Saturday, June 18, 2005

Time to Talk

More information is available on the fourth person arrested Friday in Aruba for the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

From FOX:


The Aruban attorney general's office initially identified him only by the initials "S.G.C.," but Holloway's mother told an interviewer that his name was "Steve." FOX News later confirmed that the man's name was Steve Gregory Croes.

Meanwhile, police brought in yet another man for questioning Friday night, FOX News has learned. The man, Max Arends, who is also a friend of van der Sloot, is not a suspect in the case and has not been arrested.

Police Superintendent Jan van der Straaten told the AP Croes was detained based on information from one of the other three detainees.

Croes, who works as a party boat disk jockey, said he was contacted by police Thursday night and went to the station voluntarily to give a statement, said his employer, Marcus Wiggins.

Croes also said he knew one of two Surinamese brothers being detained in the case because they went to the same Internet cafe, Wiggins told The Associated Press. However, Wiggins said that he had not seen the other three young men detained in the case on the boat where Croes works, a vessel called the Tattoo that offers nightly dining, swimming and dancing.

As for Croes' work ethic, Wiggins had nothing bad to say.

"I've never had problems with him," Wiggins told the AP. "He keeps to himself and shows up to work every day and does his job."

In Alabama, a woman who helped organize the graduation trip, Jody Bearman, said students did not go on the Tattoo as a group, although some could have taken a boat ride without the seven adult chaperones knowing.

"The chaperones were not supposed to keep up with their every move," Bearman said.

FOX News also learned that police may have questioned yet another young man, said to be of Dutch nationality, on Thursday night.

...Beth Holloway Twitty, Holloway's mother, declined to give any more details about Croes but she told Associated Press Television News that she believes more people could be detained in the case.

"This is just the beginning," she said.

...The judge granted a petition by van der Sloot's father, Paul, to visit his son in jail, but then reversed the decision. Paul van der Sloot is a judge-in-training, serving a three-year term on the bench that allows him to hear a limited number of cases.


Also Friday, the court barred van der Sloot's lawyer, Antonio Carlo, from visiting the teen, effectively removing him from the case, said Attorney General spokeswoman Mariaine Croes.

As a result, the van der Sloots retained two more attorneys for the defense of their son, Richie Kock and Arjan Debie.

The court granted prosecutors' request to remove Carlo because he had visited one of two former security guards who had been detained and released in the case, authorities said.

Croes said the Dutch teenager has a team of lawyers, so Carlo's removal will not leave van der Sloot without representation.

I feel so bad for Natalee's family.

This investigation has been a disaster. The authorities make decisions, reverse decisions, take people into custody, release them, and arrest them again.

For eighteen days, the family has been suffering, in limbo. Natalee's mother and other relatives have stated that they believe she is alive. I wish I could believe that. I pray for a miracle; but things do not look very promising.

Joran Van Der Sloot and Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe have not cooperated.


They were willing to let Antonius "Mickey" John, 30, and Abraham Jones, 28, be unjustly accused. One of the three could have confessed or at least provided information about what happened to Natalee immediately. They obviously thought they were going to get away with whatever happened without ever being held accountable.

Finally, someone is talking. It looks like Van Der Sloot's day of reckoning is getting nearer. Based on the fact that the Kalpoes have been so hesitant to talk and then altered their stories, one wonders about the extent of their involvement.


One thing is certain. Stringing this out is only making matters worse for everyone involved, both the guilty and the victimized.

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