 30, 2005 at 7:00 PM. Art revealed, "when I investigated the Racquet Club I found that Joran had never played tennis there that night." Inquiring minds want to know what Joran was doing at the Racquet Ball Club following his father dropping him off at 5:00 PM on May 30, 2005. According to revealed court testimony - sixteen hours prior Carlos Ramos, the gardener, had observed Joran and Deepak sitting in Deepak's vehicle near the Racquet Ball Club. It is even more curious when it is considered that Joran's June 14, 2005 suspect statement reveals that he was again dropped off at 5:00 PM at the Club by his father on the evening of May 31, 2005 to play a game of tennis which he concedes he never played.
8. STILL LYING ON THE BEACH?
Joran van der Sloot declares the following in his suspect statement of June 14, 2005 that after his tennis lesson at 7:15 PM on the evening of May 30, 2005: "I walked over the beach to the Wyndham Hotel. On the way there I saw a lot of people. I did not go to Fisherman's Hut to see if Natalee was still lying there," Why would Joran entertain the thought that Natalee would be at the exact same place he had left her seventeen hours earlier?
9. THE FABRICATION
While detained at the same time, Mickey John claimed that Deepak conveyed to him that Paulus van der Sloot was a participant in the fabrication of the Holiday Inn story. As this account was related to Natalee Holloway's mother and stepfather on the morning of May 31, 2005, the implication of Paulus' involvement is that the collaboration must have taken place on May 30, 2005.
10. ONE HOUR GAP
In his June 11, 2005 suspect statement Deepak Kalpoe declares that after leaving his place of employment on the evening of May 30, 2005, he joined Joran at the Radisson casino at 12 o'clock midnight. He states in his declaration that two hours later Joran and him left the Radisson and were in the process of parking at the Wyndham when Paulus called to inform Joran that Natalee's mother and stepfather were at the home. Deepak then declares in his June 13, 2005 suspect statement that following Paulus call, he and Joran went directly to the van der Sloot's residence - arriving there at 2:40 AM.
Inquiring minds want to know how Deepak's time line is possible when it is taken into consideration that Beth and Jug did not arrive at the van der Sloot's residence until approximately 3:30 AM on the morning of May 31, 2005. According to Jug Twitty, he and Beth were still at the Holiday Inn at 3:00 AM viewing video footage. It was at that time that one of the employee's from Universal Air who were assisting them came rushing into the Holiday Inn to inform them that Deepak's vehicle had been observed within the gate at the van der Sloot's compound. The Twittys were driven to the police station and after waiting in the parking lot for a period of time, they were driven to the van der Sloot's residence.
These facts clearly show that the four main suspects not only had involvement in the crimes committed against Natalee Holloway, but also their intentions to cover up their crimes.
That none of these criminals have yet been prosecuted is appalling and disturbing.
Natalee and her family deserve justice, and we will not let up until they have it!
Natalee’s Freebirds
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
ARUBA'S ROGUE GALLERY:
THE CORRUPT ARUBA GOVERNMENT AND DUTCH JUDICIARY- A HISTORY OF DECEPTION IN THE CASE OF MISSING TEEN NATALEE HOLLOWAY
Within days of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance the Aruban government was fast at work on phase one of covering up her crime by inserting government spokespeople onto media and internet outlets. These front men for the government immediately began a campaign of deception about the case and rumors against Natalee Holloway and her family. One most notable spokesperson is Arlene Ellis-Schippers, a relative of a suspect in this case.
The Aruban government and business leaders embarked on a disinformation campaign in the media and on the internet within days of Natalee Holloway going missing. This started by suggesting she was a runaway but soon elevated into a full blown effort to blame Natalee for her own deah and cast suspicion on her family and fellow Mountain Brook students in both the media and on the internet.
Unfortunately for Aruba their misinformation campaign backfired repeatedly, the more intense it became. Americans only became more suspicious that a cover-up was taking place for the obvious three suspects, in particular the judge's son, and were more outraged. This has resulted in the whole island of Aruba being blamed for the actions of a few.
The second phase of government corruption began when it became obvious Joran van der Sloot, the son of a judge-in-training, would be unable to avoid arrest. Both Aruban government officials and Dutch judges stepped in to block the investigation and deter evidence from being collected. Aruba public ministry official Ben Vocking and Dutch judge Bob Wit blocked a search of the van der Sloot main residence twice—once when Joran was arrested and a second time when his father was arrested. The van der Sloot residence was never fully searched for nearly TWO YEARS.
