Natalee's mom confronted killer at his home, asked if daughter was in trunk

Natalee Holloway was waving out of a moving gray Honda Civic, shouting "Aruba!" to friends, moments before she vanished. That casual goodbye, recalled by her friend Madison Greer in the new Netflix docuseries "Taken: Natalee Holloway," is just one of the chilling details from the case, according to the New York Post ^[1].

Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, flew to Aruba and confronted Joran van der Sloot at his home. She asked him directly, "Could Natalee be in that trunk?" the New York Post reported ^[1]. Van der Sloot allegedly claimed he dropped Natalee off at her hotel, where security guards helped her inside, but Beth said her gut told him he was lying.

Van der Sloot, who was 17 at the time, had told Natalee and her friends he was a college student from Holland. He was later revealed to be the son of Paul van der Sloot, an attorney on the path to becoming a judge in Aruba. Aruban police chief Gerold Dompig said the father’s legal status complicated the investigation, as he could advise his son. Dompig noted the father allegedly told Joran, "if there’s no body, there’s no crime," according to the New York Post ^[1].

Police initially arrested hotel security guards to eliminate them as suspects, believing van der Sloot’s account. However, video footage later showed he lied about dropping Natalee off. Dompig said van der Sloot changed his story around 40 times during interrogation. The New York Post reported ^[1] that police had to release van der Sloot in 2005 due to lack of evidence, as Natalee’s body was never found.

In 2010, van der Sloot allegedly emailed Beth’s attorney, John Q. Kelly, offering to lead them to Natalee for $250,000. Kelly flew to Aruba, gave him a portion of the money, and van der Sloot claimed Natalee was in the cement foundation of a house under construction. CBS News reported ^[2] that Beth suspected van der Sloot from the start, calling the case a media firestorm that lasted years.