Watch CBS News

Aruba Judge Orders Md. Man Held In Disappearance

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (WJZ) — There's still no sign of a missing Maryland woman in Aruba, but prosecutors won a legal battle to keep their prime suspect in jail Monday night. This comes after the FBI searched his home in Maryland.

Mike Hellgren has the breaking details.

The hearing was held behind closed doors. The judge ruled for the suspect to held for at least another eight days in Aruba.

Aruban prosecutors believe Robyn Gardner is dead, but they have no body and no physical evidence linking her friend Gary Giordano to her disappearance. That is a big problem for them as they try to make their case.

"You couldn't do that in this country.  You couldn't keep him for an hour unless you had probable cause," said legal analyst Byron Warnken.

Both Gardner and Giordano are from Maryland. He claims she disappeared while snorkeling and that the current pulled her out to sea--a story police say they doubt.

"There's no record of having renting snorkeling equipment. There's no idea of where his equipment was. When he showed up at the police station, he was wearing a shirt, shorts, shoes and socks. He didn't seem to be a man who had just come out of the water," said Casey Jordan, criminologist.

WJZ investigations revealed several women took out protective orders against Giordano. He'd been accused of stalking one woman and taping their sexual encounters.

"His ex-wife says that he struck their son to the ground," Jordan said. "So he appears to be a person with anger issues. People who know him best say he has a short fuse and he snaps easily."

Giordano's lawyer says this is a tragic accident and that his client did nothing to harm Gardner.

On Friday, the FBI searched Gardner's home in Montgomery County.

"Any search warrant conducted in Maryland would have to be based upon a judicial order from a judge in Maryland," Warnken said.

While difficult, it's not impossible to prove murder without a body as evidenced by the case of Tracey Tetso in Baltimore County, whose husband was found guilty in her death last year.

Gardner's loved ones are still holding out hope.

"I'm gonna fight as much as I can to try and find where Robyn is, and we can't give up. We just can't give up," said Christina Jones, Gardner's roommate.

Under Aruban law, with the judge's approval, Giordano can be held there for up to 60 days before any charges are brought.

Natalee Holloway's mother has been helping the Gardner family. Her daughter gained international attention after she disappeared in Aruba in 2005.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.