The third phase of corruption belongs to the Dutch judges from Curacao who ruled on the case. These judges, who worked with Paulus van der Sloot, used the judicial system to make sure Joran van der Sloot and the other two suspects, brothers Deepak and Satish the Kalpoe were freed from further testimony in the case. The last person to be seen with Natalee Holloway, Joran van der Sloot was freed from detention on September 3, 2005 and released unconditionally by the Dutch judge Rick Smid. Upon his release he immediately fled to Holland.
Listed below are Aruba’s key yes-men, and their role in obstructing justice in the Natalee Holloway case
1- Arlene Ellis-Schipper- media spokesperson for the tourism group AHATA and cousin of another suspect, Guido Wever
Arlene was one of the early spokespeople to appear on U.S. mainstream media. Her most famous comment, which she repeated on several occasions, was "There is no evidence!" She also made the comment "This case is thin, thin, thin..." on Fox News.
It was later discovered that Arlene Ellis-Schipper had a set of very disturbing conflicts of interest in the case: First, she is a cousin to one of the suspects arrested in the case, Guido Wever, a close personal acquaintance of Joran van der Sloot who was arrested for "heavy battery" against Natalee Holloway.
Secondly, Ms. Schippers was forced to reveal in a television interview that she was being paid by the AHATA, a tourism group that has been documented with spreading misinformation about Natalee Holloway and her family throughout the case.
Ms. Ellis-Schippers was later caught in a blatant lie, insisting Beth Twitty had met with Karin Janssen on a trip to Aruba, a fact that was later debunked by Twitty herself.
Arlene Ellis-Schippers should have been prevented from ever talking to the U.S. media as a legal analyst for Dutch law as her cousin, Guido, was brought in for questioning within the first few days of the case. Yet she was allowed to remain as a spokesperson for well over a year. Guido Wever fled the island of Aruba to Holland just seven days after Natalee Holloway disappeared.
2- Jan van der Straten- lead investigator for the Aruba Police Department and close friend of Paulus van der Sloot
Jan van der Straten's role as lead investigator in the first two months of the Natalee Holloway case demonstrates the obvious conflicts of interest found in the Aruba investigation. Van der Straten was, by Paulus van der Sloot's own public admission, a "close friend" of Van der Sloot.
Van der Straten would have been very instrumental in the decision not to arrest the three main suspects in Natalee's disappearance until 10 days after she vanished, even though he knew almost immediately that they lied about dropping the Alabama teen off at the Holiday Inn.
Van der Straten would have also been involved in the decision to arrest two black security guards on June 5, 2005 which in effect prolonged the time given to the three suspects to cover their tracks and eliminate any evidence that should have been collected immediately upon the discovery of the Holiday Inn lie.
Van der Straten stated to Dutch media on June 12, 2005 that he believed Natalee was no longer alive and when asked by the reporter why he would make such a comment he responded, "Because I know the evidence and you don't."
Interestingly, two years later the lead investigator has never explained what that evidence is.
He also made comment months after he retired and moved to the neighboring island of Bonaire that the case should have been solved early on but that there were "people who didn't want to cooperate." Since suspects rarely cooperate, Van der Straten had to have been talking about a corrupt Aruban government and Dutch judiciary. Any high-ranking official with such a close relationship to a suspect's parent should have recused himself or alternately been forced off the case, but this is Aruba, a country in the grip of Mafia control who never saw a conflict of interest they didn't like.
3- Ben Vocking- Aruban public ministry official and close friend of Paulus van der Sloot who blocked the search of the Van der Sloot property
Ben Vocking, also known as Ben King, is an Aruba public ministry official who worked with the prosecutor's office and was the former head of KIA prison on the island. Ben Vocking curiously took a leave of absence from his government job the day after Natalee Holloway disappeared to help his friend Paulus Van der Sloot as he dealt with his son's apparent participation in her disappearance.
