Nancy Grace for July 18, 2005, CNNHN NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, breaking news. We go live to Aruba. Is there a major break in the case of Natalee Holloway, the 18-year-old American girl who went missing the very last night of her high school senior trip on the tiny island of Aruba? Blonde hair discovered on duct tape on an Aruban beach sent off the island for DNA testing. Does it belong to Natalee Holloway? Plus, Aruban police take the judge`s son, Joran Van Der Sloot, back to the beach to reenact the story he told the cops about the night he claims he left Natalee alone on the beach.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. And I want to thank you for being with us tonight.
But first, tonight, we go live to Aruba, breaking news. It`s day 50 - - five-zero -- on the Natalee Holloway missing girl case. Strands of blonde hair, dark duct tape, a beach in Aruba. Is this hair Natalee`s? FBI and Dutch authorities testing the hair to see if it belongs to the 18- year-old blonde honor student from Alabama.
Tonight, in Birmingham, Natalee`s stepdad Jug Twitty is with us; in Aruba, editor and publisher of "Exclusivo" magazine, Jacqueline Suttle; in New York, forensic scientist Dr. Larry Kobilinsky and defense attorney Jason Oshins; in Atlanta, veteran trial lawyer Renee Rockwell; in New York, psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig.
But first, let`s go to Birmingham and WBMA-TV reporter, Anastasiya Bolton. Anastasiya, bring us up-to-date.
ANASTASIYA BOLTON, WBMA REPORTER: Well, Nancy, as you`ve mentioned, on Sunday a piece of duct tape with blonde hair was found on the northern side of the island. That`s where the caves are, actually the opposite side where Natalee Holloway was last seen.
That, of course, if you remember, was on the hotel side, at the Marriott, as Joran Van Der Sloot has mentioned. DNA testing is being performed in Holland because Aruba does not have the capability to do the DNA testing on those hair strands.
And another thing that happened, Joran Van Der Sloot was taken to the beach on Sunday to possibly reenact or tell investigators exactly what happened the night that Natalee Holloway disappeared. He`s done this for the second time.
Before this, in early July, he was taken to the beach and was asked by authorities what happened. We do not know what he told them. That time and this time again, the authorities have been very secretive about what they`ve been finding out.
Also, Dave Holloway, he`s on the plane right now going back to his Mississippi. Natalee`s dad has tried to meet with Joran, as he says to try to get the truth out of the 17-year-old. But he was not allowed to the jail.
Although he ran into the Van Der Sloots, the parents of Joran at the jail, I`m told that they had a brief conversation. Dave gave them three books. One of the books was the Bible. The second book was "Purpose- Driven Life."
He said he just wants to know the truth and, of course, he and Mr. Van Der Sloot have spoken. He said he told Mr. Van Der Sloot that, "I want to know the truth about my daughter." Mr. Van Der Sloot says, "I stand by my son, just like any parent would."
GRACE: I want to go very quickly to Aruba. Standing by, the reporter with "Exclusivo" magazine, Jacqueline Suttle.
Jacqueline, do we know how many hair approximately were on that duct tape?
JACQUELINE SUTTLE, "EXCLUSIVO" MAGAZINE: Hi, Nancy. The information we have so far is that it`s true. Duct tape has been found on a national protected area here on the island with some strands of blonde hair.
The fact is also that information I got was that this duct tape doesn`t seem to have the wear and tear of a month. So I think we should not rush to judgment and let the DNA bring out the results, if this is Natalee`s hair.
GRACE: Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, MOTHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: I go back to the beginning of the investigation. And you know, I think of what the -- all four of the individuals are involved in -- when you`re involved in obstruction of justice, and lying to authorities, and implicating innocent people.
I mean, I certainly wish those were enforceable laws to some degree, because I feel that all four of those were occurring early on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Now there is a woman, a mother who has gone down to Aruba to find her girl. And she`s not only taking on the Aruban authorities, but everyone, it seems.
She was forced to give some kind of apology last week because she dared to criticize the Aruban investigation of the disappearance of her girl, Natalee Holloway, still there on Aruba looking for her girl.
Very quickly, I want to go to Jug Twitty. This is Natalee`s stepdad, Beth`s husband.
Jug, do we know that it is four hairs on the duct tape?
GEORGE "JUG" TWITTY, STEPFATHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: That`s what I`ve been told. I was told that there`s not enough hair to send some to the United States and some to Holland, so...
GRACE: Now, it`s my understanding they had, in fact, split it up. And Jug, question to you. I understand that the hair is about 12 inches long, correct?
TWITTY: That`s what I was told.
GRACE: How long was Natalee`s hair?
TWITTY: Probably about that length.
GRACE: And, Jug, explain to me again, where was the double tape found in relation to where Natalee was staying?
TWITTY: Now, that I don`t know, Nancy. Since I wasn`t there yesterday when they found all this, I don`t know that.
GRACE: I`m going to go back then to Jacqueline Suttle with "Exclusivo" magazine. Jacqueline, where was the duct tape found in relation to where Natalee was staying?
SUTTLE: I would say, in minutes of distance, probably 25 minutes. It`s almost in the middle. It`s a protected national area of the island.
And, Nancy, I must say that there isn`t any fact that it was one piece of hair that was 12 inches long. These are not facts. These are assumptions.
GRACE: Assumptions by who?
SUTTLE: Assumptions that you bring up yourself, because I`m a press here in Aruba. And we have access to a lot of information. We dig for information. And so far, information we got is that it is not one string of hair...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: OK, Jacqueline, Jacqueline...
SUTTLE: ... any information of the size either, so...
GRACE: ... Jacqueline...
SUTTLE: I think it should -- Nancy...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Jacqueline, I`m reading it right here in an A.P. wire. That`s called the Associated Press.
Very quickly to Dr. Kobilinsky. The A.P. has reported -- and I have no reason to think that the A.P., the Associated Press, has made up a story about Natalee Holloway`s hair. Dr. Kobilinsky, this theory that the tape that Jacqueline has just told us about doesn`t show the wear and tear that you would expect.
You know, it`s only been 50 days. With tape that could possibly have been in a cave, behind a rock, under a rock, who knows where, what kind of wear and tear do you expect to find on a piece of duct tape?
LARRY KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: Nancy, I don`t think you can draw any conclusions about how old the tape is.
GRACE: I mean, can you date duct tape, for Pete`s sake?
KOBILINSKY: You cannot. And what we have to remember here is that this was found on Boca Tortuga, on the opposite side of the island to the Marriott area. And quite frankly, we still don`t know if this is significant, whether it really is Natalee`s hair, or it`s simply debris that washed ashore.
However, I can tell you this, that testing hair for mitochondrial DNA requires only less than an inch. In fact, one to two centimeters is all that is required to do mitochondrial DNA.
And I can tell you this, that the laboratory in Amsterdam is a top- notch forensic institute. It is an excellent lab.
GRACE: How do you know that?
KOBILINSKY: I know the people that are running the lab. It is an excellent lab. The FBI would have no problems with conclusions drawn by that lab.
GRACE: Mitochondrial DNA with hair. Everybody, you can make a comparison to hair, but you can`t make an exact DNA match, unless there is a root from the hair. From that, you get what we call mitochondrial DNA. It is traced back through the mother.
Now, once again, in front of me, I have the A.P. wire.
Dusty, if you want to come over.
It says, "The ranger who made the find, Mario Rasmijn, said there were several strands, each one 12 inches long, and some are light blonde, others were dark."
OK, let`s talk about it very quickly. Dr. Kobilinsky, say we have a root, we have a root of -- I mean, the reality is, this may not be her hair. But if it is...
KOBILINSKY: If it is...
GRACE: ... how do we make the comparison? Do we need the mom`s hair?
KOBILINSKY: Well, first of all, if there`s a root, we can do nuclear DNA testing and we can find out absolutely if its hers or not. On the other hand, if we don`t have a root, what we can do is mitochondrial DNA testing. And that will take about a week or so. It`s not something that will just happen overnight.
GRACE: So mitochondrial takes longer than regular?
KOBILINSKY: It absolutely takes longer.
GRACE: OK. Very quickly to Jug Twitty. This is Natalee`s stepdad.
Jug, how did Beth, your wife, Natalee`s mom, respond when she found out about the duct tape with the hair on it?
TWITTY: She didn`t. I mean, Nancy, we`ve been through this so many times with different findings down there. It`s just -- we`ve been through the emotional highs and lows. And this does not, you know, get us excited one way or another, because we`ve gone through so many things like this.
GRACE: Jug...
TWITTY: We want to find out things with the investigation.
GRACE: Hey, you`re preaching to the choir. Remember when they leaked that there was blood in the -- blood found on a mattress. It was a dog`s blood. Last week there were bones; they were donkey bones. First, we heard there was a confession. That was retracted.
Robi Ludwig, how is Beth Holloway? I saw a picture of her this weekend in a magazine. She looked so thin and so frail, but she`s got the voice of a lion. She just keeps on.
How? How do you keep on?
DR. ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: It`s the strength of a mother that will do anything to find out the truth, when it comes to their child. And she has done an amazing job describing the torture that she has gone through and what it means to her to have people reach out to her. So she`s really an incredible woman.
GRACE: I want to let everyone know that we invited the families of Joran Van Der Sloot, the Kalpoe brothers, the prosecutors to come on tonight. They do not want to comment on the case.
When we get back, we`re going to be speaking to Natalee`s stepfather about Natalee`s dad meeting up with the judge`s son, Joran Van Der Sloot`s dad, in the parking lot of the jail. Why would the authorities in Aruba refuse to let Natalee`s father speak to the chief suspect?
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE HOLLOWAY, NATALEE`S FATHER: We don`t know that the whole story. All we really know for a fact is they left Carlos and Charlie`s. After that, it`s a lot of speculation and a lot of fill-in-the-blanks.
If you and I were involved in something, and then I come to you and ask you to make up a story about, "We dropped her off at the Holiday Inn," wouldn`t you ask questions of why, if you were not involved in something, why would you make up the story? This is the 15th story he`s told, and the Marriott story may not even be true at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE "JUG" TWITTY, STEPFATHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: I think the world knows that all of them know more than they`re saying. And that`s why this case is where it is today. Everybody is concerned that, you know, why are they not getting the answers? Those boys have the answers, you know? They know what they did with Natalee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. Is there a break in the Natalee Holloway case? Duct tape found by a park ranger has blonde hair, darker hair on it, the hair about 12 inches long.
Let me quickly go to Anastasiya Bolton with WBMA-TV. Anastasiya, so much happened over the weekend. What can you tell us about, a, the father`s meeting in the jail parking lot, and, b, about the books that were handed over by Natalee`s father to Joran Van Der Sloot`s dad, the judge?
BOLTON: I`ve heard from the stepmom, Dave`s wife, that Dave went to meet Joran at the jail and he was refused that meeting. But he was telling the parents that he met Joran`s parents and he just wanted to talk to Joran and just to get the truth, just the facts.
He said he`s a forgiving man. He just wants to know what happened to his daughter. And since he was refused the meeting, he passed along the Bible and the "Purpose-Driven Life," which was, of course, read by millions of people around the world at this point.
We do not know if the books had actually gotten to Joran. Of course, the system, the jail system and the criminal system, is different in Aruba than from here. We do not know if they allow any passage of information back and forth or books, newspapers, so forth.
Paul Van Der Sloot who was, of course, previously arrested and spent four days in jail, he talked and said that he stands beside his son, and he did not reveal any information about the case.
GRACE: Well, Anastasiya, it`s my understanding that Judge Van Der Sloot said something along the lines -- there is a shot of him, everybody - - I don`t recognize his face as much as I do his back side, because he always seems to run away from the camera whenever we try ask him anything.
Anastasiya, it was my understanding he said something to the effect, "I would do anything for my son," Anastasiya?
BOLTON: He did say that. Yes, Nancy, he did say that. But as just any parent would say the same thing. Just as Beth Twitty is on the island for more than 50 days now looking for her daughter, Paul Van Der Sloot will do the same thing. At this point I don`t think it`s safe for us to assume that this is an admission of guilt. He did...
GRACE: I don`t think anybody said tonight, Anastasiya, that it was an admission to anything.
But here in the studio with me, psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig. It would seem to me that Judge Van Der Sloot would say, "I`m sorry about your daughter. What can I do to help find your daughter?" instead of saying, "Look, I`m going to do anything to help my son." To me, that doesn`t make sense.
LUDWIG: That`s what`s missing here. There doesn`t seem to be any remorse on Joran`s part or on the judge`s part. It also smacks of themes of the Peterson case with the parents stood by their son no matter what. And we know that parents want to believe in their child`s innocence, whether they are or not.
GRACE: You know, I want to quickly speak to Dr. Larry Kobilinsky here with us. I want to go back to this break in the case, the duct tape found by a park ranger. Now, first of all, you note, Doctor, from handling evidence in court, writing books about it and so forth, who finds the evidence is very important, as well.
KOBILINSKY: Well, sure, that person becomes part of the chain of evidence.
GRACE: This is a totally an impartial person, it seems to me.
KOBILINSKY: Indeed, it is.
GRACE: A park ranger.
KOBILINSKY: Indeed, it is. I think the critical part here is that, if her hair is -- if it`s confirmed that it`s her hair, it`s on duct tape, we have an indication that some criminal violent activity took place.
And I think that we should know within about a week or so, certainly, if it is her hair. I know initially they`re going to be doing some microscopic analysis. That`s very quick.
They probably have a good indication right now of whether it is hers or not. But to confirm it, they really need to do mitochondrial DNA.
And as you said, Nancy -- you`re the best forensic scientist -- you know very well mitochondrial DNA does not give you an absolute identification. So I think, when you put that together with the potential confessions that we`re hearing about and everything else, it all fits together.
GRACE: You know, Renee Rockwell is with us, a veteran trial lawyer who has practiced law not only in the states but has been in Aruba many, many times, as well, legally.
Renee, the area -- you`re familiar with the island -- the are where they found the duct tape. You and I both know duct tape, like a fingerprint and many other types of scientific evidence, cannot be dated, so we don`t know how old the duct tape is.
But, Renee, you know the island. The reality is, when you find duct tape with hair still attached to it, I just can`t imagine it being very old.
RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It can`t be old, Nancy. But what`s interesting is, if they sent it to a lab, they can also determine whether or not anybody else`s hair`s on it. And then, at that point, you can take samples from any of the people that have already been in question in this investigation, namely Van Der Sloot, the Kalpoe boys, even the judge or the disc jockey.
You`re getting a little bit closer to some physical evidence. This is all you have. It`s a long shot. But at least it`s something.
Another thing, Nancy, just briefly, you have two separate dynamics going on here. You`ve got to feel for the family. You`ve got the government that`s trying to solve a crime, but you also have...
GRACE: Ha! I don`t know about that.
ROCKWELL: Well, but you also have the family. They just want to know. And I think, at this point, where they`ve hit so many dead-ends that the government should let the parents talk to the young man that`s in jail.
I don`t know if the lawyers would allow that, or let the family go and watch the young man go out to the beach and try to reenact where he was, just to get a little bit of closure on this.
Because, Nancy, if he`s telling the truth, whether he starts at the beginning, the middle, or the end of the story, it`s going to be the same story. And I`d just be interested to see if it`s the same story he told a month ago.
GRACE: Renee, I want to throw this to Jason.
Jason Oshins, the reality is, all of that is like in a fantasy world that Renee Rockwell was just talking about. Everybody`s going to sit down and all get together. "Can`t we all just get along?" Are you kidding me?
This guy has already changed his story we know between nine and 15 times. I say, Jason, all they need is one piece -- one piece -- of forensic evidence. And between all of his changed stories, they got a case.
JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, certainly, Nancy, from the prosecutor`s perspective, you want to get something, something additionally besides the conjecture, to lean on him a little bit, or lean on the Kalpoe, or lean on anyone that might have something where they -- as Renee said -- where there`s some other hairs, or Larry said that, where there`s some other hairs that they could use and try to get something out of it, try to put some of this together, you know, to exert some pressure on Van Der Sloot.
GRACE: One piece of forensic evidence. It`s a long shot. Renee`s right about that. But will this hair attached to duct tape on the beach be a break in the Holloway case?
We`ll all be right back, including Natalee`s stepfather with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Day 50 -- five-zero -- since Natalee Holloway went missing on a high school senior trip. Just this weekend, breaking developments in the story.
The lead suspect in the case taken back to the beach to reenact the night he was with her. And duct tape emerges covered in blonde hair.
Very quickly, down to Jug Twitty, Natalee`s stepfather. Jug, why do you think that Aruban authorities refused to allow Natalee`s dad to speak to Joran Van Der Sloot?
TWITTY: I`m sure it`s the attorneys that are saying that he can`t do that. You know, Nancy, you talked about a minute ago how you`ve seen no concern or remorse from either one of those families, and that`s the way I feel. I`ve seen none from the Van Der Sloots. I`ve seen none from the Kalpoes.
I saw them smiling, laughing. Their boys are home, you know, with their families. But Natalee`s not. And it concerns me.
GRACE: With us, Jug Twitty. Everyone, stay with us.
