Naman Shrestha
In ‘Dateline: Missing in Paradise,’ we get a glimpse into the mysterious disappearance case of Robyn Gardner, a 35-year-old woman who vanished without any trace whatsoever during her trip to Aruba. Since she was accompanied by Gary Giordano throughout the vacation, and he was the last person she was with, all the suspicions were naturally pointed in his direction. In case you wish to find out why the Maryland businessman was the prime suspect in the missing case and his current whereabouts, we have laid out all the necessary information here. Let’s delve into everything you need to know about Gary Giordano, shall we?
Who is Gary Giordano?
Born in the 1960s, Gary Vincent Giordano graduated with a computer science degree from the University of Maryland. In 1987, he married Sharon Cohen, and the couple welcomed three sons into the world. However, their marriage began deteriorating, and in 2003, they finalized their divorce and she described him as a man who could not control his anger. With a bad reputation around his neighborhood, he reportedly even had allegations of domestic violence to his name.
In 2011, Gary was 50-years-old and a businessman residing in Gaithersburg, Maryland, at the time of Robyn Gardner’s disappearance. It was around 2010 when Gary and Robyn met online and formed a somewhat close connection with each other. The businessman was keen on going on fun little trips with her but was always turned down until the Aruba trip he planned for July 31, 2011. Around this time, Robyn was going through a rough time on the professional as well as romantic front, which made her take this impromptu trip with him.
According to sources, Gary did not particularly take rejection very well, as he flipped out when Robyn turned down a cruise trip. Her friend, Christina Jones, revealed that he was unusually angry at her for choosing to go with her boyfriend, Richard, and Christina instead of him. She added, “…And his responses by text, which I don’t feel comfortable repeating, were aggressive, harmful, something that doesn’t sit right within myself.” Despite knowing about this side of him, Robyn chose to tag along with him to the island country of Aruba.
Gary and Robyn traveled across the island for the next two days, exploring different places, beaches, bars, restaurants, and casinos. On a side note, surveillance footage from that day gathered exclusively by NBC News also showed the pair in a local restaurant, engaging in typical behavior as they went about their day. As per the video, they dined at the Rum Reef Bar & Grill on August 2, 2011, around 3 in the afternoon, and left the eatery at around 4:15 pm.
Gary then returned to the Rum Reef Bar & Grill around 6 pm in the evening to ask for help as he claimed that he had lost sight of Robyn during their snorkeling session. When the police arrived and investigated the case thoroughly, they found several incriminating and suspicious pieces of evidence against Gary, including holes in his story, the surveillance footage, and witnesses’ testimonies. So, on August 5, 2011, when he attempted to leave the island and return to the US, he was arrested under suspicion of murder, kidnapping, fraud, and manslaughter.
Where is Gary Giordano Now?
After spending four months behind bars at Korrectie Instituut Aruba, from August to November 2011, Gary Giordano was released as there was not enough evidence to charge him for the incident. After being released, he returned to his homeland and maintained his innocence, claiming that Robyn drowned while they were snorkeling off Baby Beach. Ten months after her disappearance, Gary sought to cash in the $3.5 million life insurance policy on Robyn Gardner but was denied the same. In May 2012, he got arrested yet again for indecent exposure in Maryland after the authorities allegedly found him naked with a woman in the back of his parked SUV.
Over the years, Gary stuck to his narrative, and in 2014, he even released a shocking tell-all book titled ‘The Aruba Files “The Redemption of Gary V. Giordano.”‘ Around the same time, he also made an appearance on Dr. Phil, where he talked in length about the Robyn Gardner disappearance case. Currently, the former suspect seems to be living by keeping his personal life under wraps and away from the public domain.
