Transcript: Van der Sloots Speak

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," June 22, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: A FOX News exclusive: Dutch teen Joran van der Sloot's parents go "On the Record." Their son was the last known person to see Natalee Holloway the night she disappeared, and tonight he's behind bars at the Aruba prison. We spoke with Paul and Anita Van Der Sloot earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Anita, your son's in custody. How tough is this for you and your family?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT, MOTHER OF DUTCH SUSPECT: It's extremely tough. He's in custody now for 13, 14 days, I think. I have lost count. And I love my child. I believe in him 200 percent. And it's just like a big nightmare. We don't know how to deal with it because you can't deal with it. We think about the family a lot because their life is a nightmare, too, but our life is a nightmare, too.

VAN SUSTEREN: So how do you get through the days? I mean, can you see your son?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: No. The first days, when he was at the police office, I could go in sometimes in the morning, see him for five or ten minutes, sometimes at night, and I could hold him. I couldn't talk about the case or anything, just about love from this and this person, friends from Holland called, people who wrote e-mails. So I spoke with him about these things and just told him to stay strong and to tell the truth.

And yesterday, he got transported to the Kia, the correction institute, Kia — that's how we call the prison here — and I could visit him a little bit longer. My husband, Paul, gets no access to him at all, and they refuse his lawyer to get any access to him during interrogation. He could tell me a little bit about his interrogations that were really, really tough. A lot of pressure on him, extreme pressure.

VAN SUSTEREN: What kind of pressure do they put on him?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: Hours of interrogation, sometimes 10 hours, things like calling him psychopath, murderer, Tell us where you buried the girl, You're a criminal, I can't beat you, but if I could beat you, I would do this and it would look like an accident, not always giving him food, extreme things.

VAN SUSTEREN: When you meet with him, do you have a time limit?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: I have a time limit, yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: And who's present?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: With somebody, some of the officers is there, or the guards. And if I talk about the case, I can leave.

VAN SUSTEREN: How does he look? You saw him last night. How did he look to you?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: You know, we were so pleased that he was transported because we thought it would be a little more mild on him and he could rest a little more. At least, he has a bed now. And I could bring a cushion and clean sheets for him and some clothes because he couldn't shave during the last 10 days, hardly shower — he could shower, but also not enough water to brush his teeth, et cetera, et cetera. He couldn't — the only thing he could read was the Bible he got from a very nice police guy. He got a Bible to read.

And he was telling me, Mommy, look at me, I'm reading the Bible. Did you ever think about that? And I think it's great. It's difficult to read. So yesterday, I thought at least, you know, he can have some books. He can write things because I think that's very important for a 17-year-old boy to write down certain experiences, just to read it over again later and see if it helps him to come through a difficult time. But he cannot have access to anything.

VAN SUSTEREN: What's he like? I realize you're his mother, but what's he like?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: Joran is a very outgoing person. He's a sweetheart. To me, he's very warm. We spend Easter vacation in Florida together to visit his school, and we had a lot of fun together, went to Busch Gardens, and he was getting me cups of coffee and making jokes. He's very outgoing, loving, caring, fights with his brothers all the time, but I think that's pretty normal. We cannot get him out of bed in the morning to go to school, but once he's there, he's doing great. He got picked up on the morning of his graduation. He graduated with honor, all As and Bs. He did some AP, advanced courses, physics, calculus, AP English.

VAN SUSTEREN: Any drug use or alcohol use by him?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: A hundred percent no. No. He is, like, Mom, I would not smoke or I would not use drugs because I am a sporter. I want to make something out of my future. If there would have been anything of that, I would have noticed. I'm a teacher. I work with kids between 12 and 18 years, the last 25 years. So you're used to so many things, problems that appear with your students. You're so alert. And I think you're even more alert with your own children.

VAN SUSTEREN: Any trouble from him at all? I mean, have you ever any trouble with him?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: No. A little fight with a friend that got solved by talking to the parents.

VAN SUSTEREN: Never arrested?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: Never arrested, no. No.

VAN SUSTEREN: Girlfriends?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, of course. I mean, there were two girlfriends in his life that he had a longer relationship with. One was an American girl, who left, who was part of the school, and she just sent an e-mail totally upset because she finished the relationship and she thought that Joran was too sweet, she needed a stronger man. And another girl was an Aruban girl and — a very sweet girl, came here at home. And that ended about — it was a year ago, and he was really serious. He said, Well, Mom, you know, I'm going off-island to study, so I need to focus more. And there was no really strong relationship.

