Witness disappears in Natalee Holloway case

From CBS News...

A man who claimed he saw a suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway driving with two friends the night she vanished failed to appear in court Thursday and has possibly fled the country, officials said.

The witness had been summoned to give sworn testimony in court Thursday, but authorities were unable to locate him, Chief Prosecutor Karin Janssen told The Associated Press.

The man told police last month that he saw Joran van der Sloot, an 18-year-old Dutch high school student who had been detained in the case, and two Surinamese brothers driving near the Marriott Hotel around 2:30 a.m. on May 30.

The man's account is significant because van der Sloot told authorities that he was already at home at 2:30 a.m. that night. Van der Sloot has admitted he was alone with Holloway that night, but said he left her unharmed at a beach near the Marriott Hotel.

Given that the main suspect is the son of an Aruban judge, this looks bad. I have no idea how Aruban politics work, but if a powerful judge, committed to keeping his kid out of jail wanted to slow down the prosecution, making a key witness disappear would be an obvious tactic.

Coverage: Reihl World View, Scared Monkeys

Posted by Danny Carlton at August 12, 2005 09:14 AM