This is the complete transcript from "On the Record," March 1, 2006.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: The viewers will finally hear from Joran van der Sloot. Tonight, we will show you our unedited interview with the chief suspect in Natalee Holloway's disappearance. By unedited, we mean no content has been taken out. You hear every question we asked and every answer he gave and each answer in its entirety.
Here are the facts we know. Joran, along with Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, were the last people known seen with Natalee Holloway. She was leaving a popular bar in the back seat of Deepak's car. The next morning, Natalee did not show up for her flight home and has not been seen since. But what happened between those two events? The first story the three boys told, that they had returned Natalee to her hotel, is a lie. After extensive searches, many false leads and enormous frustration and heartbreak for Natalee Holloway's parents, the case remains unsolved.
There have been many questions for Joran van der Sloot over the past nine months, questions that have remained unanswered for you until now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Joran, what's it like for you here in Aruba?
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, CHIEF SUSPECT IN NATALEE HOLLOWAY DISAPPEARANCE: For me in Aruba, it's great. I mean, it's the place where I grew up. It's the place I love. It's — you know, it's a wonderful island.
VAN SUSTEREN: Have people been treating you well here? I mean, what's been the impact of your arrest and your release, and now you're off in school?
VAN DER SLOOT: Oh, everyone here has always treated me well. I mean, everybody knows what's going on, probably more than the people in the States do. And everyone here has always treated me with respect and treated me right.
VAN SUSTEREN: So when you walk down the street, people say things to you here?
VAN DER SLOOT: Well, of course, you know, it's not fun that everyone on the street notices you. I mean, you want to just to be able to walk and no one notice you and for it to be normal, but I can't change anything about that now. It's like that already. So I just, you know, try to adapt and it and do the best I to for that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Has Aruba been affected by Natalee's disappearance?
VAN DER SLOOT: I think it has been affected, been affected quite a lot, and that's one thing that hurts me a lot. I mean, the Aruban people did everything, everything to try and — to try and solve this case. They did. They sent F-16 jets from Holland over to take pictures. They've interrogated I don't know how many people. They have dive teams from all over the world have come to dive into the oceans and look in the oceans. They sent the whole Marines to search the entire island.
I mean, the government, the Aruban government, even gave all the people that work for the government a day off to go search the island. I mean, a lot has been done, and everyone just wants to get this case solved and get it done with. That's what everybody wants.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is that what you want?
VAN DER SLOOT: Of course, that's what I want. That's the one thing that will clear me, and that's the one thing that will clear anyone else involved with it that doesn't deserve to be.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why did you agree to talk to us?
VAN DER SLOOT: I agreed to talk to you because I thought it was important to hear another side of the story, as well. I look at it in one way that, you know, there's one side of the story, there's another side of the story, and then there's the truth. And I'm telling you the truth and everything that happened and not just one side from the story. I'm not going to tell you I'm a good person. I'm not going to tell you that I'm an angel or that I've done good things, no, because it's not like that. But I'm here to tell the truth and to let people know what happened and exactly what went on.
VAN SUSTEREN: How old are you?
VAN DER SLOOT: I'm 18 now.
VAN SUSTEREN: What's the impact been on you?
VAN DER SLOOT: Well, I mean, I was arrested at 17 and it's — I always felt myself that I was — you know, that I was a lot older, but — that's what I've always felt for myself. But I mean, of course, it has — it's had — it's had a lot of impact on me, too. I spent 90 days in jail. And it's had a lot of impact on everyone, on my family, on Aruba. It's had an impact on everyone I love.
VAN SUSTEREN: What impact on your mother and father? Is there a way to describe it?
VAN DER SLOOT: There's no way to describe that. That's the worst thing there is. I mean, for me to see my mom and my dad, that's horrible. I mean, they didn't deserve any of this. I know it was my fault that they came into — that they were brought into this. And it's part of their life, too, now, and there's nothing that I can do to make that better towards them. But that's horrible for them.
VAN SUSTEREN: Have you watched Beth Holloway Twitty on TV at all, or do you think about the impact on her and her family?
VAN DER SLOOT: I mean, I've seen — I've seen so much stuff on TV and on the Internet and — I mean, like I probably said from the beginning, I don't hold any grudges against her at all or her family at all because if they — I mean, if I were in their position and there was some kid that was with someone I loved last, I mean, and all this happened, he lied to the police, you name it, I mean, I'd be — I'd be pissed. I'd be — I'd probably go to that kid, and you know, I'm someone that I'd probably beat him up until he tells me everything he knows.
And I mean, I think they've gone about this in a wrong way in a lot of senses, too. But that they blame me, I don't blame them for or hold any grudges against them for at all.
VAN SUSTEREN: In terms of going about it in the wrong way, what — in which way is it the wrong way that they've done this?
VAN DER SLOOT: I think they've done a lot of things that have hurt a lot of people that don't deserve to be hurt, a lot of people that are really good. I mean, one example is boycotting an island. That's something you can't do. I mean, Aruba's done everything, everything to try and solve the case. And that's something that really bothers me, that you could just go on TV and say, I'm going to boycott an island and get a government to agree to that, that's something that I really — I think that's absolutely wrong.
