10.14.2005

Murder Victim’s family is angry with how investigation is going
Case reconstruction took place last Thursday night in Sabana Basora
DIARIO Aruba
10/14/2005

ORANJESTAD (AAN): In the month of June, a cruel case took place in Sabana Basora that shocked not only those who live in the neighborhood but also the whole community.

A man who showed no signs of life was discovered in the surroundings of Santana Central in Sabana Basora.

It deals with the body of a man with multiple cuts on his body. His throat was almost exposed.

At once, suspicion arose that this was a serious case, murder with criminal hands involved. Various suspicions arose, which dealt with a possible hit, reprisal, and a number of other versions circulated. At the moment when the authorities discovered the body, they checked the house where the victim lived, and there discovered a lot more blood.

In this end, it is illustrated why the case was that authorities concentrated here, because in their point of view this was the place where the crime took place.

The victim was living in this house with a woman, and she is one of the first ones to have noticed. In the first instance, the suspicion didn’t point towards the woman. Due to her acting in such a way that the suspicion was not aimed in her direction.

However, slowly, on the basis of the investigation and also compiled reports, the finger was pointed in her direction.

Investigators in charge of the case found sufficient indication that the woman was involved in the murder, for which it decided with the support of the Public Ministry [prosecutor’s office] to detain her.

In this way, the interrogation started and the woman came head down that she committed the cruel act. She showed that she used a machete with which she held the man in such a way that he could not resist and by consequence he died from the multiple serious wounds he received.

Apparently, the woman committed the act as a reprisal. What the reprisal consisted of is not clear. It’s the Court of Justice that will tend to this cruel case.
One point that still no one can believe and cannot comprehend is that the woman alone committed the act. Possibly there is one or more persons involved.

The question has arisen, if it’s true that the woman has such strength to launch this attack, hoist the man in a pickup and transport him from the house to the Santana area, where the lifeless body of Rene van Heinegin was discovered. The woman, Yesenia Castillo, is in KIA at this moment.

On the evening hours of Thursday, authorities conducted a reconstruction of the case where the female suspect was transported to the location to give details of what happened.

DIARIO found, that the investigator prepared this event along with TOD and the prosecutor for the reconstruction to take place.

Victim’s family is none too happy

“While they can’t even resolve the case of Natalee Holloway…what is of a poor dark skinned San Nicolas born Arubian?” This is the reaction of the family of the deceased, Rene van Heinegin, which they indicated to DIARIO in a telephone interview from St. Maarten.

They explain that the majority of the siblings live in St. Maarten and Holland. Only the parents are still in Aruba, but the great anger comes from the family not getting any sort of ‘feedback’ from the criminal investigation that’s under way.

The case of their brother isn’t finding attention like that of Natalee’s? Because their brother is a dark skinned Arubian? “If the investigator can’t resolve Natalee’s case, how can they solve the crime of their own people?” said the sister to DIARIO.

The look at the case this way: A dark skinned Arubian from San Nicolas is cruelly killed in a new district. But everything is going quite slow and no sort of information is reaching them.

To top it all off, a sibling was told that police in Aruba was going to conduct the reconstruction of events this coming Sunday. Now he calls, they tell him that suddenly the reconstruction took place last Thursday evening. And the parents in Aruba are without a vehicle and could not find a way to get to the place. In the end, they couldn’t get there.

Simply said, the families are none too happy with the investigations that are currently taking place in Aruba.

[translated by Getagrip]

10.11.2005

Investigation In N. Holloway Case Still Ongoing
Aruba.com
10/11/2005

The investigation into the disappearance of the American tourist N. Holloway is still ongoing. The investigation continues and the team is searching for new leads that may help solve this case. At the same time, the investigation that has been done until now is being revised and evaluated.

The Public Prosecutor's Office is of the opinion that it's important to bring the following forward with regards to how criminal investigations are conducted on the island of Aruba. The Public Prosecutor's Office is an institute that has been established by law and the office forms part of the administration of justice and the judicial power on Aruba. The Public Prosecutor's Office has specific tasks that are lain down in the laws of the island. One of the most important tasks, which is carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office as a part of the judicial power on Aruba, is the persecution of criminal acts. The Public Prosecutor's Office carries out this task by leading the criminal investigation that is done by the police. After the investigation is finished, the Public Prosecutor's Office decides if a case will be brought before a judge through a citation.

In the persecution of criminal acts, the Public Prosecutor's Office operates completely independent from the Minister of Justice and the Government of Aruba. The Public Prosecutor's Office does not have to justify its actions with regards to the persecution of criminal acts to the Minister of Justice or the Government of Aruba. All the accounting that the Public Prosecutor's Office has to do, will be done before the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Only the Common Court of Justice judges if the Public Prosecutor's Office has done its work, the persecution of criminal acts, correctly. If that's not the case, the Common Court of Justice can give the Public Prosecutor's Office the necessary instructions. The Minister of Justice and the Government of Aruba do not have a say in this process. They cannot give instructions to the Public Prosecutor's Office to persecute somebody or to start a criminal investigation.

If a concerned party in a criminal case, for example somebody who has filed a complaint with the police, is of the opinion that the investigation is not being done or not being done in a reasonable amount of time, this person can file a complaint with the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

10.10.2005

Aruba Truth Spins Again: "John Pauly Speaks Out About Aruba Media Coverage"
10/08/2005

A former newspaper reporter who ruffled his share of feathers at Channel 7 and Channel 2, Pauly might seem to be an odd choice for his Aruban role. "I know both sides of the story," said Pauly. "I'm an aggressive journalist, but I'm also a very honest and ethical journalist."

Continue reading: Aruba Truth

John Pauly, pictured with the van der Sloots, at their residence, on the day of the principal suspect's release: