KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – A Malaysian coroner ruled Monday that the death of a Franco-Irish teenager whose body was found near a Malaysian jungle resort where she disappeared while on vacation was most likely a setback involving no other people. were involved.
Coroner Maimoonah Aid ruled out murder, natural death and suicide, saying Nora Anne Quoirin was likely lost after leaving her family’s cottage alone.
The 15-year-old disappeared at the Dusun eco-resort in the southern state of Negeri Sembilan on August 4, 2019, a day after the family was on vacation. After a massive search, her naked body was found next to a stream on a palm oil estate about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 mi) from the resort on Aug. 13.
Police believed she climbed out the window of the cottage on her own, with no trace of foul play. But the teen’s parents said she was likely kidnapped because she had a mental and physical disability and wouldn’t have strayed on her own. They told the inquest that a third party could have dumped her body in the area after the search for her.
The coroner described the family’s suggestions as “nothing more than likely theory” with no evidence.
Nora Anne was only dressed in underwear when she went missing, but her body was found naked. The coroner took note of the family’s claim that this believed the possibility of sexual assault, but said an extensive autopsy could find no such evidence, nor evidence of battle marks or asphyxiation.
Maimoonah also said there were no suspicious circumstances prior to the teen’s disappearance, no ransom demand, and no signs of trespassing on the family home.
“I thought no one was involved in Nora Anne’s death. It is more likely than not that she was killed by a setback, that is, she only left the (cottage) and then got lost in the abundant oil palm plantation, ”said the coroner.
Nora Anne’s parents listened to the online verdict from their home in London, but made no immediate explanation.
A British pathologist who performed a second autopsy on Nora Anne’s body in the UK stated that he agreed with the Malaysian findings that she died of intestinal bleeding from starvation and stress. However, he said he could not completely rule out sexual assault because of serious bodily degradation.
Maimoonah said that Nora Anne, who was sleeping in the attic with her siblings, could have been awakened by the heat or loud noises from a party in another house nearby and went downstairs to find her parents.
But the coroner said the teen may not have been able to open the heavy sliding door to her parents’ bedroom and then leave the cottage. Her mother had testified that a cottage window, with a broken bolt, had been found open the morning Nora Anne disappeared, but the coroner said she could have accidentally pushed it open.
Rescuers may have overlooked Nora due to the dense jungle area, Maimoonah added. The autopsy estimated that she died between two and four days before her body was discovered.
A total of 49 witnesses have testified via videoconference for 24 days since August last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.