Aruban Authorities Building Case Against Suspect In Missing Md. Woman's Case
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- There are new developments on the woman from Maryland missing in Aruba. WJZ is learning what the prime suspect told police during their interrogation.
Mike Hellgren has the latest.
Investigators in Aruba have postponed a massive search for Robyn Gardner saying they need more time to prepare. They're working to build a case against Gary Giordano, the only person to see her before she vanished.
WJZ has obtained transcripts of his interview with police about the hours before she disappeared.
He says it was a typical day. They got up, went to lunch, and then decided to go snorkeling. He claims they went too far into the water. It was "20 feet deep."
He said, "I only looked back when I hit a rock. Before that, I did not look back. I was only busy saving my life."
But Aruban authorities doubt his story, and friends of Gardner say she would never get in the water.
"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 criminologist Casey Jordan.
Aruban authorities have also looked at Giordano's troubled past with women in Maryland, including allegations of physical abuse.
"Like yanked my arm really hard, and it was scary. He was, let's say, very physically aggressive," said one former girlfriend of Giordano, who did not want to reveal her identity.
Authorities on the Dutch island have now taken a DNA sample from Giordano and sent it for evaluation to the Netherlands to see if they can match it with any evidence.
WJZ has also learned they questioned Giordano about a $1.5 million accidental death insurance policy he bought on Gardner. He wouldn't name the beneficiary. And police asked him about his finances, too.
Through all of this, Giordano has maintained his innocence.
Giordano told police he also took out accidental death insurance on himself and named his mother the beneficiary of that policy.