Joran Van der Sloot was arrested on suspicion of murder on June 9, 2005. Vocking laid low for two weeks purportedly staying at the Van der Sloot residence. He surfaced on June 15, 2005 at the door of the Van der Sloot home with Dutch Judge Bob Wit to block the search of the Van der Sloot property when the police and prosecution authorities arrived with a full search warrant.
Vocking and Wit successfully limited the search of the Van der Sloot main residence and property to Joran's small apartment only. They would do so again two weeks later when the father, Paulus van der Sloot, was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Why would a government official and friend of two murder suspects be allowed to intermingle and co-conspire with a judge to block a search of their residence? This is just one more piece of evidence that strongly suggests widespread corruption in the case.
4- Judge Bob Wit- Judicial associate of Paulus van der Sloot who disallowed the search of the Van der Sloot residence
When a full search warrant was presented at the Van Der Sloot home on June 15, 2005, Dutch Judge Bob Wit of Curacao (along with public ministry official Ben Vocking) met law enforcement and prosecution authorities at the door to inform them their search would not include the main Van Der Sloot residence or the surrounding property.
Wit had personally changed the order to include only Joran’s small apartment behind the home.
Judge Bob Wit intervened again eight days later when Joran’s father Paulus Van Der Sloot was arrested for reasonable suspicion in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, once again blocking a search of the Van Der Sloot home.
Without question Bob Wit knew Paulus van der Sloot - they worked on cases together and appear to be very good friends judging from such an outrageous ruling.
Since when do arrested murder suspects get immunity from having their houses searched? Judge Bob Wit needs to answer this question in the open forum of the Caribbean Court of Justice, rather than hide behind the opaque wall of Dutch law.
5- Judge Rick Smid- Judicial associate of Paulus van der Sloot who granted Joran van der Sloot his freedom
Dutch Judge Rick Smid, also ruling from the bench in Curacao, is responsible for Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers being free today. It was Judge Rick Smid who released the three suspects and gave them an unconditional release granting them immunity from further questioning in the case. Police statements and secret recordings of the three suspects suggest intimate knowledge of "something bad" happening to Holloway. He was also aware that Joran van der Sloot had lied repeatedly in his police statements. Judge Rick Smid chose to ignore this and grant immunity instead. Upon his release, Joran van der Sloot fled the island of Aruba to Holland where he currently resides.
Why would a judge exempt a suspect from further questioning knowing he had lied numerous times in his statements and had given conflicting testimony regarding other suspects? Judge Rick Smid also worked with Paulus van der Sloot in the Dutch judiciary system and therein the answer may lie.
6- Police Chief Gerold Dompig- The man who took over the investigation and was fired for his actions
Police Chief Gerold Dompig took over the Natalee Holloway investigation after Jan van der Straten retired in July of 2005. Before getting his pink slip in March of 2006, Dompig was responsible for numerous blunders and outright conflicts of interest that no doubt sealed his fate.
It was Chief Gerold Dompig who announced in Vanity Fair magazine and in a CBS television interview that he had a witness who had seen Natalee Holloway with drugs during her trip to the island. It was later revealed that his witness was his cousin, Boeti Naar, a well-known local drug dealer who lives in a plywood box on the beach in Aruba.
What was Dompig's motivation for using such a dubious witness to tag Ms. Holloway as a drug user?
It was also revealed that Dompig was a spokesman for the tourism group AHATA, a clear conflict of interest that undoubtedly skewed his perspective of the investigation. AHATA is comprised of business and government officials who formed a now defunct committee called the Strategic Communications Task Force. Their sole purpose, it is apparent, was to combat anything the Holloway and Twitty families tried to do to force an honest investigation into their daughter’s disappearance.
Dompig’s fate was ultimately sealed with his decision to conduct a highly visible search of the dunes near the California lighthouse on the north end of Aruba. The search, spurred by a worthless hearsay tip from a local bartender, was announced months in advance and even garnered a Dutch search team with special equipment flown in from Holland. Nothing was found and Dompig endured heavy criticism for his mishandling of the investigation by law enforcement experts and pundits in Holland. He was fired shortly thereafter.
The FBI offered to bring in boats that were capable of searching for Holloway’s remains in deep water. Aruba's fleet is not equipped to search in deep waters, yet Dompig refused. Why would a police chief refuse help from the FBI? The answer may lie with the corrupt Aruban officials and business leaders he represented during his stint as police chief.
7- Julia Renfro, Editor of Aruba Today- Responsible for spreading misinformation about the victim and her family through the media and internet
Julia Renfro has contributed the lion’s share of misinformation that has come out of Aruba since Natalee Holloway disappeared. Her personal attacks against Natalee and her family have appeared on both national media and internet blogs.
It is clear she has a relationship with the Van der Sloots, in part through her association with the IFA, and has publicly stated she believes they are innocent.
Her most notorious lie is that Natalee was attracted to a blue-eyed Dutch boy during the days leading up to her disappearance, a story that has been debunked many times through statements from both Natalee’s family and her friends from Mountain Brook who accompanied her on the trip.
Although the Aruban police, prosecutor general, and most recently the Dutch authorities from Holland, have publicly stated that Joran van der Sloot is still the primary suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, it seems Ms. Renfro hasn’t gotten the memo.
Renfro’s behavior has raised questions of whether her mission is a personal vendetta against the victim and her family or, even more troubling, that she is part of a larger plot to cover up the crime against Natalee Holloway.
8- Aruba's Internet Smear Campaign- The Aruban government enlisted government employees and outsiders to help cover up the case
Aruba's highest ranking officials, including Prime Minister Nelson Oduber, and government Tourism ministers Edward Breizen and Jorge Pesquera, mounted an internet campaign in the first week after Natalee Holloway disappeared to confuse the details and eventually denigrate the victim and her family.
Government workers, tourism board members, and employees of local business owners have all been documented as using the internet for these purposes. Some of these are still very active today.
Prime Minister Nelson Oduber grabbed our interest with this announcement about his “anti incorrect news committee” on June 30, 2005:
At the weekly Government press conference Prime Minister Oduber officially presented a committee that was just appointed and with the task to minimize the effect of all the negative and incorrect information that is being disseminated on Aruba in connection with the disappearance of the American student Natalee Holloway.
“The committee has been working for some time behind the screens without too much publicity, and function on behalf of the people of Aruba in order to minimize the impact of the negative news that is being sent out.”
Jorge Pesquera is president and CEO of the tourism group AHATA and was instrumental in setting up the Strategic Communications Task Force, a group that would specialize in slandering Natalee's character and that of her family while creating smokescreens in the investigation. The SCTF worked mainly via the internet.
Tamara Waldron, an employee of the Ministry of Tourism and Transportation (headed by Eddie Breizen), made the following internet post at Scared Monkeys, falling in line with the government’s wishes:
"...looking at the picture does not mean blaming the island or its people….we should keep looking at the big picture which does involve at looking at other possibilities, other than a crime, for the dissapearance of the 18 year old. So far there has not been any indication of a murder, a kidnapping etc and we should all stick together and help in searching for his girl instead of assuming things and smearing Aruba on the news. I do believe she will be found as there have been numerous sightings of Natalee, which indicate more that this is a runaway case than any other….of course we don’t know for sure, but we must leave the windows of numerous possibilities open." Comment by Tamara Waldron June 5, 2005, 7:13 pm
Congressman Spencer Bachus said they knew immediately that Natalee's disappearance was not the case of a runaway teen, but the Arubans didn't listen and continued to float rumors rather than arrest the main suspects.
Prime Minister Nelson Oduber went on (Aruban) national radio Friday night (June 10, 2005) to say if something happened to Holloway, it would hurt the island of 97,000, which depends on tourism and has a reputation as one of the safest spots in the Caribbean.
Many examples such as those above beg the question: Was the thought of having a murdered American tourist on Aruba such a threat to their tourism economy that the government would become involved in covering up the crime and assist in disposing of the victim?
Apparently so.
Natalee and her family deserve justice, and we will not let up until they have it!
Natalee's Freebirds
Within days of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance the Aruban government was fast at work on phase one of covering up her crime by inserting government spokespeople onto media and internet outlets. These front men for the government immediately began a campaign of deception about the case and rumors against Natalee Holloway and her family. One most notable spokesperson is Arlene Ellis-Schippers, a relative of a suspect in this case.
The Aruban government and business leaders embarked on a disinformation campaign in the media and on the internet within days of Natalee Holloway going missing. This started by suggesting she was a runaway but soon elevated into a full blown effort to blame Natalee for her own deah and cast suspicion on her family and fellow Mountain Brook students in both the media and on the internet.
