New Developments Could Heat Up Nearly Cold Natalee Holloway Case
Authorities search Joran van der Sloot's home for new clues.
April 30, 2007 — -- Almost two years after Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba, authorities are scrutinizing one of the case's original suspects with renewed vigor.
Joran van der Sloot was the last person to see Holloway alive. He was never charged in her disappearance, but investigators are searching his house and property to see whether they can heat up a nearly cold case.
The 19-year-old's history of deception has kept investigators and the Holloway family suspicious.
"It does add weight to the fact that they simply still have him as a suspect," said Vinda DeSousa, attorney for David and Robin Holloway, Natalee Holloway's parents.
Though van der Sloot has always maintained his innocence, his initial lies to prosecutors about the last time he saw Holloway have kept him in the spotlight. He first said he dropped her off at her hotel, but later admitted he left her on the beach.
When ABC's Chris Cuomo pressed van der Sloot about that night in 2006, van der Sloot implied that he lied to protect himself.
"I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want anyone to know I left her at the beach," he said.
Van der Sloot also told Cuomo that he couldn't get Holloway's disappearance out of his head.
"All the time," he said about how often he thought about what happened to Holloway. "All the time it's going around in your head."
Authorities and Holloway's family suspect van der Sloot had something to do with the Alabama teenager's disappearance. Though van de Sloot was held for three months, they have not come up with enough evidence to charge him.
Holloway disappeared May 30, 2005. If prosecutors don't find something by May 30 or convince a judge that the case should remain open, the two-year statute of limitations could run out, preventing van der Sloot from being charged.
Van der Sloot's lawyer believes the latest search of his property may be a last-ditch effort to keep the case alive.
"I think this is the last thing we're going to see in relation to Joran because the two-year time period in which he could be deemed a suspect is fast approaching," said attorney Joe Tacopina. "There's no new evidence."