VAN SUSTEREN: So how does he find himself in this? I mean, if this is a successful 17-year-old, soon to go to college on academic scholarship, why does he find himself sitting over in the jail?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: I'm sorry! Something he told me last night, that he still didn't believe it was true. And he said, Mom, don't worry, because I was crying and he was really hugging me. He said, The truth will come forward, and I know that I didn't do anything to the girl. And the truth will come forward. And he was so strong.

And I believe in him. I believe so in him. And he's just, like, Well, Mom, it's not so bad in here, but if I'm not here, and I'm thinking about you all the time and I'm praying and I'm meditating, because that's something that he went to yoga classes for a while. Of course, he was 16 then, so for him, it was, like, Why do I have to go to yoga? But he liked it. So that keeps him positive. And he is repeating over and over in those few minutes that I see him, It will all be over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAN SUSTEREN: Coming up, much more of our exclusive interview with Joran Van Der Sloot's parents. Paul Van Der Sloot was interrogated by police over the weekend, and in just a moment, he will go "On the Record."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAN SUSTEREN: Tonight, we are live in Aruba, where Joran Van Der Sloot is in jail. He is suspected it the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. We spoke with Joran's parents earlier today. Here is more of our exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

How hard is this on you and your husband? Is there a way to describe it?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: No. No way to describe it. I sometimes am desperate. I scream. Sometimes I'm very quiet. We talk a lot. It affects him very much.

VAN SUSTEREN: He's quiet?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: He's very quiet. He's very shy. He doesn't like media coverage at all. And he's very much hurt by things that are happening. And as I look back — I mean, I came back from Holland Wednesday, and I was so surprised at seeing three young men — one kid, two men — involved, maybe, in the disappearance of a girl. Why did they let the boys go? Why didn't they interrogate immediately deep, see wherever any...

VAN SUSTEREN: Including your son?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: Including my son, yes. He should have been held. He should have been interrogated from the beginning on. What did you do? Where did you go? Is there anyone you have seen there? But they let the kids go. And he went on with his exams, and he was a normal teenager. He was under pressure. He knew that things were wrong, but — and the girl was missing. But he repeated, She will appear somewhere. And if she does, I'll kick her butt in front of her mom because she brought all of us in trouble. That's what he repeated several times.

VAN SUSTEREN: To you?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: To us. And in school, too. He spoke about this in school. He spoke about it with the teachers. Kids were a little bit — Joran, what did you do with the girl? And then a colleague came to me and said, Anita, please tell Joran not to speak too much about it or let not others speak to him about it. Just let him be quiet because you know how teenagers are.

So I asked my husband to call him one day when he was on the bus — he left school already on the school bus — and to talk about this with him. Joran, be careful what you say because the girl is still missing. And you don't want to get into trouble, just giving him parental advice. And that was something that we continuously did. Joran, don't go out this week because you know you're watched.

VAN SUSTEREN: On your wrist, you have two bracelets. One says...

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: Hope for Natalee.

VAN SUSTEREN: You got those from Beth.

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: I got those from Beth yesterday, yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: What was that like for you to sit down and talk with Beth?

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT: We asked the police to talk to her at the beginning already, but they said, No, better don't do this, and it's all too emotional, and you don't know what happened. But I knew that this is a mom, too, and she's in pain. She suffers. She doesn't have her child yet. And I just wanted to hold her. I just wanted to hold her and let her know that we fully support, and we all want to find the truth and we're not hiding anything. Nothing. We're not hiding anything, nothing, from no one.

She's always welcome here. I know she prays at the same site where I pray. It's a beautiful site on the island. And it hurt me to see her during this process. It takes such a long time. And day by day, we're trying to get through day by day. But I still have my son. And although very difficult, there's not one moment, not one second, that I don't think about her or Natalee.

I pulled my little happy angel from the Christmas storage box, and it's burning in my room with Natalee's picture in front of it. We just feel for her and for the rest of the family.

VAN SUSTEREN: Paul, you were sitting here with us a second ago and had to get up to answer the phone as Anita and I were talking. But I just wanted to ask you a quick question. I can't imagine how hard this is on you. Is there a way to describe what this experience is like for you, going through this, your family?

PAUL VAN DER SLOOT, FATHER OF DUTCH SUSPECT: It's very hard. But we still are standing up and we try to handle this in the best way. And I hope Joran can stand up, too. I still believe in him.

VAN SUSTEREN: You still believe in your son?

PAUL VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you believe that he can go through this interrogation?

PAUL VAN DER SLOOT: I hope so, that he will stand up.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was it hard for you to talk to Beth yesterday?

PAUL VAN DER SLOOT: I want to share the feelings we have also for her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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