Tuesday, July 26, 2005

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN)

snipped ...

 
"A lot of good things have been set into motion, from, you know, the FBI, now, beginning to have access, to -- from declarations from audio and videotapes. There's witnesses coming forward now. That's encouraging," she said in an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live."
 
"We're optimistic that maybe we'll have a break this week," she added.

Meanwhile, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said Aruban authorities have provided the FBI with interviews, statements and documents in the case.

The information includes transcripts of the interrogation of Joran van der Sloot, the 17-year-old son of an Aruban judge and the only suspect who remains jailed in the case.

The FBI has been pressing Aruban authorities for a more active role, saying it believes FBI agents might be able to shed new light on the case.

The Aruban prosecutor's office released a statement saying an Aruban group arrived Sunday at the FBI's central laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

The Aruban group -- which includes a prosecutor, a police investigator and a legal and policy assistant from the prosecutor's office -- will stay for one week.

"During this week, they will discuss the case with members of the FBI to see how the expertise of the FBI may be of help," the statement said.

"Investigative material pertaining to this case was taken by the prosecutor to Virginia to be used when discussing the particulars."

The prosecutor's office also said four experts from the Netherlands are assisting the investigation, including two to help with interrogations.
 
A piece of duct tape with hair strands on it is still being analyzed in the Netherlands, prosecutors said. The chief prosecutor "will decide if and when the results will be made public," the statement said.
 
Holloway was last seen leaving a nightclub early on May 30 with Van der Sloot and two brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, ages 18 and 21. All three were taken into custody June 9, but the two brothers were released July 4.
 
Holloway was on a post-graduation class trip to Aruba with classmates from the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Mountain Brook when she disappeared.