The Murder of Natalee Holloway | Morbid | Podcast | Forensic Files

hey weirdos I am Ash and I'm Elena and this is [Music] morbid this is morbid we haven't done
this in a minute feels weird I know we like back backlogged all our recordings did a whole batch you know batched it up
so I could go to disn nasty with my mans woohoo wow that great I would say anything I don't want to don't offend me
I don't want to anger Disney people don't offend me I'm going to give it another shot eventually yeah with me for
the kiddos with me and I want to bring Papa yeah fck family [ __ ] trip [ __ ] we're going to make it great
figure how to like it I just wanted to see your response to that what did you say I said I'm going
to make shirts oh I was just kidding I want chose not to hear that part you said my brain blocked that part out I
said what no I like to wear my own outfits of course you do because I would never force a shirt upon somebody
because I like to wear what I want to wear yeah I like that about you thanks thanks I like a lot of things about
YouTube but yeah a lot I went to Disney and to Universal party I'm a theme Park adult and um I met some of you guys and
you were so nice I met Alexis and Sam and I think it was a vau that worked there and she gave us passes to go in
the Monsters Ink ride and that was really cool wow and who else did I meet I met a lot of names and I'm sorry I
didn't forget yours is just not coming to me right now I'm awful with names and it has nothing to do with like not
wanting to know the person it's just I'm really bad at names I want to remember oh Shelby I met a Shelby she was really
cool she [ __ ] loves you too everybody that I met also loves you feel like only
Shelby likes you Shelby really liked you everybody else said oo glad Elena's not
with you glad it's just S no everybody was like I love Alena and I love you yay no you guys are always so
sweet I love meeting people yeah we always have the best honestly like it's I love meeting people cuz we always have
the best interactions you guys are so sweet you're so kind you guys are so fun we always walk away and go they were so
nice every single time honestly every person that is walking away from us probably hears us together or like us to
our spouse being like Oh my God they that was so nice or that was so cool yeah it happens every time yeah um but
no that's fun and hi all of the people that Ash met hi I hope you had fun at Disney they did and Universal and
Universal wear your sunscreen I did I wee SPF 50 every day there you go smart I'm pale I'm pale I wear my sella do
drops please sponsor me every day go every day every day I'm wearing them right now even I love that for you thank
you thank you how are you I'm good do you have a book coming up I do have a book coming up I know I read it on the
plane it's did [ __ ] great listen to Ash spectacular page Turner thrilling experience terrifying to know you and to
think H that's in your head that's in your in your head head in your head all right you talk sorry well no that was
great that's that's really all we need is uh you can pre-order the butcher game The Butcher game.com it'll take you
everywhere you need to go um we Barnes & Noble is doing all kinds of fun things there's going to be you know um by the
time this comes out it will have already happened but there is there has been a Kindle Deal for the first book so you
can get ready for the second book oh that's cool uh but it comes out September 17th but pre-orders are
awesome and they make a difference and it means that you'll get your book first Sometimes you even get it like the day
before sometimes that happens yeah that did happen to a lot of people last time fun and they were [ __ ] stoked yeah
that's a fun thing that's why pre-orders I know like trust like let let's level together everybody sometimes a pre-order
you're like well the book's not out yet I'm not I'll just wait like what like you know like I get it fair I have to
really [ __ ] love the person to pre-order that's the thing I love you so I pre-ordered I appreciate that and I
understand that I totally get it you're like I'll just wait till September why would I spend the money now and I get
that and if you want to do that that's totally cool but I'll also appreciate that if
you buy it on in September when it comes out so as long as you just buy it just get it but it's true if you pre-order
sometimes you do get it a day early and that is kind of a fun perk and I've noticed that when I've pre-ordered
things and it is one of those moments where you're like oh okay I guess I just have this before everyone else does
being ahead of the curve is one of the best things ever it's a fun thing uh so yeah if you guys want to do it it's fun
and um you know maybe who knows if there'll be more who knows I know there's more catch it catch it now the
way it ends is there more I'm not going to tell you that you're such a [ __ ] you're such a [ __ ] you're such a [ __ ]
well with that with that with me name calling let's go um we have a case today that I'm sure many many many many if not
everybody knows we're going to be covering the Natalie Holloway case but I wanted to cover this uh one because it
is a case worth covering every case is but we are also going to have a followup to this and I just wanted to tell you
guys right off the bat because we are going to be sitting down with the director from peacock's pathological the
lies of yor and bander slute with for like a whole followup after this episode so if you have a chance between now and
when that comes out it will most likely be the next episode yeah um definitely check that out because we're going to be
talking all about that it's going to be real interesting yeah yeah definitely it
was a really really good documentary but with that being said let's get into the
case let's do it so Natalie Anne Holloway was born on October 21st 1986 in Memphis Tennessee she was the first
of two children born to David and Beth hallway the family which also includes Natalie's younger brother Matt they
lived in Clinton Mississippi until Dave and Beth's marriage came to an end and they decided to part ways but after that
Natalie's father Dave ended up moving to Jackson Mississippi around 1995 and despite the breakup of their
marriage Dave and Beth really made every effort to remain on good terms for their
kids that's awesome to just make sure that they could co-parent in Harmony and by all accounts they were very
successful at that yeah exactly in 2000 Beth ended up remarrying to George uh his nickname is
jug Twitty he's an Alabama businessman uh and that prompted a move from Mississippi to Mountain Brook Alabama
Natalie was right around 14 at that time so you could assume that up and moving at that age would be pretty difficult
yeah I imagine I think I'm not sure if she was in I I don't think she was in her freshman year yet I think she was in
eth grade but she acclimated relatively easy and really quickly became one successful at her new school like she
was doing really well and also really popular everyone liked her damn her friend Francis bird told reporters I've
known Natalie since she moved here in eighth grade ever since she's been here she's been the smartest of all us
friends oh so she was really smart she was a really likable person like a good friend yeah uh by the time she reached
high school she was already thinking about her future and her goal was to pursue a career in medicine her cousin
Thomas said she was everything parents look for pretty much in every Honor Society you could think of hardly ever
got into trouble pretty much everything you would want in a son or daughter oh that's heartbreaking yeah Natalie's
responsible attitude and commitment to her studies eventually paid off by the time she reached her senior year in high
school she was a straight A student at the top of her class and she got herself a full scholarship to the University of
Alabama holy [ __ ] which like I think that needs to be stressed like yeah all A's Straight A's is something so hard to
achieve oh that's no easy feat Straight A's and a full ride to like a really the
University of Alabama is a pretty good school yeah and I don't remember and maybe I'm not remembering it correctly
cuz it feels like it was a long time ago at this point I don't remember that being as you know focused on no I as it
probably should have been no and I think we'll we'll talk about that a little bit
this story like if if you were alive and like tuning into the news when this was
happening all you heard about it was everything you heard about but it was not very victim focused in the way that
I think it should have been it was more the story itself like of of The Disappearance itself and less about
Natalie more about like the tensions between Aruba and America and the media sensation and all of that like Natalie
and I think I end up saying like exactly what I'm going to say right now later she got lost as a as a girl and it was
the story that everybody was yeah cuz I remember it very clearly when this happened oh it was con it was like uh it
was like when meline mccan went missing it was that it was all you saw yeah exactly you know it was like yeah it was
all that Stu station every channel all the time yep it was the Amanda Knox trial it was like all that it was that
kind of intense coverage like a frenzy yeah but she was also uh active in several extracurricular activities as
well the the time that this girl like the the things that this girl made time for is nuts yeah she was in the Mountain
Brook High dance team she went to her Church's Bible Club she had a part-time job at a health food store and she also
found time to volunteer with organizations whenever she could damn like just made time to do good things
how do you have that many minutes in a day I don't know but after all the hard work that she put into her schooling and
just being like a overall badass in general Natalie asked her mom if she could attend the annual Mountain Brook
High School class trip to Aruba every year the seniors graduated they would go to Aruba for like a a reward a
celebration that kind of thing Beth really couldn't think of a single reason to say no to Natalie I mean why yeah she
wrote her step brother George had gone two years before and if I could swing it financially I wanted Natalie to have the
experience of course I understand that it's like I think I believe she was 18 like you know yeah she was 18 and it's
like you know like I want her to see the world she put so much hard work into her
schooling and and Aruba is known as a safe Island yeah know like we both had our honeymoons there yeah it really is
known as one of those places that people aren't like you know super on edge going
to you know so it's like what really would Make Her Say No Natalie's a good kid she right she's shown herself to be
responsible she's shown herself to be trustworthy and that she can handle this kind of Freedom yeah and it's like her
her stepbrother went like how are we going to say yes to one kid and no to the other like there's so many factors
but Dave on the other hand Natalie's dad he wasn't entirely comfortable with the
idea I can understand that too I see both sides of it 100% he wrote in his 2023 Memoir I was apprehensive about
Natalie taking this type of trip and I tried to talk her out of it I didn't like the idea of her traveling that far
away with so many other students and so few chaperon I can totally get that because I would probably be more on that
end because I tend to be a helicopter parent yeah which I don't think anybody can blame anybody either way for
absolutely I can see both ways I totally understand why Beth was like there's really she's given me no reason to
believe that you know yeah she goes to this Rel this you know relatively safe place with her friends that she's going
to have a fun time and come home and everything will be fine it'll be great and that's the thing like students did
this every year so you understand and again what are the odds you just think what are the odds exactly like it
wouldn't happen to me it's awful but despite her father's apprehension he did end end up giving Natalie a $500 check
to cover half the cost of the trip to Aruba a few weeks before the drip uh the trip excuse me Beth attended two
information sessions about it where the parents who wouldn't be on the trip would receive more practical details and
most importantly they learned about the chaperon who would be in charge of the students while they were on the island
and see they're doing their due diligence like they're doing the thing that you know like that's what they
should be doing right exactly in 2007 Beth wrote the position of the chaperon was made clear they'd be there for
emergencies such as loss passports but they wouldn't be conducting bed checks or roll call okay so they were really
just there to in case of emergency issue which you can kind of understand because
