Natalee Holloway case breakthrough from van der Sloot pal

It was revealed last week that a tip as to where Natalee Holloway may have been buried led to the discovery of human remains, a sequence of events that marked one of the biggest breaks in the 12-year history of the case.

That tip was provided by a man named Gabriel, and how he came to learn that information was revealed in the premiere episode of the Oxygen series ‘The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway.’

A preview of the second episode, which will air at 7pm on Saturday, reveals that viewers will now see the great lengths Gabriel had to go to in order to get his informant to repeat the story while he was wearing a mic so that Natalee’s father Dave and private investigator TJ Ward could hear the admission for themselves.

And making matters even more difficult was the fact that the informant was John Ludwick, who was Gabriel’s roommate for a time and is still Joran van der Sloot’s best friend.

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Loose lips sink innocence claims: John Ludwick (above) allegedly revealed where the body of Natalee Holloway was buried to his roommate after being told by his best friend Joran van der Sloot

Final moments: Ludwick's roommate Gabriel claimed Ludwick told him Natalee chocked on her vomit after van der Sloot drugged her with a date rape drug (Missing sign in Aruba two weeks after the disappearance)

Final moments: Ludwick’s roommate Gabriel claimed Ludwick told him Natalee chocked on her vomit after van der Sloot drugged her with a date rape drug (Missing sign in Aruba two weeks after the disappearance)

Cuff it up: Van der Sloot (front) walks handcuffed with police near Palm Beach, Aruba in July 2005 (above)

Cuff it up: Van der Sloot (front) walks handcuffed with police near Palm Beach, Aruba in July 2005 (above)

Ludwick has staunchly defended van der Sloot for over a decade against those who claim her murdered or had something to do with the disappearance of the 18-year-old Alabama student.

At the same time however, he allegedly could not hold back from sharing the details about how he claims Holloway died and where she was buried during her final night in Aruba.

Gabriel said that Ludwick claimed to have received all this information from van der Sloot, and that resulted in both Ward and Holloway looking to press possible criminal charges against Ludwick for his possible involvement in the disappearance.

To do this however, the two men had to send Gabriel off to meet Ludwick again, and this time give him a wire so they could hear the conversation and confirm the details that had previously been revealed by van der Sloot’s closest confidante.

Natalie was 18 when she vanished (above in 2005)

Natalie was 18 when she vanished (above in 2005)

Gabriel’s nervousness however seemed to through Ludwick off, and soon he began changing parts of his story, leading Ward and Holloway to question what was the truth and what was a lie. 

Among the stories changed by Ludwick was the location of Natalee’s body, which Gabriel said he had claimed was in a  park, but the second time around changed to say in a residential neighborhood. 

And despite all the lies there was perhaps at least one truth based on the discovery of human remains. 

The remains are now undergoing DNA testing and results should be back in the next month, which could finally lead to some closure for the family of the missing Alabama teenager. 

One fianl run: Dave's self-funded investigation into his daughter's disappearance is the focus of the show, and he has said if nothing turns up he will accept the reality of the situation and stop with the searches (Dave Holloway above)

One fianl run: Dave’s self-funded investigation into his daughter’s disappearance is the focus of the show, and he has said if nothing turns up he will accept the reality of the situation and stop with the searches (Dave Holloway above)

Admisison: Ludwick's roommate Gabriel (above) claimed Natalee choked on her vomit after van der Sloot drugged her with a date rape drug

Admisison: Ludwick’s roommate Gabriel (above) claimed Natalee choked on her vomit after van der Sloot drugged her with a date rape drug

Father and son: Ludwick alleged that van der Sloot killed Natalee and his father Paulus helped him dispose of the body (Paulus and Joran in December 2007 after the young man was released from custody)

Father and son: Ludwick alleged that van der Sloot killed Natalee and his father Paulus helped him dispose of the body (Paulus and Joran in December 2007 after the young man was released from custody)

Dave’s self-funded investigation into his daughter’s disappearance is the focus of the show, and he has said if nothing turns up he will accept the reality of the situation and stop with the searches.

It will also mark the end of his decade-long relationship with Ward, who has been working for the family since shortly after Natalle disappeared back in May 2005 while on a class trip. 

Soon after she went missing, the investigation led police to van der Sloot.

Natalee’s friend Jessica Caiola, who was on the Aruba trip, said van der Sloot was frequently spotted around the group during the week they were on the trip.

‘I remember seeing Joran van der Sloot at the casino at our hotel. That was the first time I saw him and I remember chatter of him. “He’s so cute,” “Who’s going to hook up with him?” Those sort of things were floating around. That was probably the extent to which I got close to him,’ revealed Caiola.

Natalee in her 2005 yearbook photo

Natalee in her 2005 yearbook photo

‘I don’t even remember if Natalee with with him at that point, or if any of us were necessarily with him. What I can tell you is he was there multiple nights of our trip. I believe it was the second to last night I saw him at the casino.’

And she is certain she saw home on that final night.

‘He was absolutely at Carlos’n Charlie’s, 1000 percent,’ stated Caiola, who added that for the next few years she would frequently be called in by the FBI to recount her final night with Holloway.

