Abrams Report

August 8, 2005

DAN ABRAMS, HOST: Coming up, for the first time Natalee Holloway's mother confronts one of the suspects in her daughter's disappearance.

ABRAMS: We've got the only pictures of Natalee's mother and Deepak Kalpoe as she asked the tough questions about his time with her daughter. We talk live with Beth Holloway Twitty.

The program about justice starts now.

ABRAMS: Hi everyone. First up on the docket, another ABRAMS REPORT exclusive. The mother of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway confronts a suspect in her daughter's disappearance. There it is...

ABRAMS: All right, so what's happening now is...

ABRAMS: ... this investigation about what's going on.

ABRAMS: ... a little bit late for this interview. She is about four minutes away, I'm told. And we are going to be the first ones to talk to her about this confrontation. Can you imagine how emotional that must be, having to sit face face-to-face, talk to the man that she is convinced is somehow responsible or at the very least knows more about this.

Very quickly, Michelle, let me ask you one more question. The landfill, is the search still continuing at that landfill?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really looked like that was failing for a couple of days. They couldn't secure the equipment. Texas EquuSearch volunteers left the island this morning. But there is this one local man, he works as a private investigator. He also has search and rescue experience. He has really taken on this case and this search. So he is back in the landfill this morning with some other volunteers.

They're using heavy equipment, digging through that garbage where a couple of days ago dogs caught a strong scent. What is it exactly? They don't know. But they need to dig down through about 15 feet of garbage and they want to clear that area out of there. That scent that they caught made them very much optimistic, but they just don't know what's under there right now and they're going to keep it up for days if they have to.

ABRAMS: All right, Michelle Kosinski, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

As we wait for Beth Holloway Twitty to arrive after being briefed on the status of the investigation, I'm joined now by Paul Reynolds. He's in Houston. He's Natalee Holloway's uncle. He's been spending a lot of time down in Aruba following the investigation; and Ricardo Yarzagaray, an Aruban attorney familiar with the Aruban law and this investigation.

All right, Paul, let me start with you. This must have been very difficult, I assume, for Beth to go and confront Deepak Kalpoe. We will ask her about it in a minute. But you have been talking to her. You know how she's been feeling, how passionate she is about all of this. It must have been hard for her.

PAUL REYNOLDS, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S UNCLE: Well she is just absolutely determined to find out what happened and where her daughter is. And going and seeing Deepak is not a surprise to me. It's something I would expect her to do. And, you know, I would expect her to do it in a way that would be a positive way to get some information from him to you know find out what he is thinking and see what he can tell us.

ABRAMS: And Paul, you were there, were you not, at that cafe?

REYNOLDS: I went there last week and actually spent a little time talking to him myself. I didn't tell him who I was and he didn't recognize me. But I JUST wanted to kind of get a better idea of who he was and what kind of person he was.

ABRAMS: But when you went there, you were able to sort of look at him and I don't know if the term was you corrected me or someone had said stare him down and you said really that's not what you were doing there. You were really trying to just sort of evaluate, et cetera, right?

REYNOLDS: Right. He didn't recognize me. And I didn't, you know, was not there to confront him. I just wanted to interact with him a little bit and see what kind of person he was. And I pretended to be a customer. Well, I was a customer and interacted with him in that manner, just to see.

ABRAMS: Yes. All right, joining me now from Aruba just hours after that confrontation is Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway. Thanks a lot, Beth. I know that you raced over here to do this interview. So thanks a lot. We appreciate it. Tell me about...

BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S MOTHER: OK.

ABRAMS: Tell me about going to that cafe and talking to Deepak Kalpoe, one of the suspects.

TWITTY: Well, you know, he really didn't have too much to say to me. We were there, I don't know probably—I don't know if it was an hour. I haven't even stopped to think back on that now. It took me a while to kind of digest that afternoon, but maybe an hour. It could have been more. It could have been an hour and a half. And, you know, the main thing I was just asking him was, I know that Joran had—he had admitted sexual assault that he committed against Natalee in their car with Deepak and Satish in and I just asked Deepak, I said did you try to help Natalee or did you participate?

You know I think that is a legitimate question for me to ask him. I certainly would have hoped he would have been trying to help her. You know there were a couple of other things I asked. He would not comment—just kept telling me that his lawyer told him he was not allowed to speak with me and I kept reminding him and—about the reward. I said we have $250,000 for her whereabouts. We have $1 million for her safe return.

I asked him if he could please you know tell customers coming in—I was a little disappointed to find that I had placed in the window of the Internet café’ had been taken down and that really disturbed me, and I asked him why. And he said that his boss had made him take it down.

TWITTY: And you know...

ABRAMS: Sorry.

TWITTY: I'm sorry.

ABRAMS: No—sorry. Go ahead.

TWITTY: Go ahead.

ABRAMS: I was just going to say so you made it clear to him, did you not, that you did not believe everything he was saying?
 