these are mostly 18yearold yeah I can totally understand that I that would stress me out a l but it
would stress me out but at the same time I can see where she was like she's 18 she's going to be going off to college
like there's no chaperons there I cannot imagine being in that kind of position because it really is that must I don't
have teenagers so I don't know but it's like it feels like that age would be the
toughest because it's like they're technically in the eyes of like many situations adults question you know you
know quote unquote and it's like they see themselves as adults because they're being told by so many things that
they're adults now and they're being had they have to take on adult responsibilties so why can't I act like
an adult why don't I get adult freedoms and it's like you need to walk that line
and I understand that it I it must be hard to figure out how I don't I don't envy them and I don't I don't look
forward excited to that I don't blame you but considering like I just said that Natalie and most of the other
students were either 18 or nearly 18 this position seemed reasonable to death so on the morning of May 26th 2005
Natalie arrived at the airport with 125 of her fellow students and seven chooon like Dave Holloway Beth's
decision to let her daughter go on this trip was not made lightly or without reservations known for its very vibrant
night life in countless casinos and clubs Aruba had a particular lure for unsupervised teenagers who were looking
forward to being away from their parents in a region where the drinking age is actually 18 yeah that's another that's
another factor of all this Beth recalled when a former Mountain Brook student came back from his class trip he told us
a chilling uh incident at a night spot called Carlos and Charlie according to the student quote some locals had tried
to get a couple of girls in his class to leave with them but the student quote stepped in to help diffuse a potentially
dangerous situation so she had heard about that and was very apprehensive that would make me very nervous like
very nervous about it but it was one instance you know and it technically that can happen
anywhere in their that can happen tomorrow night so it's like right you of course it's going to put you on a little
high alert but it's like you know you got to take it for what it is but whether the student Storyteller was
being truthful or exaggerating for a story sake the tale of this young woman in Peril definitely frightened Beth and
she be for that reason she made it a point to warn Natalie be vigilant when you're around unfamiliar people espe at
bars and nightclubs like they had that conversation probably multiple times and you do just have to hope that you've
taught them well and that you know they're going to be humans that have to go out in the world eventually so and
you that's what you've prepared them for their whole life so while Natalie was away Beth figured it would actually be a
good time to take a little long weekend get away herself so she called a few a few friends and they arranged a little
girl's weekend at her family vacation home in Hot Springs they were on their drive back to Mountain Brook on Monday
May 30th when Beth's cell phone rang the voice on the other end was that of a young man excuse me a young woman who
Beth didn't recognize but she would come to know as Jody the tour coordinator that Beth had actually spoken to um
during those information sessions before Natalie left for her trip but jod explained that the group had assembled
in the hotel lobby that morning but when the chaperon did a headcount Natalie was
missing she was not among those in the head count in fact Jody went on quote when the other Mountain Brook students
met in the holiday and Lobby to board buses for the airport Natalie's roommates notified chaperon that she
hadn't returned to the room the previous night no this would just hearing this is you would
lose it this is your worst night s my brain is in like fight ORF flight mode for her like it's just that's your worst
nightmare yeah it gives you chill your worst nightmare like story just be sitting in your seat on your way home
like no no this is a dream think of 100, different things that could be happening
yeah exactly and everyone is worse than the last one and just sitting there like
thinking this can't be H like there's no way and she's so far away mhm ex that's
the other thing that like I'm sure she probably struggled with just as a parent oh yeah is being an an ocean away you
know like an ocean between you kind of thing like exact that must have already been something she was sitting with like
that's hard 100% it's like I mean for us it's like a five six hour flight like that's a long time
like when you know John had to fly down to you know to like a couple hours away when his father passed away and he had
to do it kind of unexpectedly just for a couple days and he still is like he's like being a plain ride away from you
and the girls yeah was not for me like he was like not for me I thought about it to all day every day for two days
that's when like nothing like dangerous is going Hells to youon happened he was like the thought
that I had to jump on a plane to get to you or like it was going to take a long time to drive to you and I feel that way
too whenever I'm even like a couple hours away like even into like New York or something like that I feel too far
away oh I do totally get that and nothing's happening so it's like when when detrimental when when you're
getting that phone call and you are hours away on a plane mhm I the helplessness that must have been felt is
something I can't even conceive of no and Beth said she wrote instantly I know something bad has happened oh cuz you're
a mom you just know exactly you're her parent a mama always knows we always say that so she called her husband from the
car and asked if he could arrange for immediate transportation to Aruba and she was surprised when he hesitated he
suggested maybe Natalie had just missed her flight but Beth was like no she said
Natalie might be early for something but never late see and she knows her daughter she's like I know Natalie she's
she would not have missed that flight no and honestly I'd be the I'd be like I will overreact exactly I'd rather show
up there and overreact find her exactly so jug Twitty didn't object any further and started making some phone calls to
see what he could do about getting a private flight to Aruba straight away in the meantime Beth called her son Matt
who relayed the information about Natalie uh Missing the flight to his father Dave adding that Beth and jug
were booking a private plane and leaving for Ruba ASAP so Dave Holloway got online and found the phone number for
the hotel and he managed to reach one of the chaperon who volunteered actually to
stay behind in case Natalie showed up like people that's a real one they really showed up for each other here
unfortunately though the chaperon didn't have any more information than what had
already been relayed she was they were like I'll stay and if she's here but like that's all I really know but they
did mention that the group had received some help from the US drug enforcement agency um an agent who was actually
there on vacation and had made some calls to local police on their behalf that's great so a lot of people stepping
in to help here in the beginning in the beginning while Beth waited to hear back
from her husband about the travel going on she placed a call to the FBI field office in Birmingham but it was a
holiday weekend so the office was closed now not knowing what else to do she just
started going through the list of students on the trip and placed one call after the other and after talking to a
few of the kids on the trip a picture of the previous night's events started to emerge to celebrate their last night on
the island the students had gone out to Carlos and Charlie the same club that Beth had actually heard about from that
previous student where they partied until a little after midnight as they were leaving a few people saw Natalie
get into a dark colored Honda with a teenager that a few of the students had actually become friendly with during the
trip uh Jug's nephew Thomas told Beth his name is jiren or Geron or something like that according to Thomas the guy
was a Dutch tourist who was staying at the same hotel and to him he didn't seem dangerous they never do they never do
after a few hours jug had managed to secure a private flight and a short time later he and Beth were on their way to
Aruba the plane touched down a little after 11:00 p.m. so you just imagine that like imagine the stress of just
going to the airport in general when you're going to do something fun and like exciting just imagine
you're like just get me on that plane and get me there imagine having to get through uh like TS security while you're
dealing with this like I can't even but they went straight to the Holiday Inn where the students were staying and they
were met by the remaining chaperon and that vacationing DEA agent who was still providing some assistance after making
introductions Beth went to the front desk and asked about that Dutch teen who had been seen with her daughter the
person behind the counter knew exactly who she was talking about and immediately answered oh yes yurin he
gambles in the casino he likes to pray on young female tourists especially the blondes that is the worst thing she
could have possibly heard I can't imagine something like worse he likes to pray on like pray prey
on young female Taurus especially the blondes for anybody who doesn't know Natalie is a
blonde oh I can't like like I have goose just that just oh that's heart-wrenching
the desk agent went on to describe yuran as a tall quote good-looking boy like a
Dutch Marine debatable very debatable and most importantly when Beth asked where this boy was from the agent said
oh he lives in Aruba yeah so from the moment they arrived in Aruba Beth jug and Dave
Holloway he ended up getting making his way there too felt an acute difference in foreignness in the way that things
were being handled Natalie's disappearance had been reported to the local police and everybody at the hotel
and local casinos had been made aware of the situation but as far as Natalie's family could tell nobody seemed to be
taking the matter very seriously there were people out combing the beaches for Natalie but they were they were people
they weren't police or search and rescue they were just like volunteers and like just people from the
hotel even and you'd want to just be tearing the world apart as a parent you're like everyone sna to it the
especially law enforcement yeah this is your job go exactly everybody just kept telling the hallways quote just wait for
her she'll come back but obviously they weren't feeling good about that because by then Natalie had been missing for
almost 24 hours and was last seen with a local who was now they knew known to prey on young blonde tourists yeah and
they know their daughter exactly it's the same thing they used to do to people like they would do all the time they R
they still do they just ran away they'll come back I bet they're just like hiding
I bet they're just doing this and it's the parents are like no you don't know my kid I know my kid exactly I know that
they wouldn't do that and it's like and clearly Natalie would not take off for 24 hours and not notify back home she's
just never going home she met yuron and she's just never [ __ ] leaving like let's let's all get a grip no like this
is a problem this is a this is a huge problem it's so infuriating I would be losing my mind if I were her parents I
can't even imagine how cuz they're sitting there and they're like it feels like you're treating this very Blas like
and they were getting pissed off good there and as we all know from watching the case play out on like the story play
out on the media it this became like a very tense debate between how AR Reuben officials were handling this and how the
family wanted it to be handled which makes it even harder it made 10 times harder that there's such a barrier
between certain things and things are done differently in different places so it's like you're very out of your
element you know how things work generally you live yeah like you have a general sense of like how the situation
will unfold somewhere else you have no [ __ ] clue you don't know what the protocol is and it just wasn't what they
expected and I'll get into it Aruba feels that they handled this like how it was supposed to be handled
and that's that interesting they they say that they have a different way of of doing things they they don't even let
the family in on like the closest details they keep everything very very close to the chest because they don't
like when the media gets involved because that can [ __ ] up you know what an investigation you can see the benefit
in that you can see the benefit in that totally but you can also see why the Hol
were pissed off absolutely I can very much see from an outside point of view this with no like horse right right next
to me in this race I can understand the benefit of that and I can go okay I get it but I don't know that I would in that
I can't tell you that I would understand the benefit if it was my kid exactly but
having arriv rabbed a little later than his ex-wife Dave Holloway took some time
to get caught up on everything but going forward his experience was more or less
the same as Beth since she had been there when he arrived at the police station and asked to speak to somebody
about his daughter he was directed to detective uh Dennis Jacobs who after hearing the story asked how much money
do you have which is a strange question uh the question also seemed odd to Dave but he
ignored it and just continued asking questions about what was being done to find Natalie to his dismay Dave found
that detective Jacob's attitude was exactly as Beth had described the other people involved the detective told Dave
this happens all the time basically suggesting that Natalie had met a boy gone off for a few days was having fun
and he said she'll probably show up in a few days she's just partying hard yeah like we know her oh yeah cuz you know my
daughter we know her better than than you her parent so don't worry about it and then after that the detective
suggested that Dave and the others go have a beer at Carlos and Charlie's to relax and they were sure that Natalie
would probably show up there yeah go to the place where she was last seen and go
have a beer you'll relax there you'll relax there can you imagine I would be being have a beer while your kids
missing just go have a beer she'll turn up I would be RM Losing My Religion at this point like I would be losing it
100% I would become the new story like this that would I can't kudos to them for not scorching the entire Earth
I think they wanted to absolutely I'm sure they did but good for them for for keeping their eye on the prize yeah
under the circumstances it's easy to understand Beth and Dave's panic in the moment and their confusion and
frustration that more wasn't being done to find their daughter yes but I want to
note that locals have a very different recollection of these first few days of the investigation I'm just trying to
tell both sides here yeah you got to according to Gerald I think it's donig the deputy police chief in charge of the
case he said pressure from the family sidetracked the investigation from the outset he said it caused several
mistakes to be made that compromised the investigation and continued they brought
out their big guns on the very first day and they started shooting they didn't understand the way things are done in
our system they didn't want to understand they act like they came from a world where you can just Crush people
it was very harmful to our investigation okay that that's all quotes yeah like we've been saying this
entire time I'm sorry but if I had an 18-year-old missing daughter under these same CC I would be thect way and I have
to assume that most people would be I can't I can't fault them for being for acting they were yeah that's the thing
like I really can't I'm sorry I just can't but just want to want to show both both both sides and that's and I'm sure
that it's seen a different way from the people in the investigation so it's good
to point that out cuz none of us were actually there so it's like you got to say these things exactly it's just you
just wonder too you're like did you explain to them though like did like you know what I mean like did did you
explain how panicking like you do have to like I'm like do are you putting the same amount of like empathy into your
work that like you should be like that that you're sitting there going okay these people are suffering and they are
in the worst possible scenario that anyone could ever imagine so I have to give them their due of like you're going
to panic and lose it and fly off the handle but like then say okay so how can I make them understand that like we do
understand that and we empathize with that like that's what needs to be conveyed and to me just and this is just
a a pure opinion based off of what I've read it sounds like they the law enforcement approached this in a very
clinical matter that's what it kind of seems not comforting it's like if it had just been touched with a little empathy
we get it would have made all the difference we understand that we can't imagine how you're feeling right now but
this is the way we have to do things and if we want to find your daughter like we
understand that's all you want and that's all we want like is just can be conveyed in a different way I feel like
and and maybe it wasn't ex and the hallways they didn't feel like they had acted like any any type of way that was
wrong out of the ordinary for your child's missing in a place you're unfamiliar with they said that that
wasn't the case that they didn't come out guns blazing they said they were always willing to work with locals and
actually offered any resources that they could but regardless of who's right and
who's wrong I just note the difference because it becomes a very significant feature in Natalie holiday's
disappearance and it also kind of really set up the rift between us and arubin officials that had an undeniable effect
on the search for Natalie of I think things would have gone very differently had the heads not buted like they did
yeah that makes sense but at the casino the following day Beth and jug poured over security camera foot of the gaming
floor looking for the boy that Natalie had last been seen with and after getting a better description from Jug's
nephew Thomas the couple finally located yurine on the tape and got a print out of the still to bring to the police
excited to finally have a solid lead Beth and her husband rushed to the casino Lobby and they actually almost
collided with the handlers that they were with Alberto and claudo who had been talking to some of the their local
contacts they not only managed to find a last name for the boy seen with Natalie
but also an ADD address for where he lived on the island their suspect's name you're in Vander slute and you would
think this would be like the golden ticket 100% it in my opinion it should have been and the fact that it took so
long is so mindboggling it's mind-boggling and then on the same side of things there was no evidence that's
the problem it's like and that must be the worst part is you know exactly but you can't prove it you there's no way to
prove it and and you know he's just walking around just not saying it and it's like way he walked around not
saying it and then what he does to this what he did to this family and take cuz he confessed like he did this what he
did to this family just taking away their daughter is one horrific horrible nightmarish thing what he continued to
do for the series of the next decade is Unthinkable yeah he's like soulless like
truly soulless soulless but anyway it took some time in convincing but Beth and jug were
eventually able to convince local police to accompany them to the address that they were given for yuran Vanderloo when
they reached the house Beth waited in the car while the officer spoke to uh juran's father paus who told them that
his son wasn't home Paul is placed to call to yuran and yuran told his father he was playing poker nearby at the
Windom Hotel so this is like I think this is probably like a couple days later and this motherfucker's just
sitting at a PO a poker table and and we'll find out exactly what he did to Natalie the fact that he was able to
just sit at a [ __ ] poker table and gamble is mindboggling mindboggling but since he
said he was there police had it to the hotel with paus to find the teenager but when they got there there was no sign of
jurin big thing yurin loves to do is play games liar who plays lots and lots of games aside from poker but after
speaking with the casino staff paulus got another call from his son and he said he was back at home and in the
company of his friend I think it's DPAC uh calpo so Beth continued to wait in the car the second time while police
interviewed Juran and deepo who were standing in the driveway next to a dark silver Honda oh stop if you remember
Natalie was last seen in a dark colored Honda so as she waited Beth was on speaker phone with some of the kids from
the trip Who provided a very accurate description of both yuran and deepok now according to Juran he met
Natalie at the blackjack table at Carlos and Charlie's that night that she went missing and the way he speaks about her
is disgusting so I just want to let you know that off the bat yeah he is foul he
immediately spoke negatively of Natalie saying she came on to me huge dancing suggestively like a
[ __ ] and he knows full well what he did to this girl and this is what he's saying he continued well he's mad he is
M oh he's big mad he continued claiming that he quote did Jello shooters off of her stomach and brought her a shot of
151 proof room Natalie's friends claimed that when the bar closed she said that she was going to get a ride back to the
holiday in with Juran and his friends but yuran said she just wanted to go with him so he Natalie and his two
friends got into the car and headed toward the beach he told the officers that he and Natalie were making out in
the back of the car but she was quote unquote so drunk she kept falling asleep and waking up maybe you should stop
trying to should bring her back do anything with her then and just bring her back to the hotel cuz if you're a
good person that's what you would have done but you're not but clearly you're not he claimed that when they got to the
beach they had consensual sex which they literally couldn't have if she was so drunk that she was falling asleep and
then waking up and then falling asleep again that's not consensual sex and he provided us a description of the
underwear that she was wearing that night but then he decided in the middle of all that that she was too drunk so he
did bring her back to the holiday in oh and that was the last time he saw her he's such a good guy yeah according to
Dave Holloway the local police were more than happy to accept juran's explanation
but the family and friends who arrived to look for Natalie were very skeptical that he was telling the truth uh for
many reasons Dave said Jacobs considered the boy statement to be consistent that
they had all said theyd dropped Natalie off at the hotel however the tapes did not show Natalie returning to the
holiday in that exactly that's the thing I'm like that's that's weird that's when
I would get [ __ ] pissed that's why are you accepting that story as true this random kid who is known to pray on
girls on blonde tourists like I'm sorry we're were just going to accept what he says that he's a good guy and just
brought her home and you already have the the footage from the holiday it doesn't show her returning to the hotel
so what's the hole in that story and maybe this was one of the moments where the police did feel like they found a
hole and were just like not saying anything because they were keeping it close to the chest but as a family
member that would drive me [ __ ] insane and that's when that tactic of of Investigation does work does become an
issue right I understand want not wanting to get the media involved but the family got to keep some family
members in the loop man like because they're going to start thinking that you're not doing anything and then
they're going to go to the media to get help and that's exactly what and you can't blame them for it it's like come
on like there's got to be because again we can understand the benefit of keeping
things away from the media and keeping things close to the chest the media can [ __ ] everything up so it's like we get
it yeah we always say that in investigations we get keeping things close to the chest but there's got to be
a balance with the family it's a fine there's got to be Bal especially with like parents and [ __ ] like that like
there has to be some flow of communication so they know that you're doing your job and that this form of
investigation that you guys do is is working and that you're actually like moving forward with it exactly and you
it's like it should be that way with anybody but especially the fact that they traveled all all the way here to
find their daughter let them in on some information just come on so getting nowhere with local police Beth and jug
finally got a hold of the FBI office in Birmingham on June 1st and that office agreed to provide whatever assistance
they could to search for Natalie at the same time Beth received a text message from her son that read mom I called CNN
now the whole world knows about Natalie wow cuz I think her brother saw that nothing was really being done he's
hearing the frustration in his mom and dad's voice and a stepdad and he's like okay well then we have to [ __ ] do
something like I get it oh I get it I 100% understand why they went to the media I get yeah I know there's a lot of
different opinions about that but personally I get it well and I think you're the only people should who should
be able to really have valid opinions about it are family members of victims who have gone through this stuff M
agreed uh that those are the really the only opinions that I would want to hear on the matter yeah cuz you don't know
what do you think you've been through this like you know I can sit here and speculate what I
would do and what I would but I have not been through that exactly so it's like and and everybody else speculating and
saying that like you know they shouldn't have or they should have done this if you haven't gone through something
similar you don't know we don't really know you don't know that's the [ __ ] that
will spin your worlds into a whole different orbit and you can't even begin to prepare for it no and hopefully
nobody like yeah ever has to Hope and then that's the thing you hope that you never ever have to know what that de
decision making process is like exactly but when the news about Natalie's disappearance broke on the major US news
outlets the tips began flooding in which as we know can either help or completely
[ __ ] something up and that's where it's like I can understand all the different
sides of this because there is downsides there are definitely down downsides people claim to have seen Natalie at
various places around the island that night with many claiming to have seen her in the company of known drug dealers
which so it gets out of control it gets out of control to Beth jug and Dave the local police had already proven
themselves to be of little use so they just spent days following up on those leads themselves any tip they got they
tried to follow up on every single thing they got the days began to run together
as the family pursued every lead just like anything they possibly could increasingly convinced that Natalie had
been kidnapped and trafficked to another country that's the other thing it it can
completely steer you in a different direction that you've never even thought of and that unfortunately isn't what
happened ex and you spend like you understand why they want to chase down every lead but it sucks that people will
call in and say things like that and not think of the fact that these people wasted so much time going down that road
when they never had to yeah it's like when they would go to the ends of the Earth for their loved on so they will
chase these things down and it's like you have to be like a special kind of [ __ ] up mhm to be like putting in if
you're one of the people who like puts in like those fake tips and [ __ ] I don't
understand that's a special kind of [ __ ] I don't get that but at that point in
the investigation few people in Aruba seemed interested in helping Beth much less than investigating the case however
Beth did manage to find two allies in uh I think it's Julia Renfro and Angela munsen heler an editor and reporter for
the English language magazine Aruba today mothers themselves they were incredibly sympathetic and offered to
help in any way they could including using the magazine to Rally American tourists and ex Patriots to
help look for Natalie after a few radio announcements and articles more than a 100 American tourists and a handful of
locals and policemen were searching the island for Natalie doing the job the local police were seemingly reluctant to
perform the advocacy coming from the women at the AR at Aruba today caught the eye of uh yon Vander stron a Dutch
Police Superintendent who had also been assigned to the case and Julia Renfro recalled an altercation with him during
the search she said Vander stron walks up to me and tells me you can't do this I said yes I can I'm going to find this
girl he told me she wasn't even considered missing for 48 hours in fact he told me just to go to ladies night at
Carlos and Charlie's that night and that she would probably show up there the amount of people telling like
anybody trying to help our actual family members and loved ones in this case to go to Carlos and Charlie's the last PL
like and just go chill out I don't understand no I don't get that that mindset I don't know if I'm just like a
crazy American girl but that would I would I can't imagine somebody looking at me telling me to go to the last place
that my loved one was not to like go find Clues but just just to go wait for them just go relax they'll show back up
just go to ladies night yeah cuz they'll she'll show back up how do you not just
look at that person in in the face and just go [ __ ] you yeah I would [ __ ] you I
would lose it personally but it's fair to say from the moment they arrived on the island and began looking for their
daughter the Twitty and Holloway families did get on the wrong side of local law enforcement Gerald dump Pig
later said jug and his Alabama friends they basically came out and said they would bring hell to our Island if
Natalie wasn't found burn it down were the exact words but again I understand a little bit why you would have that
Viewpoint if you felt like you weren't getting helped but then on the same side of things I can see why law enforcement
was pissed off that they're like you're coming to our peaceful Island and saying
you're going to burn it down yeah like you can see all the sides but I got to say I I can't fault this family for
having extreme you know bursts of like well then burn it the [ __ ] down you know what
I mean like you you would move the whole [ __ ] solar system for your kid you would you just would and if you wouldn't
look look deeply at that cuz it's like that's you that's the feeling well you're I can't blame them for anything
that comes out of their mouth at this point again you're pan it's it's a thing I couldn't even imagine living through
so I really I can't I I can't I would probably be yelling [ __ ] that I would regret later too 100% I think th this is
your worst of days you're going to say [ __ ] you're going to say crazy [ __ ] this
is and to judge people on the worst suffering they could have imagined the worst days of their entire life it's not
fair that's not right but again I I stress that this is going on to highlight that the attitude surrounding
the the case quickly set that combative tone that would eventually just completely take over the story and
Natalie really got lost and all of that yeah and it was because of the way the media really highlighted the tensions
versus Natalie missing yeah you know what I mean by June 4th just four days after she had gone missing even the
local authorities actually started to reconsider their original stance that Natalie you know would just show up
after a few days of youthful irresponsibility even uh yon Vander stron now in charge of the investigation
reluctantly told reporters after four or five days you are afraid a crime has been committed yeah in the four days
that they'd been on the island Natalie's family had created a sufficient amount of noise that the FBI and the US uh
State Department had gotten involved in the case and a reward of $50,000 was now
being offered for any information leading to a discovery of Natalie so now taking the case seriously the arubus
Coast Guard started searching the waters and the beaches while uniformed police officers searched the urban center and
Resorts around the island still no sign of natal so Under Pressure to solve the case or at least kind of show some
evidence of real progress on June 8th local police arrested Nick JN and Abram Jones two hotel workers suspected of
involvement in Natalie's disappearance there appears to have been little reason to suspect either man but a judge ruled
there was sufficient cause to hold both of them on quote possible murder and kidnapping charges in The Disappearance
what the arrest was based on the fact that when they were first interviewed all three boys meaning Juran and his two
friends there claimed that when they dropped Natalie back at the hotel they saw her being approached by two quote
unquote dark security guards as they drove away so they literally just pinned this on two random ass people and the
police were like okay but again these two men who worked at the hotel were arrested on the word of
these three boys who said they dropped Natalie back off at the hotel but let me remind you there's no evidence that they
ever dropped Natalie back off at the hotel they lied like liars there's there's surveillance of her leaving the
hotel never coming back yep what yep the arrest you would think in some circumstances might have been
encouraging for the family but immediately after learning of the arrest Beth contacted one of the lead
investigators and insisted that they were arresting the wrong men not getting the response that she was looking for
though Beth turned to the press and in interviews on major cable news uh cable news shows she accused the Aruban
government of stonewalling the investigation in order to protect the Vander slutes quote because they were a
prominent family which they were MH juran's father was a judge on a local circuit yep based on Beth's comments
American journalists and new Outlet started talking of a coverup which essentially forced the hands of local
investigators who did cave to Beth's demands and announced that he they had arrested jurin deepo and satesh the lead
investigator said under normal circumstances we would have taken much more time to monitor them we would have
had much more evidence had we waited it's like I don't know that you would have no cuz she's been missing for a
long time at this point and you just arrested two random Hotel employees yeah it's like so I don't think you had any
evidence it didn't seem like there was a lot of evidence there no in an article for Vanity Fair uh Brian burrow wrote
Dutch criminal investigators diff investigation excuse me differ from American ones in small but important
ways by and large Dutch detectives do not speak to journalists on or off the Record nor do they release information
to the public before they're ready so that is likely the reason for the Holloway's family's frustration in the
wake of Natalie's disappearance the lead investigator claimed that they had in fact been focused on yuran and his
friends all along but they didn't want to compromise their investigation by going public with that fact or making an
arrest too soon just giving you both sides yeah I don't know yeah I don't know despite
acting sooner than expected though the arrest and subsequent interrogations didn't help convince authorities that
yuran and his friends were innocent for one thing yuran had now changed his story and this time told investigators
that the brothers had dropped to off and uh him and Natalie off near the local Marriott and they walked down to the
beach to have sex but he said realizing Natalie was too drunk he left her on the
beach and walked home and they never engaged in Sex and this time he he walked home and left her on the beach
okay so now we're completely changing the story that's which I wonder they were like suspicious is that why like
I'm like because there was no evidence of her ever being dropped off like is that why your [ __ ] story is changing
the CPO Brothers backed up yuran story but one of them casually commented that quote something bad had happened to
Natalie and that's horrifying and insinuated in fact that she had been killed so what like come on what are you
not saying yeah it definitely wasn't a confession but the comment was suspicious to say the least and was
sufficient for a local judge to rule that the three boys could be held on suspicion of murder and uh Capital
kidnapping Now The Disappearance of Natalie Holloway was a tragedy deserving of attention in and of itself but while
the case should have always been focused on finding Natalie as soon as it got to
the news outlets it quickly like we've been saying this whole time took on a life of its own and became a global
story mhm in a place like Aruba which relies really heavily on American tourism bad press and especially that
which suggests that tourists aren't safe could have had an incredible impact on the local economy Gerald dump one of the
lead investigators said the Aruban government is very image conscious Amer is basically our are bread and butter
this fact was not lost on the hallay family though who frustrated with how locals were handling the case started
going to the media more and more and more knowing that that pressure would get the locals to act I think that if I
knew that I would probably do the same thing exact you know where their weak spot is yeah if you if you're going to
hit it and make the move that's the thing to find your daughter like I keep saying like it's it's the
tension between the government and and the media but everybody's for that it was to find their daughter it wasn't
just to be [ __ ] and I'm not saying they were being [ __ ] but some people do say that but it's to find their
[ __ ] daughter yeah that's why that's what I can't get past right I can't get past that like I can only speculate how
I would act and I this this appears this seems to me like pretty close to what I would do I
think so I I wrote right here who can say who can say it's not hard to understand how Beth and the rest of
Natalie's family were reacting to the situation it's just it's not for me and I know it's not for you yeah no
definitely not their daughter had mysteriously disappeared and was likely the victim of violence who wouldn't go
to similar lengths to leverage every single resource to find them but in the months that followed the increasingly
bitter relationship between the families and the Dutch and Aruban authorities spread on National cable news programs
and talk shows and it became an international story with Americans on one side of the issue and Dutch and AR
rubin's on the other side of the issue at one point the case actually became so prominent that Alabama Governor Bob Bry
went as far as to call for a nationwide boycott on all us travel to Aruba damn it's crazy yeah that that went that went
hard that went a little hard yeah Aruban businessman Charlie Charlie crows told Brian burrow in 2006 they're killing
Aruba this is a wild quote he said that girl Natalie I wish she'd stay home I hope she's found alive there because no
one would care no one the kid is just not worth all that trouble this heartache yeah see that's [ __ ] up on
levels that I can't even really dig into because my brain doesn't go to those depths if I was the mother of Natalie if
I was Beth reading that I would go scorched earth like that's scorched [ __ ] Earth yeah that
is that's really Unthinkable for someone to let come out out of their [ __ ] face to be quite
honest mhm that's really [ __ ] Unthinkable and if you are trying to Garner any kind of support or sympathy
there that was not the way to do it that wasn't the move the crazy thing is not the move is that he had actually once
been an ally to the family and when they first arrived on the island he acted as
an intermediary between the twits and the Vander [ __ ] before the police actively got involved but because of the
way that everything was being I think intensified to by the media crows felt personally betrayed by Beth jug and the
hallay family and a lot a couple like other people who had been their allies at one point but who had lived in Aruba
were feeling the same way they felt and this is their feeling that the holays were slandering Aruba and the American
Press and listen like I understand you have you know like you have loyalty for your your place absolutely you know what
I mean like that's your place that's your home that's your home that's where your business is that's where you know
like and they rely on tourism so it's like they literally said it's like they're bread and butter I get why this
was a very tricky situation and why it got out of hand very quickly and I can understand why that would be frustrating
because you know all of Aruba isn't responsible for this one piece of [ __ ] no no way he's not even a reuben and
that's the thing so it's like I get why that is wholly infuriating and frustrating and again I have never been
in this position that they were in so I can't I can only speculate from my very outside point of view so I can see that
but it's you can't be saying [ __ ] like that about you just can't about somebody's daughter no like about
somebody's whole world like you can't say that express your anger say I'm angry that Aruba is being held
accountable for this one piece of [ __ ] but don't that would have been much more
of a like let's get on board with that idea let's not sour the whole bunch of apples because of this little prick like
you know like that's he does he's not even one of us exactly like [ __ ] this guy that's what you say that would have
been like hell yeah I think everybody would have been like yeah [ __ ] that guy like he's now he's trying to ruin Aruba
like [ __ ] that guy yeah go after him go after the real villain here [ __ ] that
guy because he's the one [ __ ] with Aruba and it's like so I think it just got out of hand it got so out of hand
people shot off at the mouth real quick yep and it wasn't a good look cuz that's
not a good look I'm sorry no matter how mad you are are talking about someone's missing child like that it's pretty
reprehensible right exactly but I the media loved that part of it because it sensationalized everything [ __ ] up and
that shouldn't have been the [ __ ] Focus no it shouldn't have been it shouldn't have become this and I don't
think that's what anybody wanted no and ultimately to find Natalie that's the thing ultimately it did nothing to find
or it just muddied the waters it muddied the waters completely and it didn't help
build a case against the Young men who had after months of Investigation been believed by many people to be
responsible for her disappearance no one was focusing really on that like it was
mentioned obviously that they were arrested and yada yada yada but that wasn't the Prime Focus of the of the
storytelling in the media it never felt like cuz like from somebody who watched it all play out remember I remember it
very Viv like a teenager yeah I remember that like the focus wasn't on you knew like you saw this yon Vander salute and
we were all pretty sure like I think that guy did it like it seems like that guy did it and it's like so what the
[ __ ] like why aren't they finding her what's going on like what happened to her and it wasn't so much about that it
was all this mess right and it was like but no let's I want to know what's happening like what's happening in the
investigation like any leads do they know where she is has anyone seen her like has he talked what's going on is
anyone surveilling him like that's the questions everybody had and they answered it every once in a while in the
media but the media was way more focused on the mess and I think that's the problem with everything now everybody
focuses on the mess instead of real information gathering it's sad because the family I think got really vilified
in this case for turning to the media but it wasn't the family who turned this story into what turned the media and it
was Y in Vander slute should have been the real Focus here yeah absolutely but the Aruban authorities had arrested and
held yuran and the CPO Brothers on suspicion of kidnapping and murder but the judge's ruling did require that
authorities would need to show some evidence of their involvement if they were going to continue on with this the
other investigate the lead investigator and all of them involved strongly suspected that yuran and the kpos had
something to do with Natalie's disappearance and most likely her murder but they didn't have any evidence
whatsoever and without that evidence of any crime having been committed they literally had no choice but to release
them now with the suspect's released from custody and no other leads on hand the families returned to their desperate
search of the island while local investigators with assistance from the FBI chased down every lead that came in
no matter how small in July two months after natal had disappeared a slew of New Leads came from IND individuals who
believed that they had seen her in the hours after she went missing a man dropping off trash at a local landfill
in the early hours of May 30th said he saw several young men burying a body the [ __ ] then he said they left in a light
colored Jeep an investigator told reporters he said he saw a face blonde hair and a woman's chest and that the
body was dumped and covered but that he said he never got a good look at the men
that landfill that he claimed to have seen all of that go down at was searched several times but nobody was ever found
what the [ __ ] cuz I'm like what was that I do wonder if I don't know know if I believe
juran's confession entirely I I believe that he did what he did to kill Natalie and how he said disposed of her but I
think there's a lot missing in the story of how he disposed of her I wouldn't be
shocked he's a liar he's a liar and I think it is entirely possible that maybe he did bury her somewhere and had help
with that whether it be the CPO brothers or somebody else and then decided when the investigation got
hot I don't I don't know if they're going to find her if we buried her so maybe we should put her out to see I
don't I don't know I don't know cuz it feels like people saw weird [ __ ] yeah that but again people they see [ __ ] and
they think they see things that they didn't and they and that's the other thing like this is one potentially false
lead I mean it didn't end up finding Natalie so it didn't pan out but there this poor family and I'm sure you
remember it like watching the leads pour in they were fed so many leads they were
just like built up and then like smacked back down and I can't imagine that feeling cuz like you say that like built
up and smacked down that's the perfect way to describe it but I can't imagine how that would feel if you were looking
for your daughter getting all you're getting something that and really at this point you're like it's just hope to
find her body yeah so we can just bring her home we just want to bring her home like it's so important to stress that
these people never got to bring their daughter home no they never saw her again she left for a c liberatory trip
and they never got to see her again never saw her again they still to this day have no idea truly what happened to
her body and where she is and where she is they never got to really say obvious they have like his confession and what
they can you know infer and take from it from that which is horrific but even they know he's he's lied how many times
throughout this he's a liar it must be so hard to take that for for truth like the full 100% truth
but it's awful the false lead about the dump though like I just said was one of many disappointments that the family
faced in the early period other leads about Natalie having having been dumped in a lake or left in various other
locations proved to be untrue at the same time though the strongest lead in the case several blonde hairs found on a
large piece of duct tape that had been discovered by a park ranger that gave them a lot of hope that also fell apart
the tape had been handed over to the FBI for testing but a few weeks later the crime lab in quanico announced that the
results were negative and that must have been H what was that what was that exactly that's a thing I'm like what's
going on here this was always the biggest and most frustrating aspect of the Natalie Holloway case investigators
had three very strong suspects who they pretty much knew in their bones had killed Natalie at least one of them but
with no evidence of a crime they couldn't do anything and in the absence of New Leads or tips the family turned
their attention back to the press and in the year or two that followed because remember this Spann years oh yeah the
Natalie hallay case just seemed to unfold entirely on Nightly News programs with no real progress being made
honestly it felt like it was never going to even inch forward no at times you were like what's going on here and it's
crazy that only recently yeah did it did we get anything it was a huge break so in late August when it became clear that
authorities had literally nothing on vandersloot Beth went to the Vander [ __ ] home actually intent on speaking
with yur's uh parents in a meeting that lasted nearly an hour and a half she learned that Juran was a senior at the
Dutch International School in Aruba he was actually a good student and a really popular Athlete on the School's football
and tennis teams which knowing what we know about him now it's wild that he was just like someone's teammate and like
somebody's good student yep that's so chilling to think about like just playing alongside this guy right the
Vander [ __ ] spent half uh the first half of the meeting praising their son and
denying that he would have anything to do with Natalie's disappearance which you can understand why they would think
that their son wouldn't have anything to do with this and hope that they wouldn't
but at a certain point his mother Anita did mention that though he had been an easy child in like his early childhood
years uran had become more difficult when he reached his teen years and very recently she uh said that he had been
seeing a psychiatrist Beth said she was saying that they were beginning to have trouble with Juran for a defiant
attitude the father acknowledged they could not control him he would sneak out go gambling in the pre-dawn hours they
had no control over him that's not good so sensing that the couple was still holding back a little bit uh Beth
decided to push a little bit harder she said I told paulus Vanderloo that he was
responsible for Aruba being trapped in hell until he came forward I told him his country would continue to be trapped