I mean, the Aruban people are great people. They've done everything, everything to try and solve this case, and that's something that just really — you know, it — that pisses me off. That they go towards me and blame me is something I can understand. But to go towards my family and my friends and Aruba and everyone I love, that's something that really hurts me.
VAN SUSTEREN: Take me back to May 29. Do you remember when you first saw Natalee?
VAN DER SLOOT: I remember — I remember when I first saw her. I went there, I went to the casino, the Excelsior casino at the Holiday Inn, to play a free poker tournament. I remember walking in there and sitting at a — playing a — first playing a poker tournament, then afterwards, when I was done, going to a blackjack table and sitting down. And I remember her and her friends coming up to the table. They sat down. They wanted to play blackjack.
And I didn't even notice Natalee from that beginning, from that (INAUDIBLE). I didn't even pay any attention to her. There was a friend of hers that was sitting next to me that said she'd lost — she'd lost $100 or $120 of her father's money, and she wanted to win it back. And I said, You know what? I'll help you. I'll help you try and win back your money. I'll tell you when to hit and when to stay. And that's what I did.
You know, we were just talking socially. It was just — it was just — it was just talking with nothing — nothing else involved. And then they ended up asking me if — they ended up telling me it was their last night and asked if I wanted to go to Carlos 'n Charlie's.
VAN SUSTEREN: Had you been to Carlos 'n Charlie's before? You know the place?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I know the place. I went there on weekends a lot. It's just — it's a place where I know — it's fun place. It's a place where people go and hang out and have fun. I mean...
VAN SUSTEREN: You say a free poker game. What does that mean, for those who don't know what that is here?
VAN DER SLOOT: It's a — it's just — it's a tournament, you know, of poker, Texas hold 'em poker. It's a — they just have tournaments here that people play. And at the end, if you win a tournament, you win money.
VAN SUSTEREN: Were you there earlier with your father that day, or had he left or...
VAN DER SLOOT: My father doesn't like casinos at all. He doesn't want me playing in casinos at all, either. But I convinced him to come that day to the casino and play that tournament because he — because it was a free tournament. I said, I have the chance — I want you to come with me and you can just play one time and see how it is. So you see, you know, why I go play, too, because it's just a social thing. It's a — it was a fun thing to do.
And yes, so my dad had come with me. And halfway through, he — because my mom at the time was in Holland, halfway through, he had to go back home to my little brother because he was home alone. And I took his place at the poker tournament because I had lost earlier. So I went in and I took his place and I played for him.
VAN SUSTEREN: So you were there alone. You didn't — later on, you caught up with Satish and Deepak, but at that point, you were there alone, playing poker?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I was there alone. I was there alone, playing cards.
VAN SUSTEREN: Anything catch your attention about Natalee or her friends, anything you recall?
VAN DER SLOOT: I mean, no, nothing — nothing to catch my attention. They seemed like normal girls. I mean, I talked to them — I talked to them normally. I mean, they — yes, nothing of them was out of the ordinary at all.
VAN SUSTEREN: Interested in any of them at — at the poker table?
VAN DER SLOOT: Interested? No, not really. I was more talking — the girl that was sitting next to me, I was — I thought she was pretty and I was talking to her. And when I went — what the point was for going to Carlos 'n Charlie's was I wanted to actually meet up with her.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you remember her name?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don't — I didn't remember it, but I remember it now because I heard it afterwards. I think her name was Kathleen.
VAN SUSTEREN: So about what time — did you leave the blackjack table first, or did the young women, the girls from Mountain Brook, leave the table first?
VAN DER SLOOT: When she'd won back — Kathleen, who was sitting next to me, when she'd won about $100, me and her friends convinced her to go cash the money. So that's when they went to go cash — they went to go cash their chips.
VAN SUSTEREN: So did they all leave together, sort of like a herd of girls, do you remember?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I think they left in a group. They all stayed together.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did they...
VAN DER SLOOT: And I remember afterwards going into — right behind that casino is a little bar, and I remember watching — walking in there. And there was a baseball game on TV, and again, the group of girls was sitting there. And they said, Oh, yes, don't forget to come out tonight. And I told them that on Sunday, it wasn't a good night to go out. It wasn't fun. It wasn't — and — but they said, You know, if you want to come, come. And I ended up deciding that, yes, I might as well go and have fun.
VAN SUSTEREN: Were you drinking at that point?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, at that point, I wasn't drinking. I'd had a drink at the — during the poker tournament, but at that point, I hadn't taken a drink. They were drinking, however.
VAN SUSTEREN: Could you feel the effect of that one drink, at that point?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, not at all.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. OK. And were they acting like they had been drinking quite liberally and freely? Could you tell whether they were?
VAN DER SLOOT: I mean, yes, they were drinking liberally and freely, but I mean, I think they had every right to. I mean, they had graduated. They just finished their high school. You know, they'd just been — they'd finished their high school, and I think they had every right to come to Aruba and have — and you know, and celebrate their graduation. I mean, they worked for that their whole life. And I've met tons of people that do the same thing.
And I mean, one problem I might have seen with it is the drinking age in the United States is 21 and the drinking age in Aruba is 18. And you know, I've met a lot of people that when they're — you know, whose parents don't let them drink or do anything like that, and when they — you know, when they come to Aruba and they get a chance to drink, they go — you know, they go overboard, and that's something that's — that's bad, something that shouldn't happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Coming up: Did Joran's father know he was partying at Carlos 'n Charlie's the night Natalee disappeared?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: I'd made up my mind that I was going to go there, and I'd also made up my mind that I wasn't going to tell him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Joran van der Sloot says he first met Natalee Holloway and her friends at the Holiday Inn Excelsior casino. Their paths crossed again later that night. And here's more of our unedited interview with Joran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: About what time did you walk out of the Holiday Inn casino for the evening?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don't remember exactly what time it was.
VAN SUSTEREN: Can you give me an estimate?
VAN DER SLOOT: It was probably 10:00, I think — 9:00, 10:00.
VAN SUSTEREN: And they were already gone at that point, do you remember?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, they were sitting in a bar behind the casino.
VAN SUSTEREN: And where did you go when you left the casino?
VAN DER SLOOT: And I called another friend of mine and asked him if he wanted to go out, and he said he had to work the next day, so he couldn't go out. And at that point, I called my dad and asked him if he could pick me up. And he said he'd pick me up at the McDonald's, so I walked over to the McDonald's, where he picked me up and took me home.
VAN SUSTEREN: So it's a cell phone call to your house.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, a cell phone call to my house.
VAN SUSTEREN: Any reason why the McDonald's? Did you get something to eat or...
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, because I wanted to get something to eat, too. I hadn't eaten anything. So I got something to eat at the McDonald's.
VAN SUSTEREN: How far is the walk from Holiday Inn to McDonald's, about?
VAN DER SLOOT: Five minutes, probably.
VAN SUSTEREN: So you got to the McDonald's. Was your father already there, or did you wait for him?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, he wasn't there yet. I got something to eat, and while I was eating it, he arrived.
VAN SUSTEREN: Any idea what time he arrived?
VAN DER SLOOT: No. Probably 10 minutes after I called him, 20 minutes after I called him.
VAN SUSTEREN: At the point where you called him, were you intending to go to Carlos and Charlie's at that point? Had you made up your mind?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I'd made up my mind that I was going to go there, and I'd also made up my mind that I wasn't going to tell him that I was going to go there because I know he would have said no. He would have said that I couldn't go. So I had made up my own mind that I was going to go out without him knowing.
VAN SUSTEREN: How were you going to do that? Did you — at that point, had you called anybody else besides the one friend that turned you down?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes. Then walking — when I kept walking, I called Deepak and I asked him if he wanted to go out. And he said, Sure. Sure, I'd like to go out. I don't have to work the next day until 3:00 in the afternoon, so of course.
VAN SUSTEREN: How old is Deepak? How much older is he than you are?
VAN DER SLOOT: Deepak's 21.
VAN SUSTEREN: How do you know him?
VAN DER SLOOT: I met him a long time ago through a friend of mine. And now — and since then, we've been friends — never best friends or anything like that, but you know, we've — we hung out together and sometimes we went out together and stuff like that.
VAN SUSTEREN: What's a long time ago to you, in terms of — you're only 17, at this point.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I know that.
VAN SUSTEREN: So what's a long time ago?
VAN DER SLOOT: From that point, that day, I think three months earlier, two months earlier I'd met him.
VAN SUSTEREN: So he was a friend of three months.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, three or four months...
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you know Satish at that point?
VAN DER SLOOT: No. I met — I met Deepak first, and then I met Satish.
VAN SUSTEREN: But you knew Satish before that night...
(CROSSTALK)
VAN DER SLOOT: Before that night, I had-met him before, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: What — so where — where'd you ever gone with Deepak? I mean, what kind of stuff did you guys do? How well do you know him?
VAN DER SLOOT: You know, we hung out together sometimes. We'd go out to Carlos and Charlie's together sometimes, but I don't know him that well.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did he go to school with you?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, he didn't go to school with me.
VAN SUSTEREN: So he wasn't a classmate.
VAN DER SLOOT: No, he wasn't a class...
VAN SUSTEREN: And neither was Satish?
VAN DER SLOOT: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know where they went to school?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, they went to a local school, and I went to the international school here.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did Deepak — Deepak had a job at — when — this was a year ago. Where was he working?
VAN DER SLOOT: He was working at an Internet cafe.
VAN SUSTEREN: Had you ever called him sort of late at night or 10:00 o'clock at night, 11:00 o'clock at night before and said, Let's go out?
VAN DER SLOOT: Oh, yes. I'd done that before, you know, because I don't have a car. I don't — didn't have a driver's license and I'm not allowed to drive. So if I want to go out, yes, I'm dependent on — on friends, that — you know, that have a car. So I'd give him a call sometimes, or another friend of mine, you know, Let's go out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Coming up, Joran says Natalee Holloway hadn't really caught his eye that day. So who made the first move?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: She came down off the stage and grabbed me by my hand and said, Come with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Tonight, nine months after Natalee Holloway disappeared, we appear no closer to knowing her fate. We sat down with Joran van der Sloot, who remains a suspect in the case, and talked to him about the night Natalee disappeared.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: What's the driving age here?
VAN DER SLOOT: The driving age is 18.
VAN SUSTEREN: So did any of your classmates — I take it your classmates at the international school didn't have a driver's license.
VAN DER SLOOT: No, some — a couple kids in my class went, because I was in my senior year. A couple kids of them had a driver's license, but not all of them, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: So when you're walking from the Holiday Inn to the McDonald's, you made the phone call. Deepak says he'll go out. Did you make sort of the plans how you were going to — you know, where's he going to pick you up because you didn't want your father to know?
VAN DER SLOOT: No. I have an apartment in my house, so it's, like, away, kind of away from the house. And I called him, and he just came into my room with his brother. I didn't know at that point his brother was coming with him. But he came at that point in my room with his brother, and I was just printing out some work for school for the next day that I had to hand in. And I just finished that up. So I came into my room, and then they were there.
VAN SUSTEREN: So they came through the gate. I mean, they actually...
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, they just...
VAN SUSTEREN: ... came through the gate...
VAN DER SLOOT: ... walked through my — through my gate and went into my room.
VAN SUSTEREN: They didn't drive through the gate, so your father wouldn't have noticed that.
VAN DER SLOOT: No, no. Whenever friends come by, they park their car right outside the house.
VAN SUSTEREN: So about what time do you think or estimate that they arrived at your house?
VAN DER SLOOT: Probably, I don't know, 11:45, 12:00.
VAN SUSTEREN: How far away does Deepak live from you?
VAN DER SLOOT: About 20 minutes, I think.
VAN SUSTEREN: By car?
VAN DER SLOOT: By car.
VAN SUSTEREN: From your house — if you're going to drive from your house to Carlos and Charlie's, about how long does that take?
VAN DER SLOOT: About 15 minutes, I think.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you tell Deepak that night that you had met these — these...
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I told him — that's exactly — that's exactly what I told him. I told him I met a couple of girls, and they asked if I wanted to go out. So that's — yes, that's what I plan to do.
VAN SUSTEREN: You tell him anything else about the girls, whether or not you thought they'd be fun or they'd be, you know, something that Deepak might want to hook up with, or Satish might want to...
VAN DER SLOOT: Oh, no, no, no. No, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: No details?
VAN DER SLOOT: No details.
VAN SUSTEREN: When they picked you up, did you go straight from your home to Carlos and Charlie's?
VAN DER SLOOT: When they picked me up, we went straight there, straight to Carlos and Charlie's.
VAN SUSTEREN: When you arrived at Carlos 'n Charlie's, any idea about what time it is?
VAN DER SLOOT: It was probably, you know, 12:15, I think, 12:30 maybe.
VAN SUSTEREN: How late does it stay open?
VAN DER SLOOT: That night it was open until 1:00 AM.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is that usual? I mean, every...
VAN DER SLOOT: Every — during weekdays, it's open until 1:00 AM, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And were the girls from Mountain Brook already there?
VAN DER SLOOT: They were already there. I walked in, and I — when I walked in, I saw one of them on the left-hand side and she just said — she said, Hi. And I said, Hi, back. And then I walked in with them and was going to go to the bar with them and get a drink. And that's when — right when I walked in, I saw Natalee was standing on the dance floor. She was dancing, and she screamed at me to go dance with her. She was dancing on the stage. There was, like, a podium there.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did she know your name? Did she know you well enough to know your name at that point?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, I don't think she knew my name. She just screamed to me to go dance with her. And at that point, I didn't. I went to go get a drink with Deepak and Satish.
VAN DER SLOOT: Where — the one that you sat next that you thought was attractive at the casino, did you see her there?
VAN DER SLOOT: No. I saw one of her friends there.
VAN SUSTEREN: So she never appeared anyplace that you remember that night.
VAN DER SLOOT: No, maybe that I did see her, but I don't think I spoke to her.
VAN SUSTEREN: What — you went up to the bar and got a drink. What were you drinking?
VAN DER SLOOT: A yard is a drink you can there and, yes, that's what we got.
VAN SUSTEREN: So drink number two is separated by several hours.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. What happened next with...
VAN DER SLOOT: So next, we walked down again to the stage. We were just looking at people — the people who were dancing on stage. And then again, she said to me to — she told me to go dance with her, and I said no.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you dance?
VAN DER SLOOT: Sometimes, yes, but not really dancing.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK.
VAN DER SLOOT: I'm not really a dancing person. And then she came down off the stage and grabbed me by my hand and said, Come with me. And she took me to the bar, which is on the other — on the left-hand side. And she jumped on the — she jumped on the bar, so sitting on the bar.
VAN SUSTEREN: Sitting or lying down?
VAN DER SLOOT: Sitting first, and then she said, Are you going to take a jelly shot off me?
