Top Defense Lawyers Weigh In on Holloway Case

March 24, 2006 — -- Aruban police apparently suspect that complications involving alcohol and perhaps drugs killed Alabama teen Natalee Holloway, who vanished during a trip to the Dutch Caribbean island and has been missing since May 30.

Witnesses have come forward who say the then 18-year-old Holloway had drugs in her possession and was heavily drinking the day she disappeared, Gerald Dompig, Aruba's deputy chief of police, told CBS television's "48 Hours Mystery" program.

ABC News asked some of the nation's top criminal defense lawyers what they thought about the possibilities.

Roy Black
Criminal defense lawyer, Florida
Represented William Kennedy Smith, Rush Limbaugh

ABC News: Is it possible that Natalie Holloway died accidentally, and that there was a coverup to hide her body?

Black: The problem with that is usually people don't cover up an accident or an accidental overdose. That may happen, but that is very rare. Usually, the only time someone covers up a death is when there is criminal conduct involved, because they're afraid of the police discovering their part in it.

So with an accident, there's no reason to cover it up. This theory is somewhat far-fetched because if she died of an accidental overdose, there was no reason for anybody to cover it up. Generally, when there's an accident, people just leave the body where it is. Why would anybody throw it at sea or anywhere else?

ABC News: Is it possible Natalie Holloway died accidentally but that there was no coverup, that her body wasn't found because she ventured into a hard-to-reach place like the sea?

Black: It's very hard to lose a human body. When somebody dies, it's almost always discovered, because it's very hard to lose or dispose of a human body. With decomposition, there is a very pungent smell, and it's very easy to find a dead body.

So I don't buy any of those theories. The theory that she died accidentally and somehow her body disappeared is highly unlikely.

Gerry Schargel
Criminal defense attorney, New York
Represented John Gotti, Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, Daniel Pelosi

ABC News: How significant are witness statements that Natalie was seen with drugs?

Schargel: It's hard to comment on that. Drugs are not talismans in whose presence all the other evidence in the case goes away and disappears.

ABC News: Is it possible that she died accidentally and that her body wasn't found?

Schargel: Who knows? The quality of this investigation has been less than stellar. But if someone dies accidentally of drugs and alcohol, it's likely someone would have sought medical attention. And the fact that her body would have disappeared on a small island smacks more of murder than drugs and alcohol.