DutchNews.nl - No warrant for Van der Sloot's arrest: judge

Aruba’s examining judge on Monday morning refused to issue a new warrant for the arrest of Dutch student Joran van der Sloot in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, news agency ANP reports.

The 18-year-old vanished during the last night of a school trip to the holiday island of Aruba in May 2005.

The judge’s decision follows a tv programme in which Van der Sloot was recorded by secret camera admitting he had been with the girl when she died and explaining how he got a friend to dispose of her body at sea.

Van der Sloot has twice been arrested in connection with Natalee’s disappearance. According to ANP, the judge said the televised confession did not meet the tough demands needed to re-arrest him. The investigation into the case has, however, been reopened.

In Sunday night’s show Van der Sloot said Natalee’s body will never be found. Describing himself as 'lucky', Van der Sloot described how he phoned a friend to help dispose of her body. 'The ocean is big', he said.

Dutch tv crime reporter Peter R de Vries used hidden cameras to record conversations between Van der Slot and a 'friend'.

Sitting in the front seat of a car and smoking marijuana, Van der Sloot is seen talking about how Natalee started shaking and died after they had sex on the beach late at night. 'She didn't say anything anymore,' he says.

After fitting a car with three secret cameras, De Vries was able to record a number of conversations with Van der Sloot as he went for drives with an older friend called Patrick van der Eem. Van der Eem approached De Vries offering to help with the investigation after meeting the student at a casino last year.

In one conversation Van der Sloot tells Van der Eem he phoned a friend called Daury to help get rid of Natalee’s body. Daury loaded it into his boat and dumped it at sea, Van der Sloot said.

But free newspaper DAG carried an interview with Daury on its website on Sunday night in which the 21-year-old says Van der Sloot is talking nonsense. 'That is bullshit,' Daury says. 'He cannot have said that. I was in Rotterdam at school.'

On Friday, Van der Sloot said he had made up the entire story. His lawyer also said Van der Sloot had nothing to fear from Peter R de Vries’ revelations.

In another conversation, Van der Sloot talks constantly about the financial compensation he is in the process of claiming.

In total, some seven million people watched De Vries' programme, almost half the Dutch population.

I used to defend van der Sloot, only because he was being condemned without any compelling evidence and he seemed like any other normal 17 year old. I am terrified that there are fiends like him who from a young age can hide their total sociopathy and even engage others to their cause.

Some of the most disturbing aspects of his confession are the callous ways he described that lovely young woman, heading to University on a scholarship with dreams of being a doctor. He was calculating and cold-blooded, blaming her, whining about "WHY ME? Why does this shit happen to me?"

The most treacherous confession was how he intended to sue the gov't and win a fortune. Mind you, his actions cost the Dutch and Aruban people millions of dollars and countless losses in tourism. He's disgraced Dutch people.

Even though he lies and lies, this confession served no purpose except to boast of something he's proud of getting away with.

By MRB | February 4, 2008 10:15 AM

This kid admitted that he was not 100% sure if Natalee was dead or just lost consciousness, he could have seeked help and drove her to the hospital. There could have been a chance the girl would still be alive today.

But he panicked and disposed of her into the sea instead as he claimed braggingly. How can society deal with a sexual predator like him who shows no remorse and continually lie to his teeth about what happened that night. And his parents who are full of denials as well.

We can only hope that justice be served for Natalee's sake, this man must be made accountable for his actions. But leave it to Aruba's indolent and laughable justice system, he will be "lucky" a second time and literally get away with murder.

By Carlos Borjal | February 4, 2008 5:05 PM

Membership has it's priveleges. It always has, and it always will.

My mother was thrown through the front windshield of her car when she was hit head-on by a drunk driver. The drunk driver ran through a stop light and across lanes of traffic to hit my parents' car. That drunk driver was the son of a diplomat so he had diplomatic immunity (this happened in the US)and he was never prosecuted. That's how it goes.

Anyone who thought this son-of-a-judge would ever be brought to justice was just fooling themselves. Even a confession won't get him prosecuted.

By Tim Lee | February 4, 2008 5:38 PM

My gut feeling supports Tim Lee's comment (Feb 4, 2008). From what I've read of Aruban law it seems Van der Sloot's sentence would be a light one anyway IF anything ever came to fruition. This is so very unfortunate, JvdS is a true psychopath/ sociopath in the most clinical of terms.

By lisa ong | February 7, 2008 9:18 PM

I am an American living in the Netherland Antilles and I have also visited Aruba with my small daughter. I find the Dutch laws to be insufficient in the punishment of those who take life. What is wrong with their laws? What will it take to change these archaic laws? This story is really scary and the countries execution of justice even more frightening!!!

By isha edgerly | April 20, 2009 3:06 AM