In Perpetual hell according to Beth paulus started at that point sweating profusely profusely to the point that
the his sweat was like pooling on the table and Anita had to go to the kitchen to get him a towel so at that point it
became pretty clear to Beth that they knew something or at the very least suspected that their son was capable of
having committed this crime it definitely does but unfortunately the meeting ultimately came to nothing a few
weeks later Beth attempted to get information from deepo CPO showing up at his workplace and demanding some kind of
answer but unfortunately that was also unsuccessful a few months later in February 2006 as the Press desperately
new interviewees and information on the hallway case yuran himself decided to capitalize on the moment and he agreed
to do interviews with actually several major news outlets in an interview with Chris Cuomo on ABC's prime time he
claimed he had met Natalie at the casino and planned to have sex with her after they left the bar he told Cuomo we were
planning on going to my house because she said she wanted to go to my house my intention was to take her to the house
to have sex with her so it's it's so clear what his motive was here he is solely focused on sleeping with Natalie
in previous accounts though he claimed he decided he on some accounts he did sleep with her other accounts he decided
not to because she was too drunk but this time the story changed yet again and he claimed I didn't have a condom
with me though in my wallet and I won't have sex with a girl without a condom oh
wow what a what a beacon of Honor it's like you already claimed that you did have sex with her then you said you
started to and you decided not to then you said no you never did and then you said no I didn't actually and there's a
reason why and it's like why are you allowed to say these hundred different stories yeah and everyone just has to
sit there and go okay like why it's it's and just frustrating to talk about a missing girl like this that one you knew
what you did to her and you knew why you did it because she didn't want to have sex with you exactly and it's like sit
there and be like and say that well she wanted to that's like just smearing her good name is she awful no she very much
didn't she knew what a pig you were mhm but another difference in this version of events was that Juran claimed Natalie
had been drinking previously he had said that but now all of a sudden he said he
actually didn't think she was drunk he claimed instead she seemed like she drank a lot but there's a difference
between somebody being absolutely drunk and someone actually having had a couple
drinks so before he if you remember said said she was so drunk to the point where
she was falling asleep and waking up and falling asleep and in that version of n
he claimed he did sleep with her yeah which is like wow and now you're saying I didn't sleep with her and actually she
wasn't even drunk no she actually I think she drank so much that a couple of drinks didn't do anything to her yeah no
she was just tired it's like you met this girl one time you don't know [ __ ] all about her and it's almost like he's
trying to see like prove and see how much he can get away with just [ __ ] around mhm like he's just in the media
saying a 100 different stories not keeping his [ __ ] straight being like but no one will do anything I can do this
and I think he enjoyed [ __ ] around I think he liked doing it mhm and for the most part he tried to use the interview
to make himself seem remorseful and like an unfortunate victim in the story I don't really know how well that worked
out for him on his first time meeting Beth he said all she said to me she screamed at me was tell me where my
daughter is I told her that I don't know oh I'm sorry that the mother of the girl
that you killed was asking where she was know where she was apologies when question as to why he lied when he was
first questioned he said he was scared and he felt ashamed he said I didn't want anyone to know I didn't want anyone
to know that I left her at the beach I lied because yeah I was scared I had a girlfriend at the time I didn't want my
dad to think bad of me I didn't want my friends to think bad of me baby a lot of
people think bad of you we all think the worst about you beyond the worst about you you got a reputation that
precedes you cuz somebody already told Beth that you have a reputation for praying on young tourists who are blonde
yeah so so good luck with that reputation think that was going to absolve you but in the years that
followed he continued making appearances on more talk shows in the US and internationally too for all the Talking
that was being done about the Natalie Holloway case there was again very little information or evidence in the
case but the suspicion around urine continued the suspicion really never went away and it's probably due to the
fact that his story about the night in question just kept changing over and over and over and at various points he
even confessed to having something to do with this and then would retract those confessions just devastating this family
I remember that too I remember that happening over and over again where it was like oh my God it's happening like
finally and then it was like just kidding actually no like a true sick evil individual like that's sadistic the
series of confessions and retractions came to a head in uh late March of 2010 when yuran contacted supposedly
contacted Beth's lawyer and offered to reveal the location of Natalie's body and to provide the details of her death
in exchange for $250,000 I just straight up extortion this this is awful yeah the lawyer went
uh went so far as to meet yuran in Aruba and he actually provided a payment of $110,000 followed then by a bank
transfer of $155,000 to an account in the Netherlands and in exchange yuran gave the lawyer an address of a house
where they could find the body he said unfortunately when local officials looked into the address that yuran had
provided it was determined that the house hadn't even been built when Natalie was missing that house didn't
even [ __ ] exist she's the [ __ ] worst so the extortion was reported to Interpol who conf uh who confronted
yuran with this information in the spring of that year and that's when he admitted he lied in an effort to extort
money from the family and it's like so we're not looking at that as like if you're capable of that like what else
are you capable of maybe we should look into you a little further nuts cuz if you're capable of
that and the fact what aren't you capable of this [ __ ] is capable of absolutely anything as we'll find out
we know he confesses to killing Natalie like for real like says what probably happened EX orted money from Beth
Holloway and then as we'll see that's not the end of it because given how long the public had been fascinated with
Natalie's disappearance the story probably would have been been big news the fact that he had extorted all this
money from the hallways but by then Juran was locked up in a Peruvian jail cell and was facing far more serious
charges the war of words between Natalie's family and arubin officials as well as the fights with the Vander [ __ ]
and several other officials dragged on in the public eye for years with little to show other than bitterness but then
on May 30th 2010 exactly exactly 5 years after Natalie's Disappearance in Aruba 21-year-old
Stephanie Flores Ramirez a business student went missing in Lima Peru and 3 days later her beaten and bloodied body
was found in a Lima hotel room registered to one y in Vander slute 5 years to the exact day that Natalie went
missing and it's like how that can't be a coincidence no not at all on June 3rd 2010 yuran was arrested near Santiago
Chile and extradited back to Peru for questioning when police asked how it was that Stephanie wound up with a broken
neck in his hotel room he was very evasive but insisted I've been framed oh okay okay yeah that makes sense wow what
bad luck you have truly this is where it gets really outrageous according to him
the entire thing was a sting operation organized by the FBI in order to capture him and bring him
back to the US to face extortion charges they planted a woman's dead body in your hotel room in Peru to get you
back to the US this guy is beyond what [ __ ] sense would that even make zero like the answer is zero zero sense
but according to him according to Vander slute he was contacted by a man who referred to himself as Garcia and
offered to cover all his travel expenses accommodations and the entrance fee of $10,000 for a poker tournament but he
needed to meet him in Chile he told a Dutch reporter Mr Garcia arranged and paid for every and paid for everything
for me looking back I can't believe I let myself be lured I hardly knew that guy it was just an FBI
setup I love that he's like I'm smarter than that it's like you're not like what
you're not then when a reporter specifically asked about why a dead woman was found in his room he only said
what happened exactly I will explain later oh yeah don't worry everybody will just hang around while you do that like
don't worry take your time I thought this that you knew what happened I thought it was all a setup but why can't
you explain that now you already you know all of that you're saying all of that already this is a boy who has
gotten away with [ __ ] his whole life he's a pathological liar gets what he wants get out gets out of what he wants
yep what he doesn't want proved to the world that he could change his story a 100,000 times on broadcast television
and that nothing could be done about it that he could just say [ __ ] after [ __ ]
after [ __ ] that he could lure a poor grieving family on a wild goose chase and extort them for money mhm and that
he gets nothing so he thinks he's Untouchable yeah he'll just change his story 100 100 times this one too and
then he'll go somewhere else and he'll do the same thing mhm he was I guarantee you this piece of [ __ ] was going to keep
doing this in every country that he possibly could 100 just pop around the world doing this but
luckily he was in a Peruvian jail cell because he actually ended up confessing to murdering Stephanie according to his
confession he met her while playing poker and around 5:00 a.m. on May 30th they went back to his room he says
intending to have sex but then Stephanie realized his connection to the Natalie Holloway case oh and he murdered her he
told investigators the girl intruded into my private life she had no right I went I went to her and I HIIT her we
argued and she tried to escape I grabbed her by the neck and I hit her that's also not your private life
that's not that's literally you went on several news station interviews and talked about it that's not private
anymore you opened that up to the entire world the entire place of Earth knows yeah but okay in the months that
followed though he then flatly rejected this version of events claiming he only signed the confession under duress he
said during the original interrogations I was very frightened and confused and I
wanted to leave they were telling me all the time if you sign these papers you'll
be extradited to the Netherlands in my blind panic I then signed everything but I did not even know what was written
down well then that's stupid too yeah if that if that is the case then you're a dumb you read things before you signed
them but I also I don't no not for not for even a quarter of a millisecond I don't believe you at all his claims of
an FBI sting operation may have been persuasive to some Dutch readers but it didn't explain why if Stephanie's body
had been planted in his hotel room he was discovered to be in possession of her wallet and national ID card or why
his fingerprints were found in her vehicle they planted all that totally yeah yeah deatha yep but when it came to
those and many other facts the Peruvian authorities were even less interested in
his claims of a setup after over a year yeah exactly they were like [ __ ] right
they like [ __ ] this guy after over a year spent waiting in a jail cell in Lima he finally appeared before a judge
in January of 2012 to face the charges of murder in the case of Stephanie Flores Ramirez
according to the prosecutor when Flores discovered Vander [ __ ] connection to the hallay case she hit him in the face
and attempted to flee at which point he hit her in the face with his elbow knocking her unconscious and while he
was on the floor he attempted to strangle Stephanie but when that proved to be too difficult he suffocated her
with her own shirt he's this girl a monster found out like figured who she was in a room with and was like get me
the [ __ ] out of here rightfully so absolutely she was probably terrified I can't imagine her last moment it's
horrible that's awful but this time there was no story of a setup Juran pleaded guilty to robbing and murdering
Stephanie Flores and was sentenced to 28 years in prison and was also ordered to
pay a fine of roughly $75,000 to her relatives at the conclusion of his sentence he was to be deported from Peru
so rewinding a little bit in between all of that to 2011 Y and Vander slute was sitting in the Peruvian jail cell for
suspected being suspected of killing Stephanie Flores and the American Media had really largely moved on from the
Natalie Holloway story given all that they'd been through Dave and Beth holway reluctantly agreed it was very much time
to face the very real possibility that their daughter wasn't going to be found yeah I mean what do what can you do you
know what do you do yeah so in June Dave filed a petition with the Alabama Court
to have Natalie declared legally dead which I can't imagine having to go to the court to do that yeah because
something nobody should ever have to do for their loved one because like you don't know what happened to them you
have no idea what happened you don't know where they are and you don't have them no they're not coming back you
don't have a place to visit them but no like it's horrific yeah the family obviously still held out hope that
Natalie would be found but they did also believe that this was probably the first
step towards some kind of semblance of moving on yeah and just putting the seemingly endless searches heartbreak
and international fights behind them mhm so in January of 2012 actually just one
day after yuran pleaded guilty to murdering Stephanie Flores Ramirez judge Alan King signed the Declaration in a
closed hearing and Natalie Holloway was officially pronounced deceased which so sad the timeline of all of this like the
fact that he murdered Stephanie on the 5year anniversary of Natalie being gone and then
that she also is declared dead one day after he was convicted just like all of that timeline is so it's it's bizarre
like it's scary the timeline yeah Dave Holloway said though we've been dealing with her death for the last 6 and a half
years we've still got a long way to go to get Justice that Justice would still be a long way off but in time it would
finally come after years of negotiations between the FBI and proven authorities yuran Vander slute was extra inded to
Birmingham Alabama to stand trial for his attempted extortion of Beth back in 2010 he maintained that he was innocent
of those charges in his interview with Dutch reporters in 2010 though he actually admitted to the extortion
saying I wanted to get back at Natalie's family her parents have been making my life tough for 5 years when they offered
to pay for the girl's location I thought why not why not this m with this dead girl's
family who I know that I killed they've been making my life tough oh your life is tough are you you get away with
everything you just get to walk around you get to do whatever the [ __ ] you want
you get to [ __ ] everybody knowing exactly where she is and they're living in like a pit of suffering every second
of every day but you thought why not get some money out of this yeah boohoo for you on June 9th he was charged with one
count of wire fraud and one count of extortion to which he pleaded not guilty according to the original affidavit
Vander slot had claimed that he killed Natalie accidentally and that his father helped him dispose of the body
despite his insistence that he was innocent though in October of 2023 yuran agreed to a plea deal in
which he would receive a 20-year sentence for each of the fraud charges to be served concurrent with his
sentence for the Flora's murder on the condition that he tell the authorities what happened the night that Natalie
went missing in his statement which was verified by a polygraph examination Juran said he offered Natalie a ride
back to her her hotel the night that she went missing as he had originally told authorities but he said he wanted to
spend more time with her he said she asked to go back to her hotel but I was just trying to get dropped off a little
bit further away from her hotel so we could uh walk back to her hotel and I might still get a chance to be with her
he's so disgusting what that translates into is she said I want to go back to my
hotel and he said no I want to do something else and decided to take that Advantage but once they were at the
beach yuran began groping Natalie and she resisted his advances because she just wanted to go home yeah she just
wanted to go back to the hotel this is a little graphic he said it's very graphic
he said I started feeling her up and she tells me no she tells me she doesn't want me to feel her up he said then
Natalie need him in the crotch sending him into a blind Rage which good for her that's what you [ __ ] do when
somebody's touching you and you don't want to be touched [ __ ] that guy he continued when she kns me in the crotch
uh I get up uh on the beach and I kick her extremely hard in the face she's laying down unconscious possibly even
dead but definitely unconscious still angry over the rejection he then grabbed a large cinder block that was laying on
the ground nearby and hit Natalie in the face with it several times he told the prosecutor this is very graphic trigger
warning her face basically collapses in even though it's dark I can still see her face has collapsed in he's so
[ __ ] disgusting just to say that so matter of a fact that her face collaps in because she didn't want to have sex
with you or she didn't want you even to touch her in that way so foul you don't get to do whatever the [ __ ] you want to
do you don't get to touch girls that don't want to be touched he thinks he can who the [ __ ] are you and he's had
ample time and ample Pro evidence around him to think that he can do whatever the
[ __ ] he wants whatever he wants exactly and it's so gross I just I I don't understand that that thought process of
just thinking you get to do whatever the [ __ ] you want to do he definitely added
in that note of I kicked her extremely hard in the face and maybe she died and I'm like you didn't no no like I you
know that was him trying to like he thinks he's like Macho here oh yeah for this whole thing no and it's like you're
disgusting he's a demented string bean exactly once he was convinced that Natalie was dead though he said he then
dragged her body out into the water and pushed her into the ocean ensuring that her remains would never be
found I don't know if I believe that I think probably ultimately but I don't know I it's so hard to believe anything
he says it feels like that is probably what he did because it was the simplest solution to his problem
yeah and it was right behind him you're not I don't see him going through a lot of trouble yeah I see him looking behind
him seeing the ocean and being like well she'll never be found it's just and she
wasn't it's so sad that she was never it's it's Aruba the s there's all kinds of things unfortunately that is the
easiest method of getting rid of that's so stupid I didn't even think of like sharks I was like but when search and
rescue looked like they didn't find a body I'm sure that was that's awful and he knew that mhm he lived in Aruba he
knows the the terrain he knows the waters he knows what's in those Waters yeah he knew that once she was in there
and I mean with blood and such like she's that's it that's awful yeah well per the per the terms of the deal
he made with the prosecutor uran wouldn't be charged for Natalie's murder which is awful such a travesty he would
never be held legally responsible for her death but although the statue of limitations for murder in Aruba is 12
years it had La since pass how was there a statute of limitations on murder I don't get that yeah I don't understand
that that one doesn't make sense to me yeah it doesn't make sense for me either but even though the the statue of
limitations had long since passed the Aruban authorities did release a statement saying that they were going to
keep the investigation open and asked us officials for copies of documents pertaining to Vander [ __ ] confession
well that's good in their statement a spokesperson uh for the Arubas prosecutor's office said they would
review and analyze the materials quote before deciding on procedural steps for Dave and Beth Hol Yan's confession was
bittersweet I guess you could say Beth said even with this confession he can't be tried here for Natalie's murder but I
am satisfied knowing he did it he did it alone and he disposed of her alone but still the hearing meant that finally
after 18 years of uncertainty the Holloway's pursuit of Justice had finally come to an end in her Victim
Impact statement Beth addressed yuran saying you finally admitted that in fact you murdered her you terminated her
dreams her potential her possibilities when you bludgeoned her to death in 2005 you didn't get what you wanted from
Natalie your sexual satisfaction so you brutally killed her you are the one in Aruba no one wants to
be the black mark on the island which is that was a great statement it gives me chills all the way down to my legs cuz
that's what it goes back to it's not a Ruba it's not a Ruba it's you and the problem she said that in her statement
to the Press following the hearing Beth gave a statement on uh about the confession on behalf of the family
saying it's just blistering to your soul and it hurts so deeply but you know you're there in a functionality role
because this is the moment that I've been searching for for 18 years even as hard as it is to hear it's still not as
torturous as the not knowing it was time for me to know yeah I mean the not knowing cuz then your mind must be a
perfect way to describe it because the unknown is way worse exactly you know but then you hear this and then
you're like is it and but but but even that like even the is it you're like you hear this and you're like that's what my
child's last moments were yeah like that's got to be a whole that I'm sure that opened up a whole other flood of
grief absolutely you weren't even sure existed because now you've got these horrific details and then you have to
heal from that first you have to now you have to heal from that where and I'm sure you never actually heal but you
have to work on the process of somehow coming to terms with the fact that this happened in your life and this happened
to your child and the fact that she's missing that you don't know what happened and then you find out what
happened and then you have to come to terms with that yeah I mean I don't wish that on my worst enemy that's a awful
awful sentence to have to endure in life it is on November 1st 2023 yuran Vander
slute was returned to Peru to finish serving his sentence for the murder of Stephanie Flores Ramirez he's actually
set to be released from pervy in prison in 2043 when he will be 56 years old at which point he will be deported from
Peru in the event that he's released before that projected date he will be sent to Alabama to finish his ex uh his
sentence for the extortion on Beth Holloway per that plea deal that he made with us
authorities but still he could if he gets out of prison at 56 years old that's scary and that's wild that's
young that's still very much capable of inflicting even more pain on even more like how is he just getting away with
killing two women and he admitted to killing Natalie but will never be legally held responsible for that none
of that makes sense to me and unless I don't know it was a little confusing like what Aruba would do because they
the the statue of limitations is what did I say 15 years but they said they were going to keep the case open so I
don't so maybe they're making a special I don't know how that works yeah I'm not
I'm not sure if maybe he could face charges there at some point it's a little unclear why doesn't everybody
just throw some Char just at him honestly keep them in there who's going to hopefully he just like something
happens in in I don't want him to get out of person yeah I don't want him to get out of there either I just don't
want him to be able to exist outside of those walls well who's going to what country is going to be like yeah you can
live here yeah come on in I I remember we covered a case once where somebody did get out of prison for doing
something awful and I think they went to Florida and Florida was like no you can't stay here yeah Florida was like
get out yeah yeah so I could see that happening yeah I wonder like how how that all works but hopefully we never
have to find out yeah seriously and I just I really feel for this family for all that they went through but like I
said um definitely check out that documentary that I mentioned at the top it's on peacock and that will most
likely be our next episode as a follow-up um lots of information and yes he's going to be an interesting person
to talk to exactly yeah so with that being said we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it we we but never
ever as weird as your in Vander SLO because that's not weird that's deranged [ __ ] that
[Music]