VAN SUSTEREN: What is that?
VAN DER SLOOT: It's just something — a jelly shot is what you put on your belly button, or a body shot, I mean, and then you — you take it off — off of the belly button.
VAN SUSTEREN: And you did that?
VAN DER SLOOT: And I did that.
VAN SUSTEREN: What was that — what were you drinking then in the shot, do you remember?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don't have no clue what it is.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is there a way to describe her, I mean, and whether she seemed or appeared to be, you know, drinking? Did she seem to be drunk?
VAN DER SLOOT: Oh... she'd been drinking, but she wasn't drunk. I mean, she knew what she was doing. And you know, all the people there were drinking, as well. I mean, that's just — that's normal when you go out and have a drink with your friends.
VAN SUSTEREN: Any interest in her, at that point?
VAN DER SLOOT: At that point, when she got my hand and took me to the bar, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: So what happened next?
VAN DER SLOOT: Well, so next, then she said OK, so let's take another shot, is what she told me. So she wanted to take a shot with me. But it was probably close to 1:00 AM there then, and the bar was closing. So I said, OK, well, we can go to the other bar. And then I asked her, What do you want to drink? And she's, like, Whatever. So she said, yes (INAUDIBLE) What do you suggest. And I said, Baccardi 151. That's a shot I normally take with my friends. And we took a shot together. And after that, we just were talking a while. And I saw Satish, and Satish said — said, Let's go. And then — Deepak, I don't know where he was. I didn't see him in Carlos and Charlie's after that.
VAN SUSTEREN: How old is Satish, at this point?
VAN DER SLOOT: How old is...
VAN SUSTEREN: Yes, how old is he then, at — this night?
VAN DER SLOOT: I think he was 18 or 19. I don't know.
VAN SUSTEREN: So he's an adult, too, I mean, legally can drink, Satish can?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Was he drinking?
VAN DER SLOOT: The only drink I seen him (INAUDIBLE) was that one we got together.
VAN SUSTEREN: Could you feel the alcohol, at this point?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, not at all.
VAN SUSTEREN: At any time throughout the night, could you feel the alcohol at all that you drank?
VAN DER SLOOT: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: How tall are you?
VAN DER SLOOT: Probably 6-4 or 6-3.
VAN SUSTEREN: How much do you weigh?
VAN DER SLOOT: Two-twenty, I think.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, so you're big.
VAN DER SLOOT: Uh-huh.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: Next up "On the Record"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: ... if I had a big house or not. And then — then she said — I said, So you want to see my house? And she's, like, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: Joran and Natalee left the bar, but where did they go and why?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Natalee Holloway and Joran van der Sloot shared a few drinks at Carlos 'n Charlie's. No one disputes that. But what happened when the bar closed?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: At what point did you leave Carlos 'n Charlie's?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, when it was — when it was closing, when everyone started leaving and you saw the groups of people leaving.
VAN SUSTEREN: Were they throwing you out and turning the lights on and off?
VAN DER SLOOT: Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: Or what was the sign that it was time to go?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, it was just, yes, it was just they turn off the music and they turn off everything and it was just time to go, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Had you made any agreement or arrangement with Natalee at that point to leave with her or anything?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, not at all. That came very spontaneously. She's like, "OK, you want me to go with you?" And I was like "OK." And I saw her go up to some of her friends. I don't know what she said to them. And then, yes, then we — then we ended up leaving. The plan was to go to my house.
VAN SUSTEREN: Any other conversation with her before you left Carlos 'n Charlie's, remember anything that you guys talked about, said, or anything?
VAN DER SLOOT: Not really. It was more like, no, just your normal, casual talk.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did she say where she was from, for instance?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, she said that she was from Alabama and she said — she said she wanted to become a doctor and, yes...
VAN SUSTEREN: Did she ask you about yourself?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, she asked me about myself too.
VAN SUSTEREN: What did you tell her?
VAN DER SLOOT: I told her I was 19, when I was actually 17 but, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you say where, you know, your plans or anything like that what you wanted to do? I mean was there that much of a dialog between you?
VAN DER SLOOT: Not really. I mean I never really got to actually know her. I really didn't actually ever get, you know, to know her like you know a friend or you know someone like that. It was just casual talking. You know a little about each other and that's all it was.
VAN SUSTEREN: Was it the kind of bar situation where it's loud, you're talking over loud music or could you ever, was it — could you have a conversation?
VAN DER SLOOT: It was loud music but you could have a conversation.
VAN SUSTEREN: So, what time do you think you stepped foot out of Carlos 'nCharlie's?
VAN DER SLOOT: Probably, yes probably 1:00 a.m.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you walk — you walked out with Natalee?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I walked out with her.
VAN SUSTEREN: And she had your hand or you had her hand?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, we had each other hand and Satish was there as well with us.
VAN SUSTEREN: Where was Deepak?
VAN DER SLOOT: He was waiting at his car.
VAN SUSTEREN: Any reason why he went out ahead?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don't know. You have to ask him that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is he sort of, I mean a guy who enjoys the bar scene?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don't know. Again, you'll have to ask him that I mean.
