breaking news tonight in the disappearance of alabama beauty natal natalee holloway, missing after her high school trip. they wouldn't make a judgment in the disappearance of holloway even after high-tech surveillance catches him describing the night the alabama beauty was killed. bombshell tonight. van der sloot's father long

believed to be key in the cover-up for his son, dead. judge paul van der sloot collapses dead on a tennis court at a swanky resort. van der sloot, a case of police scrutiny, even after a witness says he spots van der sloot and daddy searching around a pond the night holloway goes missing. van der sloot, soaking wet, missing a shoe. with a positive id on the jeep, still no arrest. but now, without daddy, pulling strings, thinking, even talking for him. is van der sloot such a loose cannon, the truth will finally win out? will the holloway case be

reopened now that neron van der sloot's father is dead? >> he should have stepped forward from the beginning, he should have talked to neuron that night. >> could this be a breakthrough in finding out what happened to n natalee? >> he indicated no body, no case. >> van der sloot has changed his story. he admitted to us on the night of the 31st that he picked them up at 4:00 a.m., and then he changed the time to 11:00 p.m. on the 29dth. you just don't do that. a grown man cannot keep changing the times if he has nothing to hide or no involvement. >> i remember the day i met with paul at the prison, and the thing that sticks out in my mind is i asked him all the questions from the news media. and the last question that i had was, was he involved, and he said no. he said, dave, i can understand your position, but you've got to

understand mine. yo joran is my son and i'll do everything to protect him. and i believe it. >> bombshell tonight, joran van der sloot's father long believed to be the key to the cover-up of his son, now dead. now without daddy pulling strings, talking for him, is van der sloot a loose cannon? the truth will finally come out. >> he was joran van der sloot's biggest defender. now he has suddenly died, revving up the natalee holloway investigation. >> i do believe he knows exactly where natalee's body is. i know he knows. >> also, at the time natalee holloway went missing, paul van

der sloot was training as a judge. he was recoportedly influentialn the aruba community. >> we have many friends within the department of justice, and he had many friends -- and he was friends with all the judges in aruba. >> it's kind of frightening to hear about his connections with his father after seeing the security cameras. because, after all, the holiday inn security cameras weren't working the night he took holloway. >> i'm not hiding anything. i'm telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. i spoke all this to joran.

>> of course, that's paulus van der sloot, insisting his son joran had nothing to do with holloway's disappearance. second verse same as the first. we're taking your calls live straight out to elle johnston, our chief producer. elle, tell us the circumstances surrounding van der sloot's death. >> apparently he was playing tennis just last night. as far as we know, no previous health problems, no other conditions we're aware of. he apparently had a heart attack, collapsed on the tennis courts, emergency personnel were not able to revive him. >> elle, we were just showing a shot -- there you go. there's paulus' van der sloot, running, running from the camera, trying to get in his car. refresh our recollection, elle. just take it from the top.

what was his perceived alleged involvement for his son, joran van der sloot, and the disappearance of alabama beauty natalee holloway. >> well, paulus van der sloot always claimed his son joran had nothing to do with natalee holloway's disappearance. but police initially believed he may have been involved in the cover-up. just about a month after natalee holloway went missing, paulus van der sloot was arrested. taken into custody, three days he was released. he sold the aruban government. but your van der sloot himself said in images -- he's always making statements, taking them back -- but he told his father what happened that night. he told his father he had sold natalee holloway to a man on the beach who wanted a sex slave.

he said his father told him, keep your mouth shut. >> that was a public statement that he allegedly made -- well, he did make it on national detailed about selling natalee holloway and his father told him, that's a very serious crime and you have to keep your mouth shut. joran van der sloot said he told that story to his father, to his lawyers and to a particular teacher he trusted. we are taking your calls. what, if anything, does this mean? and the ongoing search for the truth in the disappearance of natalee holloway. heather is on the line. hi, heather? >> caller: hi, nancy, how are you? >> thanks for asking. i was up all night with little