Unfortunately for Aruba their misinformation campaign backfired repeatedly, the more intense it became. Americans only became more suspicious that a cover-up was taking place for the obvious three suspects, in particular the judge's son, and were more outraged. This has resulted in the whole island of Aruba being blamed for the actions of a few.
The second phase of government corruption began when it became obvious Joran van der Sloot, the son of a judge-in-training, would be unable to avoid arrest. Both Aruban government officials and Dutch judges stepped in to block the investigation and deter evidence from being collected. Aruba public ministry official Ben Vocking and Dutch judge Bob Wit blocked a search of the van der Sloot main residence twice—once when Joran was arrested and a second time when his father was arrested. The van der Sloot residence was never fully searched for nearly TWO YEARS.
The third phase of corruption belongs to the Dutch judges from Curacao who ruled on the case. These judges, who worked with Paulus van der Sloot, used the judicial system to make sure Joran van der Sloot and the other two suspects, brothers Deepak and Satish the Kalpoe were freed from further testimony in the case. The last person to be seen with Natalee Holloway, Joran van der Sloot was freed from detention on September 3, 2005 and released unconditionally by the Dutch judge Rick Smid. Upon his release he immediately fled to Holland.
Listed below are Aruba’s key yes-men, and their role in obstructing justice in the Natalee Holloway case
1- Arlene Ellis-Schipper- media spokesperson for the tourism group AHATA and cousin of another suspect, Guido Wever
Arlene was one of the early spokespeople to appear on U.S. mainstream media. Her most famous comment, which she repeated on several occasions, was "There is no evidence!" She also made the comment "This case is thin, thin, thin..." on Fox News.
It was later discovered that Arlene Ellis-Schipper had a set of very disturbing conflicts of interest in the case: First, she is a cousin to one of the suspects arrested in the case, Guido Wever, a close personal acquaintance of Joran van der Sloot who was arrested for "heavy battery" against Natalee Holloway.
Secondly, Ms. Schippers was forced to reveal in a television interview that she was being paid by the AHATA, a tourism group that has been documented with spreading misinformation about Natalee Holloway and her family throughout the case.
Ms. Ellis-Schippers was later caught in a blatant lie, insisting Beth Twitty had met with Karin Janssen on a trip to Aruba, a fact that was later debunked by Twitty herself.
Arlene Ellis-Schippers should have been prevented from ever talking to the U.S. media as a legal analyst for Dutch law as her cousin, Guido, was brought in for questioning within the first few days of the case. Yet she was allowed to remain as a spokesperson for well over a year. Guido Wever fled the island of Aruba to Holland just seven days after Natalee Holloway disappeared.
2- Jan van der Straten- lead investigator for the Aruba Police Department and close friend of Paulus van der Sloot
Jan van der Straten's role as lead investigator in the first two months of the Natalee Holloway case demonstrates the obvious conflicts of interest found in the Aruba investigation. Van der Straten was, by Paulus van der Sloot's own public admission, a "close friend" of Van der Sloot.
Van der Straten would have been very instrumental in the decision not to arrest the three main suspects in Natalee's disappearance until 10 days after she vanished, even though he knew almost immediately that they lied about dropping the Alabama teen off at the Holiday Inn.
Van der Straten would have also been involved in the decision to arrest two black security guards on June 5, 2005 which in effect prolonged the time given to the three suspects to cover their tracks and eliminate any evidence that should have been collected immediately upon the discovery of the Holiday Inn lie.
Van der Straten stated to Dutch media on June 12, 2005 that he believed Natalee was no longer alive and when asked by the reporter why he would make such a comment he responded, "Because I know the evidence and you don't."
Interestingly, two years later the lead investigator has never explained what that evidence is.
He also made comment months after he retired and moved to the neighboring island of Bonaire that the case should have been solved early on but that there were "people who didn't want to cooperate." Since suspects rarely cooperate, Van der Straten had to have been talking about a corrupt Aruban government and Dutch judiciary. Any high-ranking official with such a close relationship to a suspect's parent should have recused himself or alternately been forced off the case, but this is Aruba, a country in the grip of Mafia control who never saw a conflict of interest they didn't like.