‘Natalee and I were actually talking at the bar and interacting and having a good time,’ recalled Caiola of the hours before Holloway disappeared on the island.

She also revealed that while she believes van der Sloot killed her friend, she is not certain when that death happened, believing it was likely after she was reported missing.

‘I thought she was still alive and she had been sold or traded, something of that nature and we could find her,’ said Caiola.

‘The reason I though this is there was no tinge of her clothing.’ 

In the premier episode, Gabriel provided Dave a play-by-play account of what allegedly happened that night, saying that van der Sloot had asked the bartender for two drinks and to ‘fix it good.’

Those drinks were laced with the date rape drug GHB according to Gabriel, and soon after van der Sloot gave one to Natalee she allegedly began ‘foaming at the mouth.’

Moving forward: At least one of the sites that Ludwick alleged was used to bury a body contained human remains it was revealed last week (PI TJ Ward above)

Moving forward: At least one of the sites that Ludwick alleged was used to bury a body contained human remains it was revealed last week (PI TJ Ward above)

Where did she go: The DNA evidence in the Holloway case will be released around the time the finale airs on Oxygen (Aruba with key Holloway points above)

Where did she go: The DNA evidence in the Holloway case will be released around the time the finale airs on Oxygen (Aruba with key Holloway points above)

Van der Sloot, who has never been charged with the murder or disappearance of Natalee, has admitted to giving her a drink that night.

‘He panicked, he didn’t put her on her side or nothing, and she choked on her vomit,’ claims Gabriel.

Van der Sloot did not say anything according to Gabriel because of the GHB, claiming he was giving the date rape drug to ‘all the girls’ and was afraid of getting in trouble with the police.

Gabriel said that instead, van der Sloot called his father Paulus, who allegedly arrived on the scene and got ‘pissed’ when he saw that the young woman was dead.

‘And he says [to his son], “OK, wait here,” and he goes back to the house and gets a burlap,’ says Gabriel of Paulus’ next move.

‘He comes back and says, “OK, she doesn’t fit here.” So he stomps on her legs and cracks her legs and puts her in the burlap and folds her over.’

At that point Dave asks Gabriel to confirm that this was Paulus doing this, to which he responds: ‘Yes.’

Paulus van der Sloot was also never charged with the murder or disappearance of Natalee, and passed away in 2010 after going into cardiac arrest while playing tennis.

‘So they grab her and put her in the back of [Paulus’] car and they drive her to a park. Amd they pick a spot, puts her in, covers her up and his dad goes, “grab that cactus, that will just cover everything up,” continues Gabriel.

‘And his dad goes, “Don’t you tell nobody. Nobody.” But he told John.’ 

Dave has said in the past that when he met Paulus the man told him that he had to do everything he could to protect his son and would not cooperate with any investigation. 

Van der Sloot is serving a 28-year sentence in Peru after being convicted of killing 21-year-old student Stephany Flores Ramírez in 2010, five years to the day of Holloway’s death. 

He is set to be extradited to the U.S. after completing his sentence in 2038 to face charges he tried to extort money from Holloway’s family. 

Beth Holloway, Natalee’s mother, alleges that van der Sloot told her he would reveal where her daughter’s body was located for $25,000 in cash. 

Opening up: Jessica Caiola (above) was one of the high school students from Birmingham, Alabama who went on a graduation trip to Aruba with Natalee Holloway

Opening up: Jessica Caiola (above) was one of the high school students from Birmingham, Alabama who went on a graduation trip to Aruba with Natalee Holloway

Final hours: She was with the missing teen at Carlos'n Charlie's, a local bar, on the last night of the trip (Holloway above dancing at the bar)

Final hours: She was with the missing teen at Carlos’n Charlie’s, a local bar, on the last night of the trip (Holloway above dancing at the bar)

Last picture: Caiola says that after a night of drinking and dancing she and Holloway left the bar to take the shuttle back to the hotle together (Caiola above at the hotel before the group headed to the bar)

Last picture: Caiola says that after a night of drinking and dancing she and Holloway left the bar to take the shuttle back to the hotle together (Caiola above at the hotel before the group headed to the bar)

Van der Sloot married Peruvian Leidy Figueroa in July of 2010.

A month later, authorities sent him to the infamous Challapalca prison located high in the Andes when he threatened to kill the warden of the lockup he was being held in near Lima. 

Figueroa spoke for the first time soon after that in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, insisting that van der Sloot is ‘gentle, sensitive, kind’ and ‘no monster.’

She also insisted that her husband had changed since they started an unlikely prison romance four years ago, saying he was a ‘different man’ after finding God and had been ‘seeking forgiveness’ for the evil he committed in the past.

Figueroa did not reveal what ‘evil’ was she was referring to at the time.

In September of that year she gave birth to the couple’s first child, a baby girl.

They named the baby Dushy after van der Sloot’s grandmother. 

A few month after that van der Sloot was stabbed in prison according to Figueroa, though a warden later claimed that this was untrue.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk