“Limburg Investigation into the Natalee Holloway Case”

Source: Roel Wiche (de Limburger, 10/24/2023)

Former Limburg Chief Prosecutor on Aruba, Karin Janssen, is once again delving into the Natalee Holloway case. She strongly questions Joran van der Sloot’s confession. Janssen led the investigation on Aruba for nineteen months after the disappearance of the American student on May 30, 2005. After her retirement, the Roermond resident revisited her personal archive and all the notes and documents from that period, motivating her to initiate her own investigation. She received assistance from private detective John Vullers, also from Roermond. Both of them returned this weekend from a one-week stay in Aruba. They visited several locations that had previously been of interest in the Holloway case and spoke with residents. This convinced them that the confession made by Van der Sloot last week in the US is not credible. “Joran claimed he threw Natalee’s body into the sea.”

However, local fishermen argue that this is unlikely. “Due to the currents, the body would immediately wash ashore again,” they say. Janssen leans more towards a scenario in which the 36-year-old main suspect did not act alone. She does not rule out that more people were involved in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. “We can also support that scenario.” Janssen is not ready to reveal the findings of her research team in detail yet. Besides detective Vullers, Eline Stiphout, who lived with Janssen at the time and was well-acquainted with Joran van der Sloot’s circle of friends, is also closely involved in the investigation. A cameraman filmed their activities in Aruba.

How the Limburgers Persist in the Natalee Holloway Case

Background on Joran van der Sloot’s Confession:

Is the Natalee Holloway case closed after Joran van der Sloot’s confession? Certainly not. Karin Janssen from Roermond, former Chief Prosecutor on Aruba, delved back into the case after her retirement and initiated her own investigation with private detective John Vullers. There’s also Stan P’s “grave theory” from Valkenburg, a former close friend of Van der Sloot.

Why should the world suddenly believe Joran van der Sloot now? After all the proven lies he has told before? No, Karin Janssen doesn’t believe a word of the confession that Van der Sloot made last week during his trial in the United States. That he threw Natalee Holloway’s body into the sea? Local fishermen say this is unlikely because the currents would quickly wash the body ashore. It fits perfectly into the pattern that the 36-year-old main suspect has shown for eighteen years, according to the former Chief Prosecutor on Aruba. “Joran tells one nonsense story after another, each time with the goal of gaining an advantage. That’s his way of surviving. With this confession, he gets twenty years less in prison.”

Notes

After a long career in the service of justice, the Roermond resident is now retired. The Natalee Holloway case still haunts her. Janssen led the investigation on Aruba during the first nineteen months after the American student’s disappearance on May 30, 2005. In recent months, she revisited her notes and documents from that time in her archive, motivating her to reinvestigate the case. She sought the assistance of private detective John Vullers, also from Roermond, a former detective with whom she had collaborated extensively in the past. Both of them stayed in Aruba last week, searching for information about where Natalee’s body might be hidden. Eline Stiphout, who lived with Karin Janssen at the time and was well-acquainted with Joran van der Sloot’s circle of friends, also joined them. A cameraman filmed the mission on the island.

Focus

Janssen is not ready to reveal the findings in detail but mentions that their own investigation focuses on a scenario that has remained under the radar: Joran van der Sloot did not act alone, contrary to his own statements. “We can also support that. The focus has always been on Joran, and the whole circus revolved around him. We are also looking in another direction. In his initial statements in 2005, Van der Sloot claimed to have dropped Natalee off at the Holiday Inn. Later, he said he left her on the beach, two meters from the sea. He also claimed this in a book that was published at the time. He repeated this version to an American reporter. It is not out of the question that others were involved in her disappearance.”

Reduced Sentence

The Aruba Public Prosecutor’s Office does not consider the case closed after Van der Sloot’s confession. On the contrary, the island’s authorities have requested all documents and legal papers related to the American investigation. Van der Sloot was on trial in the United States for extorting Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother. As he made a confession, he received a reduced sentence. He is now allowed to serve his sentence concurrently with his sentence in Peru, where he was convicted of the murder of student Stephanie Floers. As a result, he will be released in 2043, at the age of 56. The Natalee Holloway disappearance case remains open. The search for what happened to her continues unabated. The police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Aruba will follow up on all credible leads that could contribute to solving her disappearance,” says Ann Angela, a spokesperson for the Aruba justice system.

Number 15

The role of Stan P. from Valkenburg, Joran van der Sloot’s close friend, remains intriguing. The Limburg cyber specialist, who is suspected of defrauding online casinos, claims to know, through Van der Sloot, where Natalee’s body is hidden: in a tomb with the number 15 at the St. Anna cemetery in Aruba. Three reports about the cemetery were received by the island’s justice authorities, but it was not confirmed whether they came from Stan P. An investigation was conducted on the cemetery, but so far, no results have been found. There are several tombs with the number 15 on the cemetery. Justice is not disclosing whether further searches are being conducted. Ann Angela: “We will not comment further on questions regarding the grave or graves. This is in the interest of the investigation.”