Lawsuits Filed in Natalee Holloway Case

Lawsuits Filed in Natalee Holloway Case
Thursday, December 14, 2006

Two lawsuits have been filed in the case of a college student who vanished in Aruba nearly two years ago, FOX News has learned.

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, two of the young men last seen with Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teenager who disappeared in Aruba in May 2005.

The suit of Beth Twitty and Dave Holloway was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as a related case to a defamation lawsuit the Kalpoe brothers filed Wednesday against pop psychologist and talk show host Dr. Phil, CBS and Paramount, among others.

"All we want is justice for our daughter," Twitty said in a press release issued about the civil case. "There is no doubt in my mind that Deepak and Satish played a role in my daughter's death and should be held accountable. It's unconscionable that they have not been punished so far."

Allegations against the Kalpoes, who are residents of the Caribbean island where Natalee Holloway was traveling on a class trip when she vanished without a trace, say the brothers caused her death by "intentionally, negligently, wantonly ... unlawfully conducting themselves," bringing about injuries that proved fatal.

The Kalpoes' suit against Dr. Phil, whose real name is Phillip C. McGraw, maintains that an interview filmed with the brothers "was manipulated and later broadcast by the 'Dr. Phil' show as being accurate and which portrays Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe 'as engaging in criminal activity against Natalee Holloway and constitutes defamation per se.'"

Natalee Holloway was last seen alive with the Kalpoes and a Dutch teen, Joran van der Sloot, in a gray Honda early on the morning of May 30, 2005. The brothers and van der Sloot have all been arrested in connection with her murder and later released, but none have been brought to trial.