(5) They're afraid NOT to lie to protect someone else. I once had a suspect whose overbearing boss was breaking the law left and right. Not huge stuff, but he just didn't think the rules applied to him. The boss was guilty as hell and everyone who worked for him knew it, but he had powerful friends (one in particular) who had gotten him out of so many scrapes and he was so vengeful that his underlings were initially afraid to tell investigators the truth when we arrived on the scene and started asking questions. In the midst of a long investigation, the main person who was protecting him died. (Cannot say more about that; you'd recognize the name.) When we arrived in that office the following Monday to continue the investigation, we had the happiest lynch mob of people waiting for us that you ever saw in your life. LOL

(6) They're genuinely confused about the facts. These lies are usually inadvertent but often persist longer than any other kind.

(7) They don't KNOW all the facts but for some reason think they have to fill in the blanks to make their stories credible, so they make stuff up, such as telling you that they saw something from an impossible angle. Memo to everyone reading this: If you're ever questioned by a criminal investigator and you truly don't know the answer to a question, for God's sake just say, "I DON'T FREAKIN' KNOW."

8 They don't trust the system. I have seen people lie when the truth would have gotten them out of trouble because they thought if they told the truth, they'd still be under suspicion. This is sad, but it does happen, often with people who are least able to defend themselves.

(9) They want to appear to be "cool" or a player or connected to some important person and tell a story that they think will make them appear that way. I think this may be at least partly the reason Joran can't keep the details of his story straight. Despite his insistence about how well he holds his liquor, on the night in question he was probably nothing but another bumbling teenage drunk. After all, we know that he consumed at least one "yard," and God knows what else. He may have been so drunk that he doesn't remember exactly where they were when he took his shoes off, etc.

I could go on like this for an hour, but I think you get my drift, so as Frances Ellen says, "I'll just leave it at that," except for one final possibility that may have applied to Joran and the Kalpoes but not to anyone I ever investigated.

(10) They live under a system where they know it takes very little to constitute reasonable suspicion and therefore put you in an un-air-conditioned jail for up to 90 days. I don't mean to be overly critical of Aruban law. All legal systems have their drawbacks. This may be one of theirs. Not saying it is, just that it's possible.I wish I had a dollar - no, make that a quarter, it would be plenty - for every time someone at SM, BFN, etc. has posted that Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers must be guilty of doing something to Natalee, because, "Why would the innocent lie?" I could retire rich and spend all my time lying on the beach in Aruba. LOL