International Law

NATALEE HOLLOWAY: CASE SOLVED?

By Karel.Frielink

Not yet, not yet at all

Dutch television aired a videotape last Sunday, in which Joran van der Sloot says he was with Natalee Holloway on an Aruban beach when she apparently died and that a friend of his with a boat disposed of Holloway’s body (further details here on CNN). According to crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, the case is now solved. But is it really? To be honest: not yet, not yet at all.

From a legal point of view, it is only his confession. One cannot get convicted on one’s own confession only. Without sufficient supporting evidence, Joran cannot get convicted of any crime whatsoever. Moreover, Joran’s confession could turn out to be completely false.

In that respect, it should be noted that suspect Joran van der Sloot is known for a particular habit: lying. A couple of weeks ago, his parents said on Dutch television that Joran habitually tells lies. He himself told in the same program (Pauw & Witteman) that he lies more often and that it had become a bit of a habit. It could even be pathological, which would make Joran a mythomaniac. If that is the case, he tells stories in a way that he believes will impress other people. Some pathological liars do and others don’t know what they are doing: how to tell the difference?

Back to his videotaped confession, or better so-called confession, because we simply don?t know whether he was telling the truth or lying again, wanting to give the impression that he is bigger or tougher than he actually is. Being interviewed about the videotape last week, Joran ‘confessed’ to a ‘false confession’…

The question therefore remains, how does one know when a serial liar tells the truth? To be continued!

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

Full post as published by Karel's Legal Blog on February 05, 2008 (boomark / email).