How to Get Out of Jail Free

SINT NICOLAAS, Aruba (AP) -- All three suspects in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager were released from jail Saturday in a setback for the prosecution and the biggest blow yet to Natalee Holloway's family.

Joran van der Sloot, an 18-year-old Dutchman, and two Surinamese brothers, Satish Kalpoe, 18, and Deepak Kalpoe, 21, were released on condition they remain in Dutch territory and be available to police for questioning.

The Kalpoe brothers emerged from prison dressed in jeans, carrying black plastic bags and accompanied by their lawyers.

"It's a happy day for the Kalpoe family," said David Kock, an attorney for Satish.

At his home later, van der Sloot came out smiling, flung an arm around his father's neck and squeezed his mother's shoulder. He did not address reporters.

"We would like to express our happiness to have Joran back in our lives," said his mother, Anita. "His life has been turned upside down."

She said her family had been the victim of "slander based on rumor and gossip. It is easy to destroy the lives of people, especially through the press."

Van der Sloot's lawyer, Richie Kock, said the teenager would soon be going to university in Holland.

"Joran will be trusted to be on his own in Holland and to do as he pleases," he said. "We do not have a parole system."

As a Dutch citizen, van der Sloot is allowed to leave Aruba but must remain in Dutch territory, said Richie Kock. The Surinamese brothers must remain on the island because they have different visa requirements for traveling to other Dutch territories, said David Kock.

The missing teen's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, renewed her criticism of the investigation.

"If the investigation had been handled properly during the first 10 days, the world would not have witnessed and experienced the pain and suffering my family and I have endured," Holloway Twitty said. "For the rest of my life, I will continue to be the voice for my daughter, seeking justice in Aruba. Every parent would want the same justice for their child."

The Holloway family has insisted that all three young men know what happened to the Alabama honors student, who vanished May 30 on the last day of a vacation to celebrate her high school graduation.

Despite Saturday's releases, police insist the investigation into Holloway's widely publicized disappearance will continue, but legal observers in Aruba say the release indicates the government has no case.

"The prosecution doesn't know what criminal act occurred — acts which might be murder, kidnapping, rape," said Arlene Skipper, a lawyer who has kept track of the case. "It is still a missing-person case."

Aruban authorities blew it.

In all likelihood, Natalee Holloway was murdered and no one will be held accountable.

Joran van der Sloot, and Satish and Deepak Kalpoe probably know what happened to her, but there is no evidence to connect them to Natalee and her disappearance.

Clearly, following the advice that the three men received from Joran's father three months ago, "Don't talk," paid off.

At the end of June, AP ran this story:

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP)- The father of a Dutch teenager arrested in the disappearance of a young U.S. woman told his son and his two friends that "when there is no body you don't have a case," Aruba's attorney general said Wednesday.

Paul van der Sloot, a judge in training in Aruba, gave his 17-year-old son Joran van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers legal advice the day after 18-year-old Natalee Holloway disappeared, District Attorney Caren Janssen told MSNBC in an interview.

"They spoke about the situation that when there is no body you don't have a case, and that was already in the first day after the disappearance," Janssen said.

Janssen said that the elder van der Sloot had obstructed the investigation by asking a friend of Joran, who had been interrogated by police, what he had told them.

Paul van der Sloot, 52, was arrested last Thursday in the disappearance but released Sunday when a judge ruled there wasn't enough evidence to hold him.

Janssen told MSNBC that he was arrested because investigators believed he was also a suspect in the disappearance.

Was justice done here?

I seriously doubt it.