Another Alleged Confession Made in Natalee Holloway Case

(Feb. 23) -- Joran Van der Sloot, a longtime suspect in the disappearance of U.S. student Natalee Holloway, has allegedly made a second confession about disposing of her body. The confession reportedly came during an interview Van der Sloot gave to the German news agency RTL.

According to the news agency, Van der Sloot said that Holloway's body is hidden in a swamp in the Caribbean island of Aruba. He also allegedly told the agency he is afraid of being prosecuted for the crime.

These most recent revelations come nearly three years after Van der Sloot made a similar confession during an undercover operation by reporter Peter R. de Vries. In that confession, Van der Sloot was caught on camera saying that Holloway had died accidentally and that he had dumped her body at sea. Prosecutors later decided that confession did not constitute legal evidence because the statements were a mixture of "lies and fantasy."

Chief prosecutor Peter Blanken told the Dutch newspaper Telegraaf that Van der Sloot might be giving false versions of the story in an attempt to hide the truth. Blanken did admit, however, that if Holloway was dumped in a swamp, "chances of finding her are extremely small."

Holloway went missing on May 30, 2005, during a graduation trip to Aruba. Van der Sloot was one of the last people to see her alive, and her body has never been found. The case received international media attention and sparked a made-for-TV movie by the Lifetime TV network.

Van der Sloot's father, attorney Paulus van der Sloot, unexpectedly died earlier this month while playing tennis. Police have long suspected that he may have had information about the case, but whatever knowledge he might have possessed went with him to the grave.

Van der Sloot is expected to give a second interview to RTL later this week.