On the afternoon of May 30, 2005, the senior students from Mountain Brook High School gathered at the airport in Aruba to make their return flight to Alabama after their celebratory trip, when chaperones noticed that one of the students was missing. Eighteen-year-old Natalee Holloway was last seen around 1:30 am that morning, leaving a bar with a student from the local International School of Aruba, but no one had seen or heard from her since and when they checked the hotel, Natalee’s luggage and other belongings were still in her room.

It would take nearly twenty years before her killer was held responsible and the truth about her disappearance was brought to light.

Thank you to the wondrous Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for Research!

References ABC News. 2006. Exclusive: van der Sloot talks about night out. February 22. Accessed March 26, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1648218.

Associated Press. 2005. "Three young suspects can be held in case of missing girl, judge rules." New York Times, June 12.

—. 2005. "Two suspects to be held in girl's case." New York Times, June 9.

—. 2012. "Natalee Holloway declared dead by judge six years after disappearance." The Guardian, January 12.

Burrough, Bryan. 2006. "Missing White Female." Vanity Fair, November 20.

Chandler, Kim. 2023. "Attorney describes Joran van der Sloot's confession." Montgomery Advertiser, November 11: 1.

CNN News. 2010. Interpol: Van der Sloot tried to extort Holloway's mother. June 9. Accessed March 27, 2024. http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/08/us.van.der.sloot.alabama/.

CNN Wire. 2012. Van der Sloot sentenced to 28 years for Peru murder . January 13. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2012/01/13/world/americas/peru-van-der-sloot-sentence.

Holloway, Beth. 2007. "My daughter disappeared." Good Housekeeping, November 1: 185.

Holloway, Dave, R. Stephanie Good, and Larry Garrison. 2023. Aruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Lybrand, Holmes, Jean Casarez, and Evan Perez. 2023. FBI details how van der Sloot’s confession in Natalee Holloway’s death came together. October 24. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/24/us/joran-van-der-sloot-holloway-plea-deal/index.html.

Lyman, Rick. 2005. "Missing woman's case spurs discussion of news coverage." New York Times, August 7.

NBC News. 2005. Aruban police again search landfill for Holloway. July 28. Accessed March 26, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8745217.

—. 2010. Van der Sloot admits Holloway family extortion plot: 'Why not?'. September 6. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna39023617.

Nelson, Andrew. 2005. "Missing teen's friends, family continue hope." Birmingham Post-Herald, June 6: 24.

News, ABC. 2006. "Dutch teen tells Primetime about night with Natalee Holloway." ABC News, February 23.

Norton, Michael. 2005. "FBI answers mother's plea to aid search." Montgomery Advertiser, June 4: 1.

Robinson, Carol. 2023. Listen to Joran van der Sloot describe Natalee Holloway’s final moments in chilling confession. October 18. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/listen-to-joran-van-der-sloot-describe-natalee-holloways-final-moments-in-chilling-confession.html.

Robinson, Carol, and Ivana Hrynkiw. 2023. Joran van der Sloot confesses to killing Natalee Holloway: ‘You terminated her dreams,’ mother says. October 18. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/joran-van-der-sloot-expected-to-plead-guilty-in-natalee-holloway-extortion-case-today-latest-updates.html.

Robinson, Gene. 2005. "Missing white women and the media." Washington Post, June 14.

The Independent. 2010. "Sex, lies and a murder suspect with a story to sell." The Independent, June 23.

Connect with Wondery http://wondery.com/shows http://facebook.com/WonderyMedia http://twitter.com/WonderyMedia http://instagram.com/WonderyMedia

Brief Summary

The episode discusses the Natalie Holloway case, her disappearance in Aruba, and the investigation's challenges.

Key points

The Butcher Game Release. Ash discusses her upcoming book, 'The Butcher Game,' and its pre-order benefits.
Natalie Holloway Case Introduction. Elena and Ash introduce the Natalie Holloway case, emphasizing its significance.
The Search for Natalie Begins. Beth and Jug scramble to find their daughter after she goes missing in Aruba.
Conflicting Perspectives. Local police and the family clash over the investigation's handling and urgency.
A Troubling Encounter. Juran's account of the night Natalie went missing raises more questions than answers.
Arrests Made with Little Evidence. Local police arrested two hotel workers based on questionable claims, raising concerns about the investigation's integrity.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Being ahead of the curve is one of the best things ever.

Discussion about the perks of pre-ordering books.

4:55WatchMay 9, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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