3- Ben Vocking- Aruban public ministry official and close friend of Paulus van der Sloot who blocked the search of the Van der Sloot property
Ben Vocking, also known as Ben King, is an Aruba public ministry official who worked with the prosecutor's office and was the former head of KIA prison on the island. Ben Vocking curiously took a leave of absence from his government job the day after Natalee Holloway disappeared to help his friend Paulus Van der Sloot as he dealt with his son's apparent participation in her disappearance.
Joran Van der Sloot was arrested on suspicion of murder on June 9, 2005. Vocking laid low for two weeks purportedly staying at the Van der Sloot residence. He surfaced on June 15, 2005 at the door of the Van der Sloot home with Dutch Judge Bob Wit to block the search of the Van der Sloot property when the police and prosecution authorities arrived with a full search warrant.
Vocking and Wit successfully limited the search of the Van der Sloot main residence and property to Joran's small apartment only. They would do so again two weeks later when the father, Paulus van der Sloot, was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Why would a government official and friend of two murder suspects be allowed to intermingle and co-conspire with a judge to block a search of their residence? This is just one more piece of evidence that strongly suggests widespread corruption in the case.
4- Judge Bob Wit- Judicial associate of Paulus van der Sloot who disallowed the search of the Van der Sloot residence
When a full search warrant was presented at the Van Der Sloot home on June 15, 2005, Dutch Judge Bob Wit of Curacao (along with public ministry official Ben Vocking) met law enforcement and prosecution authorities at the door to inform them their search would not include the main Van Der Sloot residence or the surrounding property.
Wit had personally changed the order to include only Joran’s small apartment behind the home.
Judge Bob Wit intervened again eight days later when Joran’s father Paulus Van Der Sloot was arrested for reasonable suspicion in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, once again blocking a search of the Van Der Sloot home.
Without question Bob Wit knew Paulus van der Sloot - they worked on cases together and appear to be very good friends judging from such an outrageous ruling.
Since when do arrested murder suspects get immunity from having their houses searched? Judge Bob Wit needs to answer this question in the open forum of the Caribbean Court of Justice, rather than hide behind the opaque wall of Dutch law.
5- Judge Rick Smid- Judicial associate of Paulus van der Sloot who granted Joran van der Sloot his freedom
Dutch Judge Rick Smid, also ruling from the bench in Curacao, is responsible for Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers being free today. It was Judge Rick Smid who released the three suspects and gave them an unconditional release granting them immunity from further questioning in the case. Police statements and secret recordings of the three suspects suggest intimate knowledge of "something bad" happening to Holloway. He was also aware that Joran van der Sloot had lied repeatedly in his police statements. Judge Rick Smid chose to ignore this and grant immunity instead. Upon his release, Joran van der Sloot fled the island of Aruba to Holland where he currently resides.
Why would a judge exempt a suspect from further questioning knowing he had lied numerous times in his statements and had given conflicting testimony regarding other suspects? Judge Rick Smid also worked with Paulus van der Sloot in the Dutch judiciary system and therein the answer may lie.
6- Police Chief Gerold Dompig- The man who took over the investigation and was fired for his actions
Police Chief Gerold Dompig took over the Natalee Holloway investigation after Jan van der Straten retired in July of 2005. Before getting his pink slip in March of 2006, Dompig was responsible for numerous blunders and outright conflicts of interest that no doubt sealed his fate.
It was Chief Gerold Dompig who announced in Vanity Fair magazine and in a CBS television interview that he had a witness who had seen Natalee Holloway with drugs during her trip to the island. It was later revealed that his witness was his cousin, Boeti Naar, a well-known local drug dealer who lives in a plywood box on the beach in Aruba.
What was Dompig's motivation for using such a dubious witness to tag Ms. Holloway as a drug user?
It was also revealed that Dompig was a spokesman for the tourism group AHATA, a clear conflict of interest that undoubtedly skewed his perspective of the investigation. AHATA is comprised of business and government officials who formed a now defunct committee called the Strategic Communications Task Force. Their sole purpose, it is apparent, was to combat anything the Holloway and Twitty families tried to do to force an honest investigation into their daughter’s disappearance.