lucy. she was sick but she's on the mend. >> caller: i know he actually said no body, no case, and then we had the undercover cop who joran said she had a fever and he just left her there ask a friend picked her up. is this t if you would, pull up the video that we have of the son, joran, von der sloot, they were on secret surveillance in dutch quarters. finally in coke service, but it really -- you got did ready, rosie? listen to joran van der sloot when he thinks no one is

watching. >> i tell you honestly, i know what happened to that girl. >> what happened? she's dead, isn't she? >> of course. the ocean is big, isn't it. >> of course the sea is big, man. >> i think that i would be incredibly lucky if they don't find that girl. >> "why does this have to happen to me?" that interview was on 20/20 where he describes the night of the disappearance of natalee holloway. joining me tonight is dave

holloway. this is natalee's father. dave, good to talk to you again. >> same to you. >> what do you think of the news that paulus van der sloot is dead on a tennis court? >> i didn't really think too much about it, but you have to think about the innocent people he has affected. it certainly isn't immediate family, but a bumnch of people n the island, same with us. and he's not controlling the police investigation, leniency toward what the judge. maybe someone will talk. >> with me is natalie's father, dave holloway, who they think he

did everything possible. imagine, a great bunch of kids, great chaperones, monitored, and then you get the word everyone came back but your daughter. dave holloway, what do you believe judge paulus van der sloot's involvement was in covering up for his son? >> my thoughts are that once he was taken into custody and he gave his initial deposition, i think that's where paul van der sloot came into action as far as changing up the statements and doing what he had to to get his son off. >> i just didn't believe what i was seeing. as a father, you just feel like jumping through the tv set. you just can't believe that a person would stoop this low and

have no respect or remorse. he has literally destroyed that dream.

something is wrong here. >> when i hear he's placing all the blame on either myself or tourism being low, if that's the case, how everything is natalee's fault. >> i think he was grasping for straws and trying to point the finger somewhere else. >> a young person just doesn't die from drinking too much. >> no history of using drugs that night, no history of epilep epilepsy. >> he has totally, totally dragged us through hell. >> he's used the justice system for too long, and i'm afraid it will come back and haunt him. >> i asked, did you search

paulus's home? he said, no. i said, why? he said, because he wouldn't let us. nothing was done right. >> there was a time when, i tell you, i just felt like, how can i continue to do this and where am i going and what am i getting? i just felt like i wasn't getting anywhere, but you know what? all that steady, constant, everyday steps that we took, each one was well worth it because look where we are today. i never thought i would see this time come where you and i are sitting here with absolutely new revelations and information coming from joran himself. >> we are taking your calls live. let's unleash the lawyers and answer heather in new york's question. joining us tonight, felony prosecutor out of the atlanta jurisdiction, eleanor odom. also with us, defense attorney peter odom and randy kessler, well known in the atlanta

jurisdiction. thank you for being with us. eleanor, heather in new york's question was, because of the death of joran van der sloot's father, the sudden and unexpected death, what does that mean to the case? >> what i'm hoping as a prosecutor is maybe someone who was scared to come out and speak earlier may come forward now that he's dead. >> peter odom, true, he may have taken secrets to the grave, as many people believe, but the fact he has now passed away, there is no more privilege with many of the things that he has said. do you think it's going to help or hurt the case? >> well, frankly, nancy, i don't think it's going to have any effect on the case. i don't think there was any privilege to begin with. there is certainly no father-son privilege. this case was dead on arrival, so to speak, and has been for years. there's never been any -- >> with the lawyers. and also he was a judge, peter

odom. >> right. >> and many people believe that he pulled strings to get his case assigned to a friend that was also a judge. >> that may be, but nobody is going to come forward and say, hey, by the way, i acted corruptly in this case, let me now tell the truth. what's done is done and this case is not going to go anywhere, and it wouldn't have, anyway, nancy. >> i think he did his job as a lawyer. time is on this defendant's side. memories fade, witnesses disappear, and there's been no body. i think his father did a good job if he was protecting his son. >> put kessler up. >> i didn't say i agreed with it. >> i don't believe i asked you anything else. randy, you have children, don't you? >> absolutely. i got a beautiful daughter. >> and in light of the fact that dave holloway is with us tonight, natalee's father, i couldn't see you when you said