VAN SUSTEREN: How about the girls, they like him?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don't know. You'll have to ask him that.
VAN SUSTEREN: But when you were out with him or something did he talk to them? Was he friendly?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, he didn't talk to them. He didn't really talk to any of them.
VAN SUSTEREN: How about Satish did he?
VAN DER SLOOT: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: How far was the car parked from Carlos 'nCharlie's?
VAN DER SLOOT: It was parked right behind it.
VAN SUSTEREN: So, Deepak's at the car. Satish is in front of you?
VAN DER SLOOT: Satish was with us.
VAN SUSTEREN: With you and then you and Natalee holding hands walked to the car?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Any discussion between Carlos 'nCharlie's and the car between you and Satish or you and Natalee?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, just between me and Natalee. We were speaking English to each other and I asked her if she wanted to go back to her hotel and that's when she said that she wanted to — she asked me if I -- if I had a big house or not and then — then she said — I said to her "Do you want to see my house?" And she's like "Yes, I want to go to your house."
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, so the plan I assume was that, I mean you were interested in her at least I assume, correct me if I'm wrong, that you would take her back and have some sort of relationship with her at that point?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Ever talk about it, about whether you were going to have sex or anything like that?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, not actually talk about it, no, but not like she said no. "Do you want to have sex?" No, it wasn't anything like that.
VAN SUSTEREN: That was your intention and you were hopeful that was her intention?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did she ever say anything at all sexual to you at that point walking to the car, any hints, anything?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, it was just we were holding hands and we walked to the car.
VAN SUSTEREN: When you got to the car who drove?
VAN DER SLOOT: It was Deepak driving the car.
VAN SUSTEREN: It's his car?
VAN DER SLOOT: It's his car.
VAN SUSTEREN: He likes his car?
VAN DER SLOOT: I think so.
VAN SUSTEREN: I hear that he paid a lot of attention to his car.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I think so too.
VAN SUSTEREN: Does he let Satish drive it?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, sometimes. Yes, Satish drives it sometimes.
VAN SUSTEREN: What kind of car is it?
VAN DER SLOOT: It's a Honda Civic, a gray one.
VAN SUSTEREN: Had you driven in it before?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: You'd never been in his car before?
VAN DER SLOOT: Oh, drove with him, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Yes, yes.
VAN DER SLOOT: Driven it myself, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK but you'd been in the car.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Coming up, "On the Record"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Your intention at that point to have sex with her?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Up next "On the Record," Joran van der Sloot says Natalee Holloway wanted to go to his house. Did they ever arrive? Did they end up having sex? And, what did they talk about that night? Joran answers more of our questions next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: For nine months, Joran van der Sloot has lived under a cloud of suspicion. Tonight, he answers our questions about the night Natalee disappeared.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: So you leave Carlos 'nCharlie's and your intention was to head to your house. Did you actually head to your house?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, we did. We actually did end up heading to my house because that's what she was — that's what she wanted to, so I was fine with it. And then during the car ride she was — she had her hand on my — on my leg and I had my hand on her leg and we were both in the back. We were kissing each other and so I took (INAUDIBLE) in a — in a positive not in a bad way.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you ever actually make it to your house?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, we did. We actually did stop in front of my house. We got to my house and then, yes then I — then she said she wanted to go see sharks.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why sharks?
VAN DER SLOOT: I have no idea why she wanted to go see sharks and so I was laughing and telling her there's no sharks.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you actually go into your house with her?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, no, no. We never even got out of the car there.
VAN SUSTEREN: She had no interest in going into your house? She didn't say anything?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, at that point she wanted — she wanted to go see sharks is what she said and then she came with a strange story that her mom was Hitler's sister or Hitler's sister's daughter and she was sorry to me for that because — because I don't know if she thought I was German or something and I'm like "I'm Dutch, so I don't really care about anything like that." And I asked, "You're joking right?" And she said, "No, no, no, no, I'm serious. I'm serious."
Just another example of that is, you know, that's a strange story. That makes absolutely no sense. Why would you say something like that if it's not true? But there's actually police reports of one of her friends that says she told her the same thing.
VAN SUSTEREN: Now, the whole time you're in the car driving from Carlos 'nCharlie's, stopping for a short time at your house and talking to Natalee, did Deepak and Satish join in the conversation? Are they talking?
VAN DER SLOOT: Not really. We had music on. There was one remark she did make like she told me, she asked me if they were my slaves because they were driving around but Deepak and Satish never ended up hearing that. I told them that afterwards. So, yes, she said in Alabama we consider black people slaves.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, so you drive from your house and where is your next, where is the next point you stop the car?
VAN DER SLOOT: The next point we stopped the car was at the beach where we ended up going to. We were driving. The point was to drive to her hotel then but we drove — we drove right by that and she said, yes, because she didn't want to go to her hotel. She wanted to go see sharks.
VAN SUSTEREN: About how long did it take from the point of your house to drive to the beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: That probably takes around five minutes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you drive past her hotel at that point or just drive right to the beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, we drove past her — past her hotel and then took the road right next to her hotel.
VAN SUSTEREN: And so when you go to the beach you then move down to the Marriott is that right? You went farther north of the Marriott?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, the Marriott is right next to it.
VAN SUSTEREN: Had you ever been to the Marriott beach before?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, tons of times, lots of times.
VAN SUSTEREN: I guess as a kid you played soccer there right?
VAN DER SLOOT: I played soccer on the beach there. I went with my friends to the beach there. I mean I've been there probably 1,000 times.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why that beach? I mean there's an awful lot of beaches in this — on this island, why that beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: Because we were driving towards her hotel. That's just — and that was just the one place I wanted to get out.
VAN SUSTEREN: Had you ever been to the beach before with Deepak and Satish?
VAN DER SLOOT: With them alone, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: So where did you park?
VAN DER SLOOT: If you drive by right by the last Marriott Hotel so we took a left and you can drive right to the end of the road there and we stopped there, so you're basically still at the hotel and that's where — where we got out of the car and I told Deepak that "I'll call you later to pick me up" and he said "OK," and he left and we walked on the beach.
And, I mean there were people there. There were couples there on the beach as well. I mean we walked by other couples. It's not — that beach is — it's a very busy beach. There's a lot of people there even at nighttime.
VAN SUSTEREN: On the beach you weren't directly in front of the Marriott, you were a little bit north of the Marriott is that right, you call it the Marriott beach but you weren't directly in front of the hotel?
VAN DER SLOOT: At that point, we were basically almost directly in front of the Marriott Hotel.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you cut through the hotel to the beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, no. You didn't really cut because you're right at the — the right side of the Marriott Hotel, all the way at the right. She didn't really cut through — through the hotel but you were walking on the hotel property where there's beach chairs and all that stuff.
VAN SUSTEREN: So, Satish — I mean Deepak just dropped you off.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And he was willing — he indicated he was willing to come back and pick you up at some point?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: He didn't mind? He wasn't going to go home and sleep for an hour and be annoyed by your call? He didn't indicate like "Don't wake me up" or anything like that?
VAN DER SLOOT: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: He had no complaints at all?
VAN DER SLOOT: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: What was your intention at that point to have sex with her?
VAN DER SLOOT: That was my, yes, that was my intention, yes. That was my first intention.
VAN SUSTEREN: And where did you think Deepak and Satish were going?
VAN DER SLOOT: At home.
VAN SUSTEREN: You thought they'd go all the way home and come back and get you?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, it's not that far of a drive.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why would they do that for you?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don't know. They're friends I think, yes. They would have done that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Had they ever done that before for you?
VAN DER SLOOT: That, no, but I don't have a — I don't have a car, so how else would I have gotten home? I mean I could have paid a taxicab to have gotten home but, no, they said — he was fine with that. He said "That's fine." He would pick me up and bring me home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Coming up, Joran van der Sloot admits he intended to have sex with Natalee Holloway that night but did he? Joran gives his side of the story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: In the early morning hours of May 30, Joran van der Sloot says the Kalpoe brothers dropped Natalee and him at the beach agreeing to come back later and pick them up. What happened on the beach could be the key to solving this mystery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: So you got out of the car. Did you have sex with Natalee?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, no, not...
VAN SUSTEREN: How come?
VAN DER SLOOT: Well, we got at the beach. We walked up. I took off my shoes. We walked to the — to the ocean and that's where we sat down as well. That's where I left my shoes and then we started walking. And I asked her, you know, let's — we can walk toward your hotel because there were a lot of people there too. And she wanted to walk the other way, so towards the — starting to go towards the lighthouse.
And, so we started walking — walking in that direction, more towards the fisherman's hut and, yes, we were holding hands, talking and kissing, just having a good time.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you have any idea what time you actually got out of Deepak's car? Can you estimate that?
VAN DER SLOOT: I can't say exactly when. I don't know exactly when. The only thing I can say for sure is when I was home because that's — you know you said it yourself to me that the most important thing is to look at facts and, you know, those are facts that you can actually say what time you got home, by video footage what time you left Carlos 'n Charlie's. Those are things you can actually, you know, actually really prove.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, well let me jump ahead. What time did you get home so we have this time frame?
VAN DER SLOOT: It was 3:35 I think or 3:25 and we had — I had ABC look at the pieces there. Well, they had the pieces too so that's one thing I can be sure of.
VAN SUSTEREN: Are you able to — are you able to estimate how long you were on the beach with Natalee?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, it was probably an hour, maybe not even an hour.
VAN SUSTEREN: So, besides walking north in the direction away from her hotel what else were you doing?
VAN DER SLOOT: Nothing really just holding hands and talking about, yes, everything.
VAN SUSTEREN: What was her condition?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, to me she seemed like she had — she had something to drink but she seemed fine. You know she knew — she knew what she was doing.
VAN SUSTEREN: What did you guys talk about?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, we talked about — she said about that she was going to school and she didn't want to leave Aruba because she loved it so much. She was — she thought it was the best place in the world and, yes, that's stuff we talked about.
VAN SUSTEREN: What kind of stuff were you saying?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, I told her that — I lied to her that I was 19. I said that I was going to go study in the states at St. Leo (ph) University and, you know, I was just — we were just having casual talk talking about stuff.
VAN SUSTEREN: So you never had intercourse right?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, never.
VAN SUSTEREN: How come? I mean that was your intention and...
VAN DER SLOOT: Well, I mean when — when actually at the point that it did get down to that I didn't have a condom with me and I've heard — I've heard people say "Oh, that's strange. Oh, that makes absolutely no — no sense. Any 18-year-old or 17-year-old then when he doesn't have a condom would have sex anyway." And I mean that's the truth though.
I didn't have a condom with me and that's why I didn't have sex with her because I won't have sex with a girl without a condom. I mean I've never — I've never done that before and I'm never going to do that either. It's just something that — that I've always kept myself to. That's important for me too.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you discuss that with her at all?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, that's what I told her then that I — that I wouldn't have sex, that I didn't have a condom and I wouldn't have sex without a condom. I usually have one in my wallet I always carry around with me in my wallet and I didn't have one with me then.
VAN SUSTEREN: And what was her reaction to all this?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, she understood that and she didn't want to do it without a condom either.
VAN SUSTEREN: So, but there was some sort of — I mean you had some sort of sexual contact at some point is that right?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Was that in the car or was that on the beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: That was on the beach too.
VAN SUSTEREN: And at this point Satish and Deepak they're long gone in the car?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Other people walking on the beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, there was — the time that I started walking the other direction there was only one couple that I walked by because most of them were at the actual Marriott Hotel. At that (INAUDIBLE), there was only one couple that I actually walked by.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Coming up, Joran van der Sloot says he left Natalee alone on the beach that night but why; more of our interview next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Joran van der Sloot told us his version of the night Natalee disappeared from gambling at the casino to seeing her at the bar, to walking on the beach. What happened at the end of the night?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: What was it that was sort of the — why did you leave, I mean what happened? Did the conversation end or how did you happen to leave?
Leave the beach. At some point you and Natalee separated according to you is that right?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: How did that come about?
VAN DER SLOOT: Well, I mean I had — I had to go to school the next day. I was close to my exams to do my final exams and, you know, the bus was picking me up at 6:40 a.m. I mean I had to go home and I didn't want my dad to go into my room and see I'm not there or anything like that, so I mean I had to go home. So, yes, at one point I told her, you know, it's time to go back to your hotel and she was just like, "No, let's stay here. Let's look at the stars." She was just saying, you know, "Stay here with me. Just stay here with me the whole night. Tomorrow I have to go back anyway" and, you know, that's — that's what we were talking about.
VAN SUSTEREN: And what did you say? I mean how does the conversation go back and forth between the two of you on this?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, so she was asking me to stay and I told her I really had to go so, you know, for me to bring her back to her hotel and then I said at the end, I said "OK, well I'm going to call Deepak to come pick me up." And so, I walked right there.
There's the fisherman's hut. There's a little — because there's a lot of wind there on the beach, so I walked right next to that and that's where I called him from. And I — I asked him — I asked him to come pick me up. Then it was his brother that came to pick me up but I asked him to come pick me up.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know where — so you actually, you had actually called him and reached him on your cell phone?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, on a cell phone.
VAN SUSTEREN: And said "Come pick me up," and what did he say?
VAN DER SLOOT: And he said, "Yes, OK. OK, sure." He said he was on his computer talking to friends.
VAN SUSTEREN: So, at — so about how much later did Satish show up driving his car?
VAN DER SLOOT: Probably 15 minutes later, ten minutes later.
VAN SUSTEREN: Deepak wasn't there?
VAN DER SLOOT: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: He wasn't in the car?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, wasn't in the car.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you see Deepak at all again that night?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, no until the next day, that night.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did Satish pick you up in his car or his mother's car?
VAN DER SLOOT: In Deepak's car.
VAN SUSTEREN: So, it's the same car that dropped you off?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you say "Where's Deepak"?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, that was — of course that was the first reaction when I — when I came there. I walked over and I sat in the car and I was like, you know, "Where's Deepak"? He said, "Oh, he's at home on his computer." And that's when I, you know, I told him, you know, the girl's still on the beach and, you know, she wanted me to stay there with her and, you know, I want to go. I want to go home. What do you do?
And he reacted like, you know, OK (INAUDIBLE) "Let's go, you know, let's go fast and let's leave, you know, like, you know, not really caring about her. Let's just go and leave her there." And, I was like, "OK" so (INAUDIBLE) we really went without even saying goodbye to her or without even really seeing her and telling her at that point that we were going to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: There's much more of our interview with Joran van der Sloot. Tomorrow night, Joran tells us why he and Deepak Kalpoe quickly made up a lie about dropping Natalee off at the Holiday Inn.
We'll see you all again tomorrow night. And, check out our blog at gretawire.com for exclusive information about this show you won't get anywhere else.
Content and Programming Copyright 2006 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2006 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and Voxant, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox