Van der Sloot: I fabricated Holloway story

Published: Feb. 5, 2008 at 5:03 PM

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- A man named by Joran van der Sloot as the person who helped him get rid of Natalee Holloway's body in 2005 says he can prove he was not in Aruba at the time.

Van der Sloot, 20, says that he made up the story he told a Dutch acquaintance, his lawyer said. A Dutch crime reporter, Peter de Vries, arranged for the conversation to be secretly taped and it was broadcast Monday on ABC's "20/20."

Daury Rodrigues's lawyer said that he was working in the Netherlands in May 2005, Expatica reported. Rodrigues, who knew van der Sloot as a teenager, has given a statement to the public prosecutor in Aruba,

Chris Lejuez said.

Van der Sloot told Patrick van der Eem that he dumped Holloway's body in the ocean after the 18-year-old passed out while they were having sex on the beach. Holloway was in Aruba on a graduation trip with other members of her Alabama high school class.

While Rodrigues is back in Aruba, van der Sloot is studying law in the Netherlands. His lawyer, Bert de Rooij, said he is willing to be questioned by prosecutors in Aruba, ANP reported.

Since the broadcast became public, van der Sloot has been in hiding.

"I don't think I can go to school here anymore," van der Sloot reportedly said in an on-line conversation with a writer who collaborated with him on a book. "Lots of people are angry."

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Bangladesh cholera linked to rivers (2 min)
Report: Vinegars a possible risk to kids (8 min)
U.S. markets make headway Monday (12 min)
Canada recalls some Nutkao-brand spreads (31 min)
Astronauts to begin pre-launch quarantine (38 min)
Study: Controlling parents can be damaging (58 min)
Dolphins blamed for dead porpoises
fark
Photoshop this not so real moon landing
Computer viruses are now downloading child porn to your computer then calling the Feds, for the...
This just in: Fort Hood shooter described as "scary" by someone's mom
Connecticut's gum control laws are having little effect on the state's gum crimes
"Thanks to $25 million in recovery money, America's poorest city now has hippos."
The coolest Martian jellyfish you'll see all day