48 Hours - Natalee Holloway: New Clues in Paradise

Episode Date: May 30, 2024

Teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005 during a post-graduation trip in Aruba. Gerold Dompig, deputy chief of police in Aruba, said they did everything in their power to crack the case. But Natalee's mom, Beth Holloway Twitty, disagreed, and accused Aruban authorities of being slow in their investigation. “48 Hours" correspondent Troy Roberts reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 3/25/2006. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. This is Natalie Holloway. Everyone loved being around her. You know, there's never like a dull moment with her. She was always laughing.

Now is what our whole friendship was based on. Like, we would always make sure we were having fun. When you're around your best friends, you feel like you have that security around you and you just think everything will always be okay, you know? Natalie's handwriting on her immigration card stated the duration of her stay would be for four nights. She has been gone.

She has been gone for 97 days. It's been almost four months since Alabama six months search for missing American teen Natalie Holloway. Something went wrong. This was a wild night when Sauer. We have statements claiming that she had drugs. Credible statements?

Credible statements. Would it be OK if I put a poster in the window? Would that be OK out here? No. OK. My name is Gerald Dompech. I am the deputy chief of police and leader of the investigative team working on the Holloway case.

I didn't know that she would fall at the hands of evil, let alone fall at the hands of the officials on the island of Aruba. When they talk about Keystone cops and this small island, they don't have equipment. We do have equipment. Name one thing they've done since September the 1st. I can't think of anything.

We have come a long way. If we compare the information we had three months ago to what we have now, it's a different picture. Juran, how does it feel to be going home? Juran and my husband has gone through a lot of slander. Based on speculation, based on rumors, on gossips, we always went for the truth. Is Juran van der Sloot still a prime suspect

in Natalie Holloway's disappearance? He surely is. He is? Yes. And the Cabell brothers? They are. It is possible that there was a second group involved, or more people than these three boys.

Natalie Holloway, new clues in paradise. I'm James. They say a picture speaks a thousand words. This one speaks 2,000 words to me. Authorities believe this is the last picture of Natalie Holloway. It was discovered by the FBI in the camera of one of her classmates and shown here publicly for the first time. Just look at this picture. I think you can appreciate and understand that it could be anybody's daughter. For Gerald Dompik, lead investigator in the search for Natalie, it's a constant reminder of his toughest case. It's been a difficult year for you. It's been a difficult year for Aruba.

Yes, same time. We can exactly see which vessels go away from the island and come towards the island. How would you characterize the state of this investigation right now? I would say critical last phase. Critical last phase. Yes. The story of the search for Natalie Holloway has been marked largely by speculation and rumor, but little by way of facts.

48 hours will take you for the first time inside the police investigation here on Aruba. Among the things we've learned, what authorities really believe happened to the Alabama teenager the night she disappeared, and new clues that could close this case once and for all. We have been informed by a manager of a nightclub that he received a call and he wanted to talk about the fact that he knew more about the whereabouts of Natalie.

So this is the first valuable lead that you've gotten in a while. Yes, concerning the specific barrier location, yes. Since Holloway disappeared, the police have received dozens of leads, all leading nowhere. But Dompeg is convinced that this may be the key witness they've been waiting for. The information that this person gave was too specific to just be a story that was just made up by somebody. Now, based on this new information... This is the route to the lighthouse, to the sand dunes. Investigators will begin searching again for Natalie's body, here on the northern tip of the island.

Somewhere on the sand dunes. The sand dunes that go all the way up to behind the lighthouse, where we basically have to search. It's worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. Aruba, just a stone's throw from the coast of Venezuela, plays host to more than a million visitors every year, most from America. And in recent years, a younger and younger crowd has landed on its shores.

It was so much fun. We would wake up, brush your teeth, go straight to the beach. We would literally stay in the water all day long because it was so perfect. The senior trip to Aruba was a well-deserved vacation for Natalie. Days earlier, this honors student graduated from Mountain Brook High School just outside of Birmingham, Alabama.

Three of her best friends, Liz Kane, Mellie Tucker, and Claire Fehrman, recalled their last days with Natalie. We just hung out with our friends on this beautiful island and it was a really fun trip and at night what did you guys do yeah like second night we were there in the last night we went to Carlos and Charlie's the legal drinking age here is only 18 and even that's not strictly enforced making Aruba a popular vacation spot for American teenagers. No one disputes that Natalie and her classmates

were drinking during their senior trip, but authorities tell us they have evidence that Natalie's drinking was so out of control it may even have contributed to her death. She was, I think, not differently from other students. She was having a great time, and she was using, doing that, using way too much alcohol and combinations which could basically be lethal.