paulus van der sloot did a good job in covering up for his son. do you want to rephrase that in any way? >> sure. if that's what his intent was, was to protect his son and keep his son out of jail, then he accomplished that. i wasn't making a judgment on that, i don't think he's good, i don't like it and i don't approve of it. but if that was his goal, he achieved his goal. >> let's go to analyst of the cold list squad, pine lake p.d. >> this case is so aggravating to me, but here's what i want to make very clear. it's not just a few police officers that may or may not have gotten some payment, it's not one judge, it's every single police officer on that island, it's every single judge at this point and it's every single d.a. on that island that won't bring this case forward. van der sloot said he sold her in a sex trade, he threw her in the ocean. how many times does this person have to confess before something is done?

>> legal correspondent with "in session" joining us out of new york. jane, especially in light of that undercover video we just showed of joran van der sloot essentially confessing he was there at the time of her death, how she was shaking at the time of her death. i still don't understand how aruban prosecutors did not proceed. >> so much has come out of the mouth of joran, you're right, but independent of that, the justice minister of aruba had come out, saying he believed the early aspects of the investigation were tainted, they didn't investigate, they didn't interview joran for over ten days, to protect paul. that was the basis of it all. now that paul is gone, that protection isn't needed anymore. . >> i think his pattern is the same pattern. cry ask lnd lie and get his way of it. i hope he comes clean.

i hope he settles it on this earth this time. if he doesn't, god bless him.

the van der sloots are a family under fire. the son, joran, was a star athlete at an aruba school. his comunidad wdad was question released as part of the same investigation. the family is quiet and well

respected. why wife and mother anita was distraught while her husband was detained but was standing by her men. >> i believe in my husband, i believe in my son, i believe in my family and i know it all comes right. it all will be fine. >> reporter: when police arrested paul van der sloot, officials initially said they believed he was helping to cover up what happened the night natalee disappeared. they spelled out what led them to paul van der sloot. >> they were speaking about the situation, that if you don't have a body, there is no case. >> reporter: but under interrogation, thai officials came up with an explanation. natalee's family was left reeling. >> yes, it was a devastating blow to us. >> we are taking your calls live, breaking news in the search for alabama beauty honors

student natalee holloway who was missing at her senior trip to aruba. father, paul van der sloot, allegedly had covered up for his son, joran, from the very beginning. but with paulus van der sloot now dead, collapsing on a tennis court at a resort, will the truth finally come out? joran van der sloot known to talk about the night natalee went missing. take a listen. >> i'm telling you honestly, i know what happened to that girl. >> what happened, then? she's dead, isn't she? >> of course, she is. the ocean is big, isn't it? >> of course, the ocean is big. >> i'm just incredibly lucky they haven't found that girl. if they found her, i would be in deep [ bleep ]. >> she was just lying still?

>> yeah, she was lying still. i don't know what happened, man. >> did you try to resuscitate her? >> yeah, i was shaking her, calling her name, wondering what happened. i thought, this isn't possible. >> he tells what he says to know about the disappearance of natalee holloway when he thought nobody was listening. with me tonight, natalee holloway's father, dave holloway. dave, without his daddy there to protect him anymore, to pull the strings, get cases assigned to various judges, have word to police as they investigate the case, allegedly, we know that joran van der sloot is known to talk. there he talks with an alleged drug dealer, then he talks to a woman in thailand for a proposed sex slave, and he is known to

talk now and filter his stories. >> nancy, what i think his pattern is that he will continue talking, but will he eventually be arrested and convicted and placed in jail for what he said, and your pessimistic attorneys say no, but, you know, they under estimate our perseverance in the initial few days when we arrived on the island, and they made a decision to attempt covering it up, they would have been successful. but we're 1.5 years into it, and none of us have given up, and we'll continue to seek out answers. we're a lot fur era loe furlt f along in the process, but whether we get the justice that