Dompig’s fate was ultimately sealed with his decision to conduct a highly visible search of the dunes near the California lighthouse on the north end of Aruba. The search, spurred by a worthless hearsay tip from a local bartender, was announced months in advance and even garnered a Dutch search team with special equipment flown in from Holland. Nothing was found and Dompig endured heavy criticism for his mishandling of the investigation by law enforcement experts and pundits in Holland. He was fired shortly thereafter.
The FBI offered to bring in boats that were capable of searching for Holloway’s remains in deep water. Aruba's fleet is not equipped to search in deep waters, yet Dompig refused. Why would a police chief refuse help from the FBI? The answer may lie with the corrupt Aruban officials and business leaders he represented during his stint as police chief.
7- Julia Renfro, Editor of Aruba Today- Responsible for spreading misinformation about the victim and her family through the media and internet
Julia Renfro has contributed the lion’s share of misinformation that has come out of Aruba since Natalee Holloway disappeared. Her personal attacks against Natalee and her family have appeared on both national media and internet blogs.
It is clear she has a relationship with the Van der Sloots, in part through her association with the IFA, and has publicly stated she believes they are innocent.
Her most notorious lie is that Natalee was attracted to a blue-eyed Dutch boy during the days leading up to her disappearance, a story that has been debunked many times through statements from both Natalee’s family and her friends from Mountain Brook who accompanied her on the trip.
Although the Aruban police, prosecutor general, and most recently the Dutch authorities from Holland, have publicly stated that Joran van der Sloot is still the primary suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, it seems Ms. Renfro hasn’t gotten the memo.
Renfro’s behavior has raised questions of whether her mission is a personal vendetta against the victim and her family or, even more troubling, that she is part of a larger plot to cover up the crime against Natalee Holloway.
8- Aruba's Internet Smear Campaign- The Aruban government enlisted government employees and outsiders to help cover up the case
Aruba's highest ranking officials, including Prime Minister Nelson Oduber, and government Tourism ministers Edward Breizen and Jorge Pesquera, mounted an internet campaign in the first week after Natalee Holloway disappeared to confuse the details and eventually denigrate the victim and her family.
Government workers, tourism board members, and employees of local business owners have all been documented as using the internet for these purposes. Some of these are still very active today.
Prime Minister Nelson Oduber grabbed our interest with this announcement about his “anti incorrect news committee” on June 30, 2005:
At the weekly Government press conference Prime Minister Oduber officially presented a committee that was just appointed and with the task to minimize the effect of all the negative and incorrect information that is being disseminated on Aruba in connection with the disappearance of the American student Natalee Holloway.
“The committee has been working for some time behind the screens without too much publicity, and function on behalf of the people of Aruba in order to minimize the impact of the negative news that is being sent out.”
Jorge Pesquera is president and CEO of the tourism group AHATA and was instrumental in setting up the Strategic Communications Task Force, a group that would specialize in slandering Natalee's character and that of her family while creating smokescreens in the investigation. The SCTF worked mainly via the internet.
Tamara Waldron, an employee of the Ministry of Tourism and Transportation (headed by Eddie Breizen), made the following internet post at Scared Monkeys, falling in line with the government’s wishes:
"...looking at the picture does not mean blaming the island or its people….we should keep looking at the big picture which does involve at looking at other possibilities, other than a crime, for the dissapearance of the 18 year old. So far there has not been any indication of a murder, a kidnapping etc and we should all stick together and help in searching for his girl instead of assuming things and smearing Aruba on the news. I do believe she will be found as there have been numerous sightings of Natalee, which indicate more that this is a runaway case than any other….of course we don’t know for sure, but we must leave the windows of numerous possibilities open." Comment by Tamara Waldron June 5, 2005, 7:13 pm
Congressman Spencer Bachus said they knew immediately that Natalee's disappearance was not the case of a runaway teen, but the Arubans didn't listen and continued to float rumors rather than arrest the main suspects.
Prime Minister Nelson Oduber went on (Aruban) national radio Friday night (June 10, 2005) to say if something happened to Holloway, it would hurt the island of 97,000, which depends on tourism and has a reputation as one of the safest spots in the Caribbean.
Many examples such as those above beg the question: Was the thought of having a murdered American tourist on Aruba such a threat to their tourism economy that the government would become involved in covering up the crime and assist in disposing of the victim?
Apparently so.
Natalee and her family deserve justice, and we will not let up until they have it!
Natalee's Freebirds
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