She was 18 years old. She was on her senior trip. They were in this establishment of legal age. Natalie's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, has been working tirelessly since last May. I'm not leaving Aruba without her. Trying to unravel the mystery of her daughter's disappearance. I'm certain they were drinking. We never even tried to say that they weren't. But I have to ask myself, you know,

should that cost her her life? No, it shouldn't. Police interviews with hotel staff, local bartenders, and her friends revealed that Natalie had spent much of the day with a drink in her hand. Do you know if Natalie could handle her alcohol? Yes. She could? Right. She was never somebody to be out of control if she had been drinking at all. When you hear stories like people started drinking in the mid-afternoon and drank through the night, does that sound accurate? Yes.

So that's kind of excessive. Yeah. Yeah? When I think of excessive, okay, is that is excessive 48 hours has learned that the Aruban investigation has turned up another disturbing detail did you hear stories of people taking drugs no um the only thing I heard about drugs is they were like people at the hotel that weren't with us that would like offer stuff to people I was never offered drugs and I never even saw him have you been able to confirm whether Natalie Holloway purchased or consumed

illegal narcotics during her stay here we have statements claiming that she had drugs. What kind of drugs? I cannot say. We do not have proof that she used drugs, but that they saw her with drugs in her possession. But police do believe that Natalie's judgment was impaired that night. Her friends were surprised that she was last seen willingly getting into a car with three strangers, 17-year-old Joran Vandersloot, 21-year-old Deepak Kalpo, and his brother, 18-year-old Satish Kalpo.

Would it be out of character for Natalie to voluntarily go into a car with three boys that she didn't have. That would be out of character. It frustrates me so much because I feel like as much as we say that, no one believes us because you hear all that stuff, but from the bottom of my heart, that is extremely out of character and not something that Natalie Holloway would ever do. That she was climbing into a car with three gambling and drinking buddies who were joined together at the hip.

No, no way would she have left her friends and placed herself knowingly what she was getting into. They just took her when she just, mm-mm. Mm-mm. There's no way. Do you think she may have been vulnerable because she had been drinking? Yes. Very much so. They took her at that opportune time Mm-mm. There's no way. Do you think she may have been vulnerable because she had been drinking?

Yes. Very much so. They took her at that opportune time when she was least able to defend herself. Listen to Murder in the Orange Grove, the Trouble Case Against Crosley Green, early ad free with a 48 hours plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies

a tiny volcanic island. It's a little known British territory called Pitcairn. And it harboured a deep, dark

scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching nobody going to report it people will get away with what they can get away with. girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island

to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. The beach was a blast. I had the best time of my life. Houston's FM News Channel, 97.5. Very pleased to have with us in the studio Beth Holloway Twitty, the mother of Natalie. Since Natalie Holloway disappeared. I just want to thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Her mother Beth has used any opportunity to keep the story alive. There's just

so many unanswered questions in this entire investigation. And pressure the government of Aruba to solve this case. There are just no words to explain the frustration level that we have had to experience in dealing with officials from the island of Aruba. Last fall, Twitty called for a boycott of Aruba, and the island's tourism industry has suffered. Travel bookings are off more than 4% from a year ago. Do you still support a boycott? The only leverage that we have in getting any traction in the investigation is when they feel the effects of a boycott. This island is a very friendly island.

According to Deputy Police Chief Gerald Dompeg, the boycott is not the only thing that has cost Aruba dearly. What percentage of your budget was spent in this investigation? We spent about $5 million Florence, which is about 40% of our operational budget. That's about $3 million. Maybe they didn't budget enough. As far as Beth Twitty is concerned, there has always been a simple solution to this case. Just ask the people last seen with

Natalie, Yaron Vandersloot, and Satish and Deepak Kalpo. They'd have just gotten the suspects within the first 48 hours like they were supposed to have done, and they wouldn't have spent anything. It's hard for them to understand that when we investigate, we have to go systematically. We have a judicial system, we have a court of law, and we have rules. So we had to follow the rules of the game. Which they apparently did. Contrary to the storm of criticism from the American media, the Aruban police say they quickly put Vandersloat and the Calpo brothers under surveillance.

When did the department begin conducting surveillance of these three boys? The third day. The third day? Yes. What does surveillance consist of here? Observation. Wiretaps? Wiretaps.

