Brothers suspected in Aruba case remain free

(CNN) -- A ruling by a panel of Aruban judges on Wednesday could mean trouble for the prosecution in the case of an American teenager's disappearance in Aruba.

The judges ruled that two brothers who have repeatedly been arrested in the case should remain free -- turning down the prosecutor's request to reverse a judge's decision last week that freed the men.

The three-judge panel said the case against Deepak Kalpoe, 24, and his brother Satish, 21, fails to show whether Natalee Holloway died as the result of a crime.

The decision not only means the brothers will remain free pending a possible trial -- it also may lead to the release of a third suspect in the case and could throw the prosecution's case against the three into doubt.

Holloway, 18, has not been seen since she left an Oranjestad, Aruba, nightclub on May 30, 2005, with the Kalpoe brothers and Joran van der Sloot.

Aruba's chief public prosecutor, Hans Mos, said he believes evidence in the case will show Holloway is dead, although her body has not been recovered.

After the Kalpoes' release, van der Sloot's attorneys asked that their client be freed as well, based on the judges' decision that evidence against the Kalpoes was not strong enough to warrant their continued detention.

Van der Sloot's next hearing initially was set for Friday, but was moved up to Thursday in light of the defense request.

The Kalpoes and van der Sloot, who previously had been detained in the case, were re-arrested November 21, with prosecutors citing new and incriminating evidence against them. They were charged with being involved in the "voluntary manslaughter" of Holloway, as well as assault and battery leading to her death. All three have maintained their innocence.

The new evidence is the same against all three, Mos has said.

A judge Friday ordered the Kalpoes released from jail, refusing a request from prosecutors that they remain in custody another eight days. Wednesday's decision came in response to Mos' appeal of that ruling.

"The reasoning of the court reads as follows: Notwithstanding an extensive and lengthy investigation, the case file against the brothers S.K. and D.K. does not contain direct indications that Natalee Holloway has died as the result of a violent crime against her," Mos' office said in a statement released after Wednesday's ruling. "Equally, the case file does not contain direct indications of the suspects' involvement in a violent crime against Natalee."

After last week's decision to release the Kalpoes, Mos told reporters the judge reasoned that "the new evidence, together with the existing evidence in the case, produce serious grounds for the suspicion of some kind of aiding and abetting, of covering up traces of a crime committed or of the disposing of a corpse."

Under Aruban law, he said, people accused of those lesser crimes do not qualify for pretrial detention.

But, Mos said last week, a judge had approved van der Sloot's continuing detention based on the same evidence. "Apparently, the judge sees a difference between the third suspect and these two suspects," he said.

On Wednesday, Mos' office said that given the length of time elapsed since Holloway's disappearance, "the court does not see sufficient facts and circumstances substantiating serious grounds for the suspicion of the suspects' involvement in the crimes for which pretrial detention has been requested."

Holloway was on Aruba with about 100 classmates celebrating their graduation from Mountain Brook High School in suburban Birmingham, Alabama. After leaving the nightclub with the three men, she failed to show up the next day for her flight home, and her packed bags were found in her hotel room.

The Kalpoes have told police they dropped Holloway and van der Sloot off near a lighthouse on the northern tip of the island after they left the nightclub. Van der Sloot's mother has said her son told her he was on the beach with Holloway but left her there because she wanted to stay. See timeline of how the case has developed »

The court's Wednesday decision on the Kalpoes is final, Mos' office said; the law does not allow for further appeals. However, the statement said, "in itself, the decision does not preclude further investigation and prosecution."

Prosecutors have said they will announce by the end of the year whether they intend to try the suspects in the Holloway case.

Meanwhile, the girl's parents have resumed searching for their daughter's remains. A boat commissioned to search waters off the coast of Aruba was expected to arrive on Wednesday. E-mail to a friend

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