Robyn Gardner Also Bought Insurance Policy, Suspect's Lawyer Claims
Giordano's lawyer says client always bought insurance for trips.
Sept. 20, 2011 -- The attorney for Gary Giordano says the now-missing U.S. woman his client traveled to Aruba with last month, Robyn Gardner, also took out her own insurance policy for the trip.
"Yes, the two of them had policies on each other," Jose Baez, the newly hired defense attorney for Giordano said today on "Good Morning America." "Now, of course, since Gary was paying for the trip, Gary was the beneficiary of Robyn's policy."
Giordano submitted an insurance policy on Gardner July 30, one day before the pair, who met on an online swingers' website, left for a weeklong trip to Aruba.
Gardner, 35, has been missing since Aug. 2. Giordano, 50, has told authorities that the two went snorkeling and that the Maryland woman was swept out to sea by a strong current.
Baez told "GMA" it was not uncommon for his client to take out insurance before going on a trip.
"Every time Mr. Giordano has traveled this year, whether it's been with Robyn Gardner or other individuals, he, in fact, had another companion that he traveled with, he got the same insurance," said Baez, the same attorney who represented Casey Anthony in her recent murder trial.
He also fought back against claims from the prosecution and Gardner's family and friends that Giordano was eager to cash in on the $1.5 million insurance policy on Gardner.
Giordano contacted the insurance company four times in the days after Gardner vanished.
An insurance agent who spoke with ABC News said that no one she's dealt with in the entire year has both mailed a hard copy of their policy and faxed it in, noting Giordano's urgency in getting the documents in before the trip.
The insurance policy on Gardner is dated July 27, and is initialed and signed by Gardner, though the beneficiary information is filled out in Giordano's handwriting. Giordano listed his mother as his beneficiary on the forms.
"They're not life insurance policies," Baez said. "What they are basically are travel insurance, so what this covers is medical, dental, car rental and a whole slew of other things, including accidental death."
Giordano, of Gaithersburg, Md., has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Gardner's disappearance. He was arrested Aug. 5 and is being held by police in Aruba as the investigation into Gardner's presumed death continues.
Aruban Authorities Stage Re-enactment
Aruban authorities spent over two hours on Monday staging a minute-by-minute re-enactment of Gardner's disappearance to test Giordano's account that Gardner drowned while the two were snorkeling.
Nearly 40 officers, investigators and attorneys ran through various scenarios of what might have happened, based on eyewitness testimony, surveillance video and photos of Gardner showing her partying with Giordano in Aruba two nights before she disappeared.
Actors portraying Gardner and Giordano relived the key moments of the day Gardner disappeared, including arriving to the beach with snorkel gear and Giordano leaving the water to rush for help.
Giordano and Gardner arrived at the Rum Reef Bar & Grill at Baby Beach around 3 p.m. Aug. 2. They stayed for an hour, then left for the beach.
Shortly after 6 p.m. that same day, Giordano reappeared on security cameras. He was shirtless but was still wearing his toupee.
Witnesses have previously described him as eerily calm in the initial hours after Gardner vanished and said that his clothes weren't dripping with water like he'd been frantically searching for someone.
Giordano refused to cooperate with the reenactment.
Giordano Victim of 'Political Pressures,' Lawyer Claims
"We're against the reconstruction of the event, as they call it," Baez said today on "GMA." "I don't think there's any way of going into a time machine and replicating exactly what happened on that day. We've been against that from the start."
Calling the prosecution's charges against his client, "all smoke and no fire," Baez said his client is not a guilty man but, instead, the victim of a prosecution looking to make amends.
"What's very unfortunate about this case are the political pressures due to the Natalee Holloway case that unfortunately Gary Giordano is now paying for," Baez said, referring to the high-profile case of Alabama high school senior Natalee Holloway, who disappeared while on a senior class trip to Aruba with her school in 2005 and was never found. Holloway's family publicly criticized Aruba police for the investigation into their daughter's death.
"He had nothing to do with Miss Holloway's disappearance, however he's having to feel the after-effects of the fact that the Aruban police and the prosecutor's office botched that case," Baez said.
Whether Giordano will face charges in Aruba remains unclear. A hearing is scheduled there next month.
"At this point we're not certain about anything," Baez said on "GMA." "Unfortunately, very little is coming out of the prosecution camp. All we know is there is very little evidence and everything that gets turned over to the defense, it's all smoke no fire."
Meanwhile, Giordano could face more legal trouble back home in the United States. A federal grand jury is scheduled to convene in Maryland tomorrow to determine whether Giordano could face U.S. charges in the case.