Did you monitor their email? Yes. The arrest of the prime suspect, bringing in the prime suspect, is basically the last thing we do. And to further help the investigation of this case... But the police say extreme pressure from the Holloway family forced them to stop their surveillance and make arrests. There will be a cash reward in the amount of... Did pressure from the family compromise this investigation? Well, I think so.

It at least distracted the investigators' efforts. Just 10 days after Natalie disappeared, police took Yuran, the Calpo brothers, and later even Yuran's father, an apprentice judge, into custody. We wanted justice, and we wanted the truth. And I think that that was shocking to the officials in Aruba that we were so persistent in our quest for that.

Paulus Vandersloot was quickly released on judge's orders but the young men remained in custody. These three boys know what happened to your daughter. Right, yes. You're confident of that? Oh absolutely. But less than a month after their arrests, a court will be immediately released. A court released Deepak and Satish Kalpo. As police feared, simply questioning the brothers did not turn up enough evidence to charge them with a crime. To this day, they deny any involvement

with Natalie's disappearance. With the release of the Kalpos, police began to play hardball with their prime suspect. Are you guilty? 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot thought to be the last person who saw Natalie. As the Rubin Law allows, they detained him for months without charging him with any crime. Joran, can you give us a statement? We can hold that person for the investigational purposes on the basis of suspicion.

And there was at that moment enough suspicion. A Reuben lawyer, Arlene Ellis-Schipper, who frequently speaks for the island's government, was sure Yoran would crack. It's mind-boggling to us that a 17-year-old, if he would have done it, could not have been broken. It's incredible. But as Dompic explained, Yoran's age actually made things harder for the interrogators. Was Yoran afforded any kind of special legal protections because he was a minor at the time of his arrest yes that complicated matters seriously because he had more visiting rights with his father and his father

being a judge in training was a problem for us because he could give his son certain advice could give his son certain advice. Juran's father discussed the family's ordeal with CBS. I spoke always to Juran to tell the truth. You believe that Paulus van der Soet knows more than he has been telling about the circumstances surrounding Natalie Holloway's disappearance? Yes, I do. But in spite of those parental visits,

48 Hours has learned that the interrogations were intense and tough. Special agents from the FBI were brought in, along with investigators from Holland to conduct the interrogations. Would you question him during the middle of the night? We didn't go that far, but there were late, late evenings, yes. So he was deprived of sleep, but it wasn't going on for days. No. Dompik says it almost worked. There were several moments where Joran almost broke,

several moments. How many times did Joran van der Sloot change his story? The basic story he changed three times. But the little facts changed over 25 times. So it was never the same. One critical element of the interrogation remains in dispute. Did Yaron admit to having sex with Natalie? I had access to several statements, and in one of Yaron's statements, he's describing Natalie as she's falling asleep and waking up,

falling asleep and waking up repeatedly. And as she's doing this, he is explaining, he's very sexually explicit, graphically detailing what he is doing to natalie okay twitty and her attorney would not share those documents with 48 hours in spite of her claim dompick says there's no proof of sexual assault did joran vandersloot ever confess to being sexually intimate with Natalie Holloway? No. He did not? Never. Never.

Believe me, we were looking for anything to throw him, to keep him in jail. The only thing he admitted to was that he was fondling sexually, like kissing, touching her in the back of the seat. And there was no sexual in terms of penetration or whatever, really having sex with her. With no confession and no body, police release Jaron Vandersloot. body. Police released Jaron Vandersloot. This young man was able to withstand 90 days in prison and they weren't able to get a confession from him. What does that say to you? It can mean two things. Either he's innocent, he really doesn't know what happened, or he's a genius. The young

man has denied any wrongdoing, but he's done nothing to dispel Dompik's suspicions. What do the FBI profilers tell you about Joran Vandersloot's psychological profile? Well, they use the word sociopath and the fact that he was capable of lying about basically everything. Pathological liar? Yes. There's a reason why he lies. He's covering something up so horrible that he can't tell the truth.

But if Yaron can't or won't tell police what happened that night, they now think someone else will. New people are coming in the picture. It is possible that there was help. And even more shocking, Dompic believes there may have been no murder at all. We're going to be able to now raise the reward for the safe return of Natalie from $200,000 to a million. With no major break in the Holloway case in the past six months,

the Aruban authorities are redoubling their efforts to find natalie's body what is this exercise you're about to demonstrate for me yeah what we're going to do is we're going to throw a dummy overboard one of the most persistent theories clouding the case is the notion that natalie's body was dumped out at sea but dr reuben cruz the head of the island search and rescue team, showed us that an unweighted body thrown overboard near the shore would wash up on the beach. How many times have you performed this exercise? Many times. Many times. And in every case the dummy has drifted to shore? Drifted back to shore. Every case? Every case. The only way that wouldn't happen

is if a boat sailed more than two miles offshore. A trip that would have turned up on police radar and been captured on tape. This is all being tracked and being taped on a hard disk. Police have accounted for every boat in the water the night Natalie vanished. So we pretty much have a fix on every vessel that comes in and goes out.

