The other suspects in the Natalee Holloway case that Netflix’s Taken glossed over

It might have taken 20 years for the truth of Natalee Holloway’s murder to come out, but because Joran van der Sloot was largely the prime suspect, Netflix focused on his part in the case. 

Almost immediately after Natalee went missing, her mother managed to put together a picture of what happened that night. She knew her daughter had entered into a car with Joran and brothers Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, even if the police didn’t instantly follow her suspicions. 

But that isn’t to say the police didn’t look elsewhere. In fact, a couple of different names popped up as the police were investigating Joran.  

Antonius ‘Mickey’ John and Abraham Jones

Credit: Netflix

Antonius ‘Mickey’ John and Abraham Jones got the most screen time in Taken: Natalee Holloway. The two security guards were some of the first suspects questioned by police. It was Joran van der Sloot and his friends who pointed officers in their direction, claiming they’d left a very drunk Natalee with them. 

As we saw in the Netflix three-parter, the security guards were released without charges after questioning, with romantic partners offering their alibis. They were incredibly angry, wanting a personal apology from the Aruban government. Because they weren’t guilty, nor the focus of the doc, Netflix quickly moved on from their story – but it didn’t end there. 

In interviews after the release, Mickey claimed that he was placed in a cell next to Deepak Kalpoe, one of the brothers Natalee got in the car with. Deepak was said to have admitted his guilt in fabricating the story and that he was sorry for implicating him and the other security guard.

It also emerged that Abraham and Mickey weren’t even security guards at the Holiday Inn where the school group were. They worked at Allegro, which was actually shut down for renovations at the time. 

Steve Gregory Croes

Credit: Netflix

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In 2005, Steve Gregory Croes became the fourth person detained by the police. He was asked to come to the police station, which he did, but was then arrested the following morning because of information provided by Joran and the two brothers. 

He was a DJ on a party boat near Natalee’s hotel and claimed to have overheard a phone conversation with Deepak. He approached Deepak, lying about being in the area that night, and was then asked to serve as a witness for their story. 

Due to his initial lie and confusing inconsistencies in his story, he spent 10 days in jail before being released. Steve Gregory Croes was fired from his job afterwards. 

Freddy Arambatzis

Credit: Natalee Holloway Resource Centre

Freddy Arambatzis was close friends with Joran, and as the killer spouted lies about what happened, he told his friend a different version of events. 

“Freddy knows, Freddy knows,” Deepak said in wiretapped audio. 

Though his name continued to pop up in connection with Natalee, and he was arrested alongside the two brothers, he was later charged in a completely different case. Alongside Joran and the two brothers, he was accused of photographing young girls in “tempting” poses and of unspecified physical contact with a minor. 

He was never charged in connection with Natalee’s disappearance, and the other charges were soon dropped due to insignificant evidence. 

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Featured image credit: Netflix