TWITTY: Oh, absolutely. I made it perfectly clear that the beach trip never happened. And you know there have been too many witnesses that have made holes all in that story. So we know we have moved from one lie to the next and you know Deepak was extremely nervous. I think I just ruined his afternoon.

And all he could do was just franticly type on the computer. It was just senseless typing on it, just every second that he would have to turn away from me. Of course, he tried to do it a lot. But you know I was just persistent and I need answers.

And you know Aruba needs answers. And these citizens here, they deserve answers from Deepak. None of us should be subjective to what he is choosing to put us through. And, you know, I just can't see why—I even invited him to come on your show with me. I think that would be a great way—if he doesn't have anything to hide, to come forward and talk with us...

ABRAMS: What did he say?

TWITTY: he just told me that—the end of the closing of our conversation, he said the media doesn't know this side of you and I just told him that I had been saving it for you, Deepak.

ABRAMS: And what me meant by that was that you were not the kind, loving compassionate woman that you seem to be on TV, he's basically saying that you were being mean?

TWITTY: No, I think he knows that I'm all of those that you described but that I was not afraid to confront and look for answers and that I will stop at nothing, and I think he knows that now, to get them.

ABRAMS: Did he deny the things that you were saying to him or did he say, I simply can't answer because my lawyer has told me not to.

TWITTY: Either, (A), he did not respond at all. He would not look at me. I kept having to redirect him and tell him to look at me. And, (B), he would just tell me that his lawyer told him that he couldn't speak with me. And those were his only two responses other than the one about where he told me that—towards the end of our conversation—that the media hadn't seen this side of me. And I gather he must be watching me and I gather he must be seeing what I'm saying about him. So that is interesting to me. I'm glad he's keeping up with it. He needs to be.

ABRAMS: Are you glad you went?

TWITTY: Oh, I am. And you know I went to develop some pictures. And I'm glad I did. I frequent a restaurant that is two doors down from the Internet cafe. I have been to it three times now since I have been on the island and I plan to go back.

ABRAMS: I was going to ask...

TWITTY: ... he doesn't have anything to hide...

ABRAMS: I was going to ask you about that. Do you intend to go back on a regular basis?

TWITTY: Oh, absolutely. I've got a lot more film that I need to have developed. And I'm just hoping that Deepak will make the right decision and help clear Aruba and protect his integrity.

ABRAMS: Let me ask you about the FBI. The FBI just briefed you on what has been going on in the investigation. You mentioned before that Joran had admitted sexual assault. Of course he now denies any of that. Have they given you any update on the progress of the investigation?

TWITTY: Well, we really didn't talk about that. The main thing that we discussed is—I think these officials from Holland are just doing an awesome job. And, you know, hopefully in the next, you know, coming days or coming weeks that they will just be able to you know hopefully make some progress with Joran and, who knows, certainly, we'd be thrilled of the possibility of Deepak and Satish being rearrested. I think the whole new interrogation process would just reveal some incredible information from those two boys...

ABRAMS: It sounds to me...

TWITTY: ... and Paul van der Sloot.

ABRAMS: It sounds to me like you view Deepak and his brother as possible witnesses.

TWITTY: No, I'm not going to say that. Because remember, Deepak could not answer me. When I asked him if he tried to help Natalee or was he a participant in the sexual assault, and he could not and would not answer me. Now if he was not—if he did not participate, I think he would emphatically state, absolutely, no way. And he couldn't even do that. So we can't rule him out as a participatory (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in this—in these sexual acts committed against her. We can't rule that out at all.

ABRAMS: So...

TWITTY: He won't deny it.

ABRAMS: So literally for an hour or so, you were there across from a man you believe at the very least knows something about your daughter's disappearance, and he was, for an hour...

ABRAMS: ... saying I can't answer that question. My lawyer told me not to. I assume that you had some—you added some choice words?

TWITTY: Well, I was very detailed in how I was—in how I presented the question. Yes, they were very detailed. I just—you know he would not tell me, though, that he was not a participant. And I gave him plenty of opportunity.

ABRAMS: You're seen on the videotape handing him something. What was it?

TWITTY: I can't tell you right now.

ABRAMS: OK.

TWITTY: I really—I'll be honest. I haven't even stopped to think about too much of that afternoon.

ABRAMS: Did this conversation make you angrier or was it somewhat cathartic?

TWITTY: You know it not only makes me angry, but it should make every citizen in Aruba angry and it should make everyone that has been watching this in the U.S. angry. Because they see that he is causing so much damage. These boys single-handedly are doing this and it's just a tragedy. So it's not only me that is angry. It's everyone involved in this. It's terrible.

ABRAMS: Beth, it sounds like it has been a long day for you already.

Thanks a lot for taking the time again...
 
TWITTY: OK.

ABRAMS: ... to come back. We appreciate it. We will stay on top of it as best we can.

TWITTY: OK.

ABRAMS: And Paul, thanks a lot to you...

TWITTY: Thank you.

ABRAMS: ... as well.