Authorities now believe Natalie's body is buried somewhere among these dunes, but not because it washed ashore here. The Aruban Authority's new theory is that someone, someone possibly very close to the young suspects, took the time to carefully hide the body, not once, but maybe twice, literally reburying her. And perhaps the most stunning revelation from the authorities.

Though they're convinced Natalie Holloway is dead, they tell 48 Hours that they believe she was not murdered. This was a highly intoxicated body of a very small person. Chief Dompek laid out his current theory of what happened after Natalie was last seen driving off with Yoran and the Calo brothers shortly after 1 a.m. After she left Carlos and Charlie's, where do you think she went and what happened to her? Well, again, we have a couple of scenarios. We think that they did not go to the beach. They did not? No. We think that they went somewhere else.

I feel certain. Yes, he took her to his apartment. Beth Twetty believes that Natalie was brought back to Joran VanderSoot's home. Yes. Possible? Possible. Wherever she was, police now think that while Natalie was with Joran, she died suddenly from an overdose of intoxicants.

We feel strongly that she probably went into shock or something happened to her system with all this alcohol, maybe on top of that other drugs, which either she took or they gave her, and that she just collapsed. The crime, Dompik suspects, occurred when the body was illegally disposed of. The boys may have acted alone. We're not talking about killers here. Or, as Dompik reveals for the first time, they could have had accomplices.

It is possible that there was a second group involved, or more people than these three boys. Dompik speculates the body was hastily buried once and that those extra accomplices may have been needed to move it to a more hidden location. These latest developments, the new witness, the chance of an accidental death by overdose, and the possibility of additional accomplices relocating the body have changed Dompic's view of the case. I'm convinced that there's no thing as a crime of this proportion which goes unseen.

There's information out there, and we just have to get it. But the challenges are daunting. Joran Vandersloot told us on the phone that he never saw Natalie with any drugs and called Dompek's theories not credible. To date there has not been a shred of forensic evidence found in the van der Sloot house, the Kaapo car or anywhere else on the island. It's very rarely that you have a case that somebody just disappears and there's hardly any evidence left behind. Natalie's schoolmates have had to handle a harsh lesson about the dangers of the adult world they've entered.

You know, we went on a senior trip, but then after that it's basically like we were forced to not become adults, but definitely grow up a lot. Natalie's parents have filed a civil suit against Jaron Vandersloot and his father, but Beth Twitty fears she may never learn the truth about what happened to her daughter. This is Kelly Holloway.

What gives you hope today, Beth? I don't have any. You don't have any? Somebody wants to tell me. A crime like this cannot go unsolved. We are that much closer to knowing what really happened to Natalie. When I see Natalie Holloway on TV,

I absolutely think of my son. I see his face, his smiling face. When we hear about Natalie Holloway and what happened and what her parents are going through, it brings us back to the terrible time that we had, the horror that we went through. A 9 millimeter Glock, 12 or 14 inches from your head, sounds like an atomic bomb going off.

I said, calling from the United States, I need to speak to my brother. And he said, you can't. She just fell down screaming, no, no, no, no, no. By the amount of blood there was in the bed, it was obvious that he was dead. Randy was the epitome of a California surfer boy. Blonde hair, free spirit. Very soft-hearted.

If he saw me upset over something and he put his hands on my shoulders and said, don't worry, little mother, I will always take care of you. I think this was a homicide. It's the same thing over and over. People send their children to paradise, but it's really hell. If something occurs, it's very, very difficult to try and get any justice. It doesn't matter what you say.

Nobody listens. We are absolutely certain that Randall Latona committed suicide. I didn't believe it for a minute. Not for a minute. They don't like any murders in their country. That looks bad for their tourism. They have listed a number of murders as suicides. My son did not take his own life.

He was murdered, and I want somebody to acknowledge that in Honduras. You know what you're suggesting, Mr. Latona? That the Honduran authorities are covering up your son's murder. Yes, I am suggesting that. I promise I will not let this go unsolved. Nightmare in Honduras. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman.

