Published Tuesday, September 07, 2010 9:54 AM

Holloway lawyer dismisses Van der Sloot claims

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The lawyer for the mother of an Alabama teen who disappeared in Aruba has dismissed claims by the Dutchman suspected in the case that he extorted money from the parents to get back at them.

Speaking on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, John Kelly, a lawyer for Natalee Holloway's mother Beth Twitty, called Joran van der Sloot a pathological liar who always portrays himself as the victim.

In a Dutch television interview broadcast on NBC, Van der Sloot, who's charged with killing a woman in Peru, says people kept asking him about the case, so he decided to start telling them what they wanted to hear.

In interviews, Van der Sloot has admitted taking money from the family in return for revealing the location of Holloway's body. He was indicted in the U.S. for extortion.

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