Oranjestad, Aruba – A 19- year-old arrested in the disappearance of a young Alabama woman appeared before a judge Tuesday, but authorities declined to reveal the outcome of the closed hearing.
The chief Aruban prosecutor refused to say whether the judge had agreed to her request to keep the man in custody for at least eight days while authorities continue their investigation of him in Natalee Holloway’s disappearance. But the smiling prosecutor, Karin Janssen, signaled her agreement with the outcome of the hearing, telling reporters: “I never smile when I’m angry.”
The 19-year-old’s attorney, Eline Lotter Homan, declined to comment.
Under Dutch law, which governs Aruba, suspects can be held for fixed periods without being charged, with a judge’s consent.
Earlier, prosecutors confirmed that the suspect was arrested Saturday in the disappearance of Holloway, who vanished nearly a year ago on the final night of a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island. They also said he was suspected of drug offenses.
Aruban authorities have disclosed only the suspect’s initials – G.V.C. – although his name has been reported by some news organizations.
“G.V.C. is suspected of criminal offenses that may be related to the disappearance of Miss Holloway and of offenses related to dealing in illegal narcotics,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Holloway, who was 18 when she disappeared, was last seen leaving a bar with Dutch teen Joran van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers on May 30. Van der Sloot and the brothers, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, were jailed and later released after a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold them.
Joran van der Sloot’s lawyer and father said van der Sloot had never met the 19-year-old who was arrested over the weekend.
Van der Sloot’s lawyer and another attorney who represents the Kalpoe brothers said the new suspect had not previously figured in the investigation.
The announcement by prosecutors that someone was being held in connection with the disappearance of the Alabama teen was the first major development in months in a case that has featured numerous false leads and the arrest of seven people who were later released.