It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, and ad free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the best idea yet. A brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder risk-takers who brought them to life.

Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, Check that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala. From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. He was a joy to us. He was at the sunshine. I planted roses, yellow ones, because he was the color of sunshine to me. He was always up, always smiling.

To 34 year old Randy Latona's way of thinking, life would be even brighter when he moved to paradise. He had been a stockbroker in Las Vegas, but left it all behind to move to a tropical resort island in Honduras called Roatan. Why Roatan? Why did Randy come to Roatan? For this. Gail Geerling, an American who lived on the island,

says Randy had it all figured out. Did you think that he stood a chance of being a success here? Absolutely. Absolutely. Randy created a new business, the Bay Islands Rum Company. Randy's father, Vince. He had just shipped in some $30,000 worth of material. He rented a little warehouse down there. And he had a girlfriend, 29-year-old Leslie Spearing. They met back in the United States four years earlier. When Les turned it on,

she could be very attractive. She spun a tale to him about her father leaving the family, abusing her before she left. Her mother disowned her. She was living with her grandmother in Pennsylvania. She really tugged at Randy's heartstrings. Randy's brother and sister. Something in her caught his eye, and I think he genuinely fell in love with her. The very first time I met her, she came across as a very shy, quiet demeanor farm girl, girl as she put it but I didn't believe

it wasn't very favorable first impression she looks strung out a little rude crude did he help her financially oh yes very much so the Latona say Leslie had a drug problem when she she was clean, things were good. But when she was using, which became much more frequent, you just couldn't go near her. She was ugly. She was twisted. Leslie and Randy had big fights.

There was a time when I remember Randy wore a little bit longer sleeves than he ever did. And I said, what happened? He said, oh, Les got in a fit last night, and she tried to catch me with a knife. I don't understand how a smart, successful, take charge kind of man would associate himself with a woman with a drug problem and anger issues. It's difficult for us to understand also. It truly is. But by 2002, Randy was fed up with Leslie,

and by March, the Latonas say he had enough. He stuck to his guns and said, this is it, there is no more. I'm not giving you any more money, you're not going to stay here, you're done. We're done, you're out. Leslie reportedly was furious. Just days before Randy's death, she allegedly told people in a bar she'd kill Randy if he didn't buy her a plane ticket

to Los Angeles. She said she would kill him. Yeah. John Hines was working the bar. We didn't really take it as for real that she was going to do it. But sure enough, Saturday it was said and done. The next morning, Randy Latona was found in his own bed, a single bullet to the temple, a gun in his hand. Leslie Spearing told police that the night before Randy's death, she did use cocaine while partying in a nearby town and didn't return to the condominium until 530 in the morning in her statement spearing says that Randy was awake when she got back they had a short uneventful conversation and then the couple went to bed I'm surmising she

gets into an argument with him, and he refuses adamantly to give her any money. And the night before he was murdered, she told this one individual, she said, if he doesn't give me money when I get home, I'm going to kill him. Clearly she had the motive, she clearly had the means, and she clearly had the opportunity.

After Randy's death, Leslie refused to speak with the Latona family. Leslie walked away the day after Randall was murdered and never looked back. Leslie did tell police she awoke to find Randy's body lying right next to her. Incredibly, Leslie claimed she slept right through the gunshot. There's no way in the world that a living human being would not be straight up hanging from a chandelier. Wayne Hollingsworth is an investigator hired by the latona family he doesn't believe leslie spearing's story about sleeping through the gunshot and says she lied to the police about what time randy died as well leslie spearing says that randy latona committed

suicide about two hours before this photo was taken yes and you're saying that's impossible because absolutely impossible why well because the blood on the forearm this is blood that is before this photo was taken? Yes. And you're saying that's impossible because... Absolutely impossible. Why? Well, because the blood on the forearm, this is blood that is hardened, if you will, and it's got to have been there for a period of 10 or 12 hours, maybe 14 hours before that photograph was taken. The Latonas also hired

former Miami forensic pathologist Raul Vila. I think this was a homicide. The blood on the covers, away from the body, the way the hand was placed under the pillow with the gun, the way the hand was placed in the gun. The Latonas, armed with their own investigator's analysis, cannot accept the Honduran conclusion of suicide. Always in suicide cases, the family cast doubt on the investigation. No matter how good the investigation may be, they always doubt it. I don't care

what they say. He did not take his own life. There's no evidence from the Hondurans that show that this is a suicide. They just drew that conclusion because it's easy, they keep their caseload low, then they can go along saying we don't have any murders in this country. They're all suicides. And they do that for tourism. You made a promise to your son. Absolutely. You stood over his coffin? Yes. And what did you say to him? I promise I will not let this go unsolved. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals.

