Nora Quoirin: New inquest revelation in teen's jungle death
An inquest into the death of a 15-year-old girl whose body was found in a jungle has found no foul play was involved.
The naked body of Nora Anne Quoirin, who suffered from learning difficulties, was discovered in a ravine near the Dusun resort in Seremban, about 70 km south of the Malaysian capital, in August last year.
A Malaysian court opened an inquest on Monday into Nora’s death. Her body was found near a jungle stream 10 days after she went missing during a family holiday at a rainforest resort.
Police ruled out abduction as a motive, saying they had found no sign of foul play, but her family questioned the findings and said she had never before left them voluntarily.
The inquest aimed to answer questions including “when and where did the deceased die, how and in what manner the deceased came by her death, and... whether there is any person who was criminally concerned in the cause of death”, coroner Maimoonah Aid told the court.
Senior police official Mohamad Mat Yusop added investigators found nothing suspicious while looking through the family’s bungalow, The Guardian reported.
“There was no indication the victim was kidnapped,” he said.
“We did not receive any telephone calls – usually in this kind of case we will get a call to say the victim has been kidnapped and is in the hands of certain people, and they would demand a ransom.”
Mr Yusop said he believed Nora climbed out of a window.
The resort’s owner Haanim Bamadhaj told the inquest one of the bungalow’s windows was broken.
Government lawyer Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad said 64 witnesses were expected to be called during the two-week inquest at the Seremban Coroner’s Court.
Nora was from London, and had an Irish mother and French father.
The family will not attend the inquest, but the hearing is being streamed online.
Authorities had previously said an autopsy established Nora had died from internal bleeding, probably caused by prolonged hunger and stress.
She had suffered intestinal damage and died two or three days before her body was found, officials said.
The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy found some small scratches on Nora’s legs, but ruled they would not have contributed to her death, police said.
Despite being found without shoes, Nora had no cuts on her feet, Mr Yusop said, according to the Mirror.
Her parents’ lawyer asked the senior police official: “She was found unclothed, without footwear yet there were no serious scars or injuries to her soles?”
Mr Yusop said that was the case and added: “No, only some minor bruises.”
The family feared a criminal connection to the disappearance, saying she had special needs and had never before left them voluntarily, a British victims' group, the Lucie Blackman Trust, said last year.
with Reuters
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