Van der Sloot's Book Gives His Version of the Night Natalee Vanished

Nov. 28, 2007 — -- As prosecutors prepare again to question Dutch student Joran van der Sloot in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, readers in the Netherlands can simply go to a bookstore to find out what he is likely to say.

In "The Case of Natalee Holloway: My Own Story about her Disappearance on Aruba," Van der Sloot admits he lied to police, and he apologizes to Natalee's family. Yet he insists he is innocent.

"I see this book as my opportunity to be open and honest about everything that happened, for anyone who wants to read it," Van der Sloot writes in the introduction to the 351-page tome, which he co- wrote with a Dutch journalist. "I understand that my lies in the past seriously tarnished my credibility, and that some people will not believe what is written in this book. Still, I feel that contributing to this book is something I have to do. I hope to contribute in this way to recovering the truth."

He continues, "I want to apologize to Natalee's parents, Dave Holloway and Beth Twitty, and to both of their families, for the fact that I initially made up statements. I can't say that I agree with many of the things they did, but the pain of not knowing where their daughter is and what happened to her must be unimaginably great. ? I hope every day that Natalee will be found."

The book was published in the Netherlands in April 2007 but never translated into English.

Natalee Holloway disappeared on the Caribbean island of Aruba in May 2005 while on a senior trip with high school classmates. She was last seen leaving a local club with Van der Sloot and two of his friends, brothers Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, around 1 a.m.

Van der Sloot and the Kalpoes were arrested on suspicion of involvement in Holloway's disappearance in June 2005 but were released in September of that year for lack of evidence. Under questioning, Van der Sloot is said to have changed his story several times, alleging first that he dropped Holloway off at her hotel but later stating that he left her alone on the beach.