An Interview with Christopher Cassel, Director of ‘Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot’

PATHOLOGICAL: THE LIES OF JORDAN VAN DER SLOOT -- Pictured: "Pathological: The Lies of Jordan Van Der Sloot" Key Art -- (Photo by: Peacock)

Christopher Cassel is an award-winning documentarian who has chronicled some fascinating stories during his career. His current project is the definitive look at Joran van der Sloot’s crimes via the new Peacock documentary, Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot, and we here at NTG were honored to sit down with Christopher to discuss his work in assembling this powerful documentary.
 
John Betancourt: What compelled you to tell this tale?
 
Christopher Cassel: Yeah, well, mainly, it was the timing of it, that, you know, he was back in the headlines, as you probably saw last year when he was extradited to face extortion charges. And that had been a really long time coming. So, for many years after Stephany’s murder, we really didn't hear much about him. And so, this promise to be, you know, perhaps, the closure or well, the Holloway family will never get closure, entirely. But this promised to be the closest thing that they might get, and probably the last legal chapter in his story, and so it felt like the right time, you know, to tell the whole story to tell a full retrospective with the benefit of knowing how it ends. And, you know, being able to look back with kind of fresh eyes at all the parallels between the two murder cases, you know, starting with the date, but also just, you know, being able to weave the full story together in a way that in the past really hadn't been possible.
 
John Betancourt: What was it about this case, period, that was compelling to you?
 
Christopher Cassel: It's really chilling. You know, here's this, you know, teenage boy who seems to have it all, he lives in paradise, seems to have a good family, good parents, and he's got talent, he's athletic, he's smart, you know, so, and then to see somebody like, that goes so far off the rails, it's, you know, tragic, just looking at his story alone, much less what happened to the girls and everybody else. It's just tragic that he went down that path, and you have to wonder why. And how did it snowball? And then there's also something in this… there seems to be some, he has some appeal, certainly to like women who have, you know, been infatuated with him in prison, but also to the media, you know, he seems to be somebody that, you know, the media loves to talk about, and he just makes you wonder why, like, what is it about him that, you know, is so charming to people? I don't know. A lot to explore.
 
John Betancourt: What kind of challenges went into assembling something that is so epic in scope?
 
Christopher Cassel: Yeah, it was, I mean, the main challenge we had was, was booking and telling the Aruba side of the story, really. Luckily, we had 18 years of archival news reports and footage. But cracking the Aruba story, in real time, you know, and with our own cameras was difficult. And I think that says a lot about Aruba’s kind of perspective on the story, and the fact that they just can't wait for this thing to go away. They're never gonna solve it. They stopped trying. There's always been questions about the conduct of the investigation down there. And so that was difficult. And, you know, building the trust with the Holloway family, with the Flores family, took time. And happily, we, you know, we ended up getting the blessings of both families and the participation of members of each family. You know, but that was a process because particularly on the Holloway side, because they've been just badgered for 18 years, you know, with so many different documentaries and news pieces that, you know, it's hard to differentiate yourself from the pack and, you know, help them understand that what your intentions are, and that this is going to be hopefully a special piece. So, you know, that was that was something that we worked on for a while.
 
Jon Betancourt: Logistically, your team is everywhere in this documentary, what kind of logistical challenges did you run into as well?
 
Christopher Cassel: Yeah, I mean, so we filmed in Aruba, Peru, Alabama, a lot of interviews in New York, in Peru and in Aruba. There, there are additional logistical layers that go into filming internationally and particularly in Peru with the language barrier. So, setting all that up, having the right producers on the ground that, you know, were working with us to do the bookings to do all the logistical arrangements of crew and equipment. I mean, that was all, you know, it was a big job. But you know, in the end, it really worked out well. And it was really, you know, well managed, locally, and we were able to get everything we wanted.
 
John Betancourt: Now obviously, the expectation is that journalists remain as neutral and objective as possible when reporting. But this is a brutal case, and a brutal story, and I’m curious as to how you as a director and a journalist reconciled the hard stuff you had to document.
 
