Natalee Holloway Witness Can’t Be Telling The Truth, Says Prosecutor

Natalee Holloway disappeared during a graduation trip to Aruba in 2005, and since then her family has spent countless hours and money trying to figure out what happened to her. Joran van der Sloot, a ...
Natalee Holloway Witness Can’t Be Telling The Truth, Says Prosecutor
Written by Amanda Crum
  • Natalee Holloway disappeared during a graduation trip to Aruba in 2005, and since then her family has spent countless hours and money trying to figure out what happened to her. Joran van der Sloot, a young man who was seen with Natalee during the trip, has long been a suspect, but without a body it has been difficult for investigators to pin the blame on anyone. Now, a man who says he was a witness to Natalee’s death has come forward with a story involving Joran van der Sloot, but prosecutors say it can’t possibly be true.

    Jurrien De Jong says he saw van der Sloot chase Holloway into an area that was under construction, and later he emerged with her body in his arms before taking her into a crawl space. De Jong says he knew she was dead when van der Sloot dropped her body on the ground, but he didn’t come forward with his story at the time because he was involved in illegal activities.

    “I saw Natalee Holloway on the last night that she was alive. I was the eyewitness. I knew she was dead,” he said.

    But Aruba’s Chief Prosecutor Eric Olthof says it can’t be the way De Jong remembers, because the area–confirmed to be the Spyglass Tower at Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club Resort–wasn’t under construction in 2005.

    “It becomes indisputably clear that on the 30th of May 2005, no construction or building activities were started at the location that Mr. De Jong has specifically pointed out as the spot where Natalee Holloway would have been hidden and/or buried,” the prosecutor said in a statement.

    However, Holloway’s father says he has been in contact with De Jong for quite a while and had a private investigator call the man using a voice analysis tool.

    “He called me back a day or so later and said, ‘look Dave. This guy is telling the truth,’” said Holloway.

    Investigators say they don’t believe there’s reason to search in that area for Natalee’s remains, but her father says he doesn’t understand why any tip would go unheeded.

    “For them to indicate that they will make their decision in a month or two kind of tells me that they have no intentions of doing it. Simply to not do it, they need to give me a reason. A very good reason,” Holloway said.

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