07-05-2005, 12:38 PM
OSEPH B. FRAZIER, Associated Press Writer 38 minutes ago
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - The mother of a U.S. teen who disappeared in Aruba more than a month ago issued a plea to the government Tuesday to not allow two Surinamese brothers released from custody to leave the island, and she vowed herself to stay until the case is resolved.
"Two suspects were released yesterday who were involved in a violent crime against my daughter," Beth Holloway Twitty, mother of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, told a news conference, her voice cracking with emotion as she fought to hold back tears.
"The criminals will not only be allowed to walk freely among the tourists and citizens of Aruba but there are no limits as to where they may go," she said, adding, "I'm asking all nations not to offer them a safe haven."
A judge on Monday ordered the release of brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, saying there was not sufficient evidence to continue holding them in the case. Neither the Kalpoes nor their lawyers responded immediately to Holloway Twitty's remarks.
Still in custody is 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot, son of a top justice official in Aruba, who admitted to being with Holloway alone the night she disappeared. The judge ordered that van der Sloot be held another 60 days. Van der Sloot has insisted that he did not harm Holloway, and his lawyer said van der Sloot maintains his innocence.
The three young friends were arrested on June 9. Holloway, from Mountain Brook, Ala., went missing in the early hours of May 30, hours before she was to catch a flight home after a five-day vacation celebrating her high school graduation with 124 other students.
Numerous searches by Dutch marines, Aruban investigators and volunteer rescue groups have failed to turn up any trace of her.
The Kalpoe brothers have told police that they dropped van der Sloot and Holloway off together at a beach near the Marriott hotel, then went home. Their lawyers have argued repeatedly that authorities lacked sufficient evidence to continue holding them.
"I've been saying this for a long time They have no basis to keep my client in detention," David Kock, one of Satish Kalpoe's lawyer, said Monday following the judge's decision.
But Holloway Twitty continues to insist that the brothers, along with van der Sloot, have vital information and should be held until they release it.
"All three of those boys know what happened to her," Holloway Twitty has said.
Attorney General Karin Janssen's office issued a statement Monday saying prosecutors were considering an appeal of the judge's decision to release the Kalpoes. They have three days to do so.
Even though the brothers have been released, they are not completely off the hook, said Lincoln Gomez, a defense lawyer in Aruba who is not connected to the case.
"They can go home, but it will not be over until a formal indictment is issued or until they get a formal note from the prosecutor saying they will not be prosecuted," Gomez said, adding that neither option is likely to pan out for at least two weeks.
"At this point there are still procedures in the case," he said. "We will have to wait and see whether there comes a day when prosecutors make a decision 'Do I charge these brothers?'"
Janssen has acknowledged that prosecutors have no solid evidence to indicate that Holloway is dead. They have said a murder conviction is possible without a body, but the case requires strong evidence such as a confession, reliable statements and forensic evidence of wrongdoing.
WE are all for justice and fair play but this women grieving as she may be( and we all hope of course that her daughter is found safe and well ) is casting assertions on this family and others with out a shred of evidence in the hands of the police .
she calls the boys *criminal*
she calls the father of van da sloot a * llying pig who was part of the crime *
Is this the impression we want to give foriegners that a person is a *criminal * before being tried and found guilty ??? thats not how it works in US and should,nt be in araba either .
If the boys are free citizens they should be free as any other citizen is to travel freely and not be resticted because a distraught mothers "thinks they are guilty "
she is not helping the case at all assuming the aruba police are idiots and they have evidence but wont charge the suspects.
why would they not ?? that its in their interest and the interest of the tourist industry on the island that the case is solved .. the ramblings of a frustrated mother dont help .
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - The mother of a U.S. teen who disappeared in Aruba more than a month ago issued a plea to the government Tuesday to not allow two Surinamese brothers released from custody to leave the island, and she vowed herself to stay until the case is resolved.
"Two suspects were released yesterday who were involved in a violent crime against my daughter," Beth Holloway Twitty, mother of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, told a news conference, her voice cracking with emotion as she fought to hold back tears.
"The criminals will not only be allowed to walk freely among the tourists and citizens of Aruba but there are no limits as to where they may go," she said, adding, "I'm asking all nations not to offer them a safe haven."
A judge on Monday ordered the release of brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, saying there was not sufficient evidence to continue holding them in the case. Neither the Kalpoes nor their lawyers responded immediately to Holloway Twitty's remarks.
Still in custody is 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot, son of a top justice official in Aruba, who admitted to being with Holloway alone the night she disappeared. The judge ordered that van der Sloot be held another 60 days. Van der Sloot has insisted that he did not harm Holloway, and his lawyer said van der Sloot maintains his innocence.
The three young friends were arrested on June 9. Holloway, from Mountain Brook, Ala., went missing in the early hours of May 30, hours before she was to catch a flight home after a five-day vacation celebrating her high school graduation with 124 other students.
Numerous searches by Dutch marines, Aruban investigators and volunteer rescue groups have failed to turn up any trace of her.
The Kalpoe brothers have told police that they dropped van der Sloot and Holloway off together at a beach near the Marriott hotel, then went home. Their lawyers have argued repeatedly that authorities lacked sufficient evidence to continue holding them.
"I've been saying this for a long time They have no basis to keep my client in detention," David Kock, one of Satish Kalpoe's lawyer, said Monday following the judge's decision.
But Holloway Twitty continues to insist that the brothers, along with van der Sloot, have vital information and should be held until they release it.
"All three of those boys know what happened to her," Holloway Twitty has said.
Attorney General Karin Janssen's office issued a statement Monday saying prosecutors were considering an appeal of the judge's decision to release the Kalpoes. They have three days to do so.
Even though the brothers have been released, they are not completely off the hook, said Lincoln Gomez, a defense lawyer in Aruba who is not connected to the case.
"They can go home, but it will not be over until a formal indictment is issued or until they get a formal note from the prosecutor saying they will not be prosecuted," Gomez said, adding that neither option is likely to pan out for at least two weeks.
"At this point there are still procedures in the case," he said. "We will have to wait and see whether there comes a day when prosecutors make a decision 'Do I charge these brothers?'"
Janssen has acknowledged that prosecutors have no solid evidence to indicate that Holloway is dead. They have said a murder conviction is possible without a body, but the case requires strong evidence such as a confession, reliable statements and forensic evidence of wrongdoing.
WE are all for justice and fair play but this women grieving as she may be( and we all hope of course that her daughter is found safe and well ) is casting assertions on this family and others with out a shred of evidence in the hands of the police .
she calls the boys *criminal*
she calls the father of van da sloot a * llying pig who was part of the crime *
Is this the impression we want to give foriegners that a person is a *criminal * before being tried and found guilty ??? thats not how it works in US and should,nt be in araba either .
If the boys are free citizens they should be free as any other citizen is to travel freely and not be resticted because a distraught mothers "thinks they are guilty "
she is not helping the case at all assuming the aruba police are idiots and they have evidence but wont charge the suspects.
why would they not ?? that its in their interest and the interest of the tourist industry on the island that the case is solved .. the ramblings of a frustrated mother dont help .