However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's

most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. There's a happy face. It's like yelling into a canyon and all you hear is your own voice echoing back.

Nobody else is answering. You have traveled more than six times to Honduras. At least. You've invested at least $100,000. Probably a lot more. In investigating this case. Yes. You want answers?

Yes. Randy's father, Vince. These are the children. And his mother, Jill, have devoted their lives to proving their son was murdered. Innocent little things, as you can see. What do you think Randy would say about your efforts? He'd say, you're doing the right thing. Go for it, mother. Go for it, dad.

I know you're going to avenge my murder. But that's not easy when the authorities say there was never even a crime. It has been hell. We will never have our son back. It doesn't matter what we do. Absolutely impossible. Why? The Latona's own investigators, including former prosecutor Wayne Hollingsworth,

say the forensics point to murder. It was a homicide. There's no question about it. There are so many holes in this thing that it's just unbelievable. Randy didn't leave a suicide note, and the way the gun was found in his hand seemed very strange. Who ever takes a weapon like that and shoots with a thumb? So you believe that the gun was placed in his hand? Absolutely.

In his right hand? Oh, yes, absolutely. But Honduran prosecutor Rafael Soto and Detective Gonzalo Sanchez don't agree. If the intention were to make it look like a suicide, it would have made more sense to place the index finger on the trigger we hired our own gunshot expert vincent tamayo san antonio's veteran medical examiner does it

strike you as odd that he would pull the trigger with his thumb no this is a not uncommon method of holding the weapon in suicides. But most people, the general public, doesn't know that. There are other questions. For example, gunshot residue. Usually anyone who fires a handgun has some on his hands. Randy did not. He has no gunshot residue on his hands. That's impossible if he shot himself. The Hondurans say it probably rubbed off. And there's Leslie's hard to believe story

about sleeping through the gunshot. She was laying right next to him, but she did not hear the gun go off. How could that be? If her judgment had not been impaired, I would have not believed her ever. But drunk, on drugs, without much sleep, I do believe her. Police also believed Leslie when she told them Randy had been drinking heavily. They think he was depressed. Did he have a drinking problem?

He didn't have a drinking problem. He drank like anybody else drinks, like all young men do, you know, a number of beers or whatever it is. He didn't have a history of depression? No, on the contrary, he was always up and always smiling. smiling but there were issues Randy was arrested twice in the United States after Leslie accused him of being violent toward her no charges were ever filed in spite of the Latona's convictions the Honduran police have stood firm they say Randy killed himself. Vincent Tamayo, the gunshot expert hired by 48 Hours, cautiously agrees. Do you believe that the Honduran authorities conducted a thorough examination? I believe they conducted an adequate investigation, not a perfect investigation,

probably comparable to what most police agencies in the United States would have done. The physical evidence, again, as I said, is consistent with suicide. Dr. DeMaio is a reputed forensic pathologist. I can't dispute what he says. I think otherwise. It doesn't change my opinion whatsoever. Randy's brother, David. What kind of answers does your family need? I think we'd just't change my opinion whatsoever. Randy's brother, David.

What kind of answers does your family need? I think we just like to know the truth from the one person who could probably give it to us. Leslie Sperry. Leslie Sperry. She was there. She admits that she was there. The Latonas finally had their day

in an American court, having filed a wrongful death suit in Las Vegas against Leslie Spearing. She never showed up in court. How could she not show up? How could you be subpoenaed on a $2.5 million civil wrongful death lawsuit and not defend yourself? It's absurd. Because Leslie Spearing never appeared,

the judge awarded $2. million dollars to the Latonas. No amount of money is going to bring my son back. I just want her to know that she can't get away with it. That's all. It's money they'll likely never collect. In 2003 and 2004, Leslie Spearing was convicted on a variety of prostitution and drug charges and served time in jail. Leslie Spearing did not respond to any of our requests for an interview. Give me my hug, quick, real tight on you. The Latonas find strength close to home. We support each other, our daughter and our other son, and our grandchildren.

And in the memories of their son. And I tell them when you see a jet streaming across the blue sky, the contrails behind it, I just look up and say, Uncle Randy's serving the sky. In 2010, Joran Vanderslip was convicted of murdering a young woman in Peru and was sentenced to 28 years in prison. In 2012, Natalie Holloway was declared legally dead. Her body has never been found. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.