Christopher Cassel: I think you just try to stay out of the way and let people tell their own story. And make sure that the editing, you know, accurately reflects their intentions, and doesn't take them out of context. And yeah, but as far as being objective, you know, certainly there's, you're always going to have your own opinions. I think, you know, it's a fairly universal opinion, that Joran is a scumbag but at the same time, I wanted to humanize him, and I wanted, I wanted people to understand that he's not only a monster. But also, I think the real story was in the people around him and all the collateral damage he caused with so many and all the victims, and it's not just Stephany (Flores), Natalie (Halloway), you know, it's even his parents and, you know, his family and the drivers that drove him to Chile, you know, there's just everyone he encountered, paid a price, you know, for associating with him. So ,you don’t want to have kind of a heavy hand, and you just edit and just hear what these people have to say.
 
John Betancourt: What surprised you the most when you started assembling this documentary that about this case that you didn't notice or were aware of before?
 
Christopher Cassel: I think just how, unapologetic, he always was, he was just so callous, and, you know, watching hours of interviews that he did, and, you know, there was just never the slightest expression of remorse or regret or… and I found that just hard to imagine, you know, hard to relate to, of course. But also, just fascinating that somebody could be, you know, so callous, and that's just kind of how he operates. And I think to this day, he's… it's hard to find a soul in there. I'm sure it's there. But then, you know, you talk to people like his girlfriend, Eva. You know, and it's like, you're talking about a totally different person. You know, she just thought he was the most kind and warm and loving person she'd ever met.
 
John Betancourt: I think it is safe to say we learn from every story we experience in any capacity, so what did you take away from this experience and this story?
 
Christopher Cassel: I think I took away that, you know, in being able to meet people who were actually victimized, or as part of the story, you know, to see the real people behind these headlines and how not only the crime itself, but the coverage of the crime impacted their lives. It really, it was a stark reminder that you know, that these are real people under these headlines, you know, that, that are really suffering. And, you know, so many people broke down during the interviews and, you know, there's still so much emotion, so many years later, and just wanting to really treat them with respect and be sensitive to that, and not exploit it, which I hope we succeeded in but, you know, just a reminder that behind any of these, any crimes that you hear about, there are people that are really suffering, and, you know, we tend to -- the true crime genre can be guilty of sensationalizing stories and you know, kind of exploiting the victims and it's something we need to guard against because again, these are just these are real people that you need to respect everything they're going through.
 
John Betancourt: Something that I did notice that I really did appreciate the fact that this was more of a balanced True Crime documentary. It wasn't just rapid fire, here's what happened. There's a lot of emotion in this. And I’m curious what went into the decision to really humanize the story on a level that it hadn't been humanized before?
 
Christopher Cassel: Well, I think a lot of it was, you know, we gained the trust and the participation of the families. And I wanted to make sure we honored that and that when they saw this, that, you know, that they wouldn't be horrified by it, you know, that they would appreciate, you know, that we did do justice to Natalie’s story and to Stephany’s story. And so, yeah, I mean, from the beginning, that was really important, I think. I think that's when not only true crime, but any, any documentary works best when you're kind of letting the raw emotion drive the story. And, you know, in sort of staying out of the way of the story, and just letting, letting the people involved tell it.
 
John Betancourt: Ultimately, what do you hope audiences take away from this from a lesson standpoint?
 
Christopher Cassel: Well, I hope, you know, particularly younger women who may have grown up after Natalie, see this and understand that, you know, people like Joran are out there and, you know, to be careful and make smart choices. You know, I have a daughter who's 14, and, you know, she’ll be out in the world someday and needs to be cautious, and hopefully, that's the takeaway that some people get from this, that, yes, this is Joran’s story, but there are many others out there like him. And, you know, we just need to be careful.
 
John Betancourt: Last question that I have for you, long term, what do you hope this legacy This documentary is going to be?
 
Christopher Cassel: Um, I feel like we're at a point with this story now, where I'm sure something will come out years from now and Joran will have a new twist on the tale when he needs money or something. But I think fundamentally that we now know the story. And so hopefully, this is kind of a, you know, the last word on… and it won't be the last word. I'm sure there'll be others. But, you know, we're in a place now where we can look at all of the legal chapters. And, you know, have the full story for the first time. And so hopefully, this will stand as kind of the definitive, you know, chronicle of those 18 years.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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