Beth Holloway has recalled confronting Joran van der Sloot shortly after her 18-year-old daughter, Natalee, disappeared during a trip to Aruba in 2005. At the time, Beth did not know Natalee had been killed, but van der Sloot was a key suspect after Natalee was last seen getting into a car with him.
Beth said she went to van der Sloot’s home, where he was with his father, Paul. She recalled that Paul urged his son to “just say it,” after which van der Sloot gave an account of what had happened. He allegedly said he kissed Natalee on a beach, then dropped her at her hotel, where she fell, hit her head and was helped inside by security guards.
“I don’t know what parts of that [account] are true, but I knew that he knew what happened to her,” Beth said, describing her instinct that his story was false. She also said she became suspicious after learning that van der Sloot had presented himself to Natalee’s friends as a tourist, rather than a local.
Natalee’s friends had told Beth she was last seen on May 30, 2005, getting into a grey Honda with van der Sloot. Seeing a grey Honda outside his home, Beth wondered whether her daughter might be in the car or inside the house. She said she held Natalee’s picture and demanded, “Give her back now!” Van der Sloot allegedly responded, “What do you want me to do?” while repeatedly hitting his chest, Beth recalled.
Aruban police arrested van der Sloot ten days after Natalee disappeared. Gerold Dompig, the police chief at the time, said van der Sloot was difficult to interrogate and gave conflicting accounts of the night. According to Dompig, he changed his story about 40 times.
Van der Sloot was released in September 2005 because of a lack of evidence. Beth later described the release as devastating and said she feared he would kill again.
Sources: Page Six.