Jug Twitty with Rita Cosby; “It is optimistic. I hope—you know, Gerold was very instrumental in the beginning of the investigation”.

From Rita Cosby’s ‘LIVE & DIRECT’ for October 27, 2005.

Even Jug Twitty seems to be having a positive attitude these days with the new found energy brought to the investigation. One can only hope that this process will continue in the investigation. From past history that would seem to be a tenuous proposition at best.

COSBY: Well, you just heard the Aruban police chief pledging that he will do all he can to bring the Holloway case to a conclusion. He just finished meeting with the FBI.

LIVE & DIRECT right now from California is polygraph examiner Jamie Skeeters. His interview with suspect Deepak Kalpoe is seen as really key evidence in this case. And also, here with us tonight is Natalee’s stepfather, Jug Twitty.

Jug, let me start with you, because the chief sounded very optimistic, sounded very focused after his meeting with the FBI. That’s got to be optimistic for you.

GEORGE “JUG” TWITTY, STEPFATHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: It is optimistic. I hope—you know, Gerold was very instrumental in the beginning of the investigation. I felt like the second day or third day down there he was on top of it. And hopefully, you know, we’ll find something out.

COSBY: Do you get a sense, Jug, that there’s sort of renewed energy? He also seemed, after the meeting with the FBI, that they both seem to be on the same track, seem to be working together, five-hour meeting. That’s got to be a good sign, right?

TWITTY: I hope so. I hope that the FBI will call Beth in the morning, and tell her what the meeting was about and, hopefully, give her some hope that they are going in the right direction.

COSBY: You know, Jamie, he was talking about some of the discrepancies with the tape, saying that it was hard to hear some of the things. I know that he’s sending the tapes to Holland, also checking with the FBI.

You did these recordings. Is that normal for them to be some discrepancies, and it just takes sort of enhancement?

JAMIE SKEETERS, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Yes, Rita. What I heard Gerold make a statement that he didn’t trust the tapes, there was a couple of red flags.

Gerold and I, we communicate frequently. And I’m very pleased with the way he’s handling this. But naturally I was concerned what his red flags were. And he indicated it wasn’t the credibility of the tapes.

It’s just that I downloaded from my hard drive on a disc and gave it to the Dr. Phil show. They in turn downloaded that to VCRs. Now, he received VCRs and received my disc, and the disc is much more clearer than the VCRs.

And that was only the only discrepancy, plus the transcripts—when I do homicides and other cases, I do my own transcripts, because it’s difficult for a secretary to try to interpret what I said depending on background noise.

COSBY: Jamie, real quick, do you believe, sort of after everything gets hashed out, it sounded like you feel confident it’s going to be authenticated tape, so much that it’s going to bring these guys in? Don’t you believe so?

SKEETERS: Well, I think that was the goal when I first started, is to get the FBI in there so they could bring closure to this. And now the FBI, the door’s open. They’re welcomed to my hard drive. As a matter of fact, I would almost insist that they please come and get it. And go for it.

COSBY: Yes, good for you. Let me bring in Jug real quick. Jug, I know Beth is planning on going back to Aruba. Are you?

TWITTY: I’m not. She’s going back with her brother.

COSBY: OK. So you’re not going to go with her, unfortunately?

TWITTY: No, I’m not going with Beth. Paul is going with her.

I hope, Rita, the one thing that really infuriates me is that I hear, you know, the rumors that Paulus Van Der Sloot is trying to get back into his job in the government.

And if the government of Aruba, the people of Aruba, let this man back into a government position, I think it’s a terrible thing. The guy’s—he’s a pitiful excuse of a human being. And he does not deserve to be representing the—or being in the government in Aruba.

COSBY: Good points there, Jug. And I know that the authorities are still looking at him, too, and whether or not he may have played a role here.

Guys, both of you, thank you very much.