natalee deserves is another question. we won't quit, that's not an option. >> you know, dave, it really is on you and beth, of course, if you were to quilt, then everyone would quit. dave holloway is with us tonight, natalee's death a mystery. >> i think they made a decision, either that nilt or in the coming days, to, you know, he believed his son had a promising career. he saw it all come to an end and made that decision at that point in time to break the law and get this thing covered up. otherwise it could be in that

person's -- >> isn't it true that in the immediate days after natalee went missing, joran van der sloot and his father were already numbered up with attorneys? nobody had really pointed the finger at him yet, and his father had already arranged a slew of defense attorneys for him. >> they already had attorneys in place and were also practicing their story at the holiday inn. they knew arrests were imminent, and if it hadn't been for the news media pushing the fact that the two insurance security guards who were also employed, these guys may have gotten off scot free. they still haven't served justice, but they may never have

been arrested. >> you know, dave, a lot of people forgot about that, that a lot of people were happy to sit back and take the rap for many anyone else's. if you take a look at that, given what we know, not only avoiding the truth about natalee but letting others take the fall is horrible. >> joining me right now, a very special guest, managing director and publisher of dario magazine. . what can you tell us about the death of paulus van der sloot. i think it should combine with the new governor we have. and then we'll move forward from

here on, yes. >> how will -- >> affect the case moving fwar. >> he will never have no contacts anymore from me to the judge no longer with us. >> can joran van der sloot be taken back into custody if new and credible evidence arises. z with me is jackie, author of dario. what do you know about his actual death? where did he die? >> he died in an exclusive

section of the island where you have the million-dollar hoechlz, the retired people. he collapsed, they brought the accident, they rushed him to the hospital. >> we'll take your calls as soon as we get back, but when we go to break, our n gx n atom. >> this is just this past with week. mommy was trying to push them up a hill. that didn't go over well. crime fighter breen na -- she says a prayer for our missing

children. she said her mom my was pregnant. i will sweet lgt girl. and thank you, friends, for sharing your photos with us.

breaking news in the natalee holloway investigation. former suspect yoran van der sloot's father, has died. he collapsed while playing tennis. he was unable to be resuscitated. his son, yoran, suspended to be

involved in the disappearance of natalee holloway, who went missing on a trip to aruba. >> i want to go back to the beginning. i want a statement from the two uniformed officers that spent two hours with us, at least their written report they had that night, and i want them to dig into paulus van der sloot. he's involved in this. and i want them to dig and dig and find outd more information. >> what secrets did van der sloot know? what information will he take to the grave? >> yoran and paul have done this to themselves. they've done the lies all along. if they would have just come forward from the beginning, never changed their story, we wouldn't have these suspicions. >> breaking news tonight in the search for alabama beauty and honors student, natalee holloway, who went missing on her high school trip. great group of children, great

group of shchaperones, plenty o chaperones to go around. she's the only one that didn't come back from aruba. she's the only one that hasn't been seen since. the last one to be seen on the beach, he says he left her on the beach. he tells an entirely different story on secret surveillance video, describing how she died. then in a national tv interview, he says he sold her into the sex trade. but now, without daddy to protect him any longer, will the truth finally come out? wel >> well, you're on a lot of different stories, but the man is going to tell ray story not quite the truth. daddy is gone, so there goes your second guy who knows what's

going on. there is only one left. i think thaer going to have true what lifts up from the hope. maybe there was some aex is that wasn't there before that they can go look for it. chief medical examiner at broward county, author of "when to call the doctor." d doctor, it is an honor to have you with us. what they've just told with the many, many months that have passed, what would you expect to see? >> i expect to see them buried. . if the body was thrown in the ocean, it most likely would have

rof rofrd. >> tammy from georgia. hi, tammy. caller hi, nanc -- >> caller: hi, nancy, i think you're a wonderful mother. do you think yoran will talk now that he doesn't have his father telling him what to say and do. >> i think his father was looking forward to him talking. your and van der sloot. what do you know, jane? >> well, nancy, i did find out some things. a source close to the van der sloot family tells me yoran is in the netherlands right now and he will be coming back to aruba for services, so he will be back to that jurisdiction, nancy. >> eleanor odom out of atlanta, randy kessler and peter odom as well, all joining us.

eleanor odom, littit is not out the realm of possibility to make some type of move if. he was probable her -- i think there is some good evidence to corroborate his statement. >> peter odom, funerals and memorials are tried and true. in fact, the feds are well known for rigging up microphones, hidden surveillance chamraz, you name it, graveside -- what do you think. >> van der sloot has already told five or six stories about what happened, so what if he comes and tells a sixth story. it's true you can prosecute a case without a body, but you

can't prosecute a case without admissioned and effects alone. peter, peter, peter. you're absolutely correct in the united states. is he -- if all you have is by a a -- there is video of him, yoran van der sloot, leaving a bar with natalee just before she goes missing. that could be evidence. >> right, you just need something to corroborate, and that's all it is. if any of those confessions come in, or him admitting it, that tape will go into it. o.j. stepped into it, he's going to pay the price sooner or later.

>> jennifer in california. hi, jennifer. you're on right now, dear, what's the question? okay, >> caller: we love you here in new jersey, and we love the twins. >> thank you. >> caller: please get well fast, lucy. my question is, do you think that joran van der sloot was given preferential treatment? and what's the usual practice on a missing persons case in aruba under the law? i understand he was not picked up for ten days. >> we're going to answer your question when we get back. we're hard against a break. remind you of the lung cancer foundation. fighting the number one cancer in the world, lung cancer. claiming more lives than breast, colon, prostate, melanoma and kidney cancer combined.

you don't have to smoke to get lung cancer. joan gaeta lost her battle with lung cancer. in her honor, the third annual dancing for joan fund-raiser for research, saturday, february 20, marietta, georgia. go to forjoan.org. tonight happy 20th to georgia friend lydia neely. a sophomore at kennesaw majoring in criminology. happy birthday, lydia.

i'm a father, too, and no matter what my -- and i love my son to death, but if he did something wrong, i would stand up to it. we'd just have to deal with it. >> to jossy mansur, director of "diario" magazine, how can he be treated differently than a normal suspect would have been treated? >> well, i can give you one classic example is that his

father was allowed to sit in on various interrogations. he was allowed to look at transcripts of the agents and to make corrections in his own handwriting. no one else that i know of has ever been granted that kind of a privilege. >> what about it, jean casarez with "in session"? >> the fact is in addition to that, and francine was exactly right from new jersey, it took ten days before there was any initial interviews with joran van der sloot. nancy, look at the cases you cover. the initial days are critical, and word spread very quickly that joran van der sloot was the last person to have seen natalee holloway. >> not to speak ill of the dead, all right, but let's just get down to it, cheryl mccollum, that is bs, and you know that judge paulus van der sloot had something to do with his son not being questioned for ten days. >> no question. the first 72 hours is critical. they deliberately wait ten days.

all kind of leads have gone at that point. >> to you, bethany marshall, what do you make of joran van der sloot's disposition and how that will be affected by his father's sudden death? >> i think we have to remember that there's a little kernel of truth in every lie a pathological liar tells. when casey anthony said caylee was nearby, she was, in a body bag. when joran said he sold natalee in the sex trade, he sold her up the river. it's not just a tall tale. in the lies will be a kernel of truth. he can't help himself. he wants to brag to the world. >> breaking news tonight in the search for missing alabama teen natalee holloway. the son, joran van der sloot, the former suspect in this case, headed to aruba, as we speak. his father, judge paulus van der sloot dead at 57. what will it mean to the case?

let's stop and remember marine lance corporal william spencer, 20, paris, tennessee, killed iraq. awarded the silver star. gave his life rescuing his commanding officer. left studies at murray state to enlist. loves fishing, rescuing stray animals. dreamed of playing football at ohio state and being a marine biologist. leaves behind parents david and julia, stepmother dawn, two brothers, two sisters. william spencer, american hero. thanks to our guests but especially you for being with us. i'll see you tomorrow night. 8:00 sharp eastern. until then, good night, friend. e