KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – A Malaysian coroner ruled on Monday that the death of a French-Irish teenager whose body was found near a complex in the Malaysian jungle, where she disappeared while in prison vacation, it was probably a mishap that didn’t involve other people.
Forensic scientist Maimoonah Aid ruled out homicide, natural death and suicide and said Nora Anne Quoirin is likely to be lost after leaving her entire family home.
The 15-year-old disappeared at the eco-tourism Dusun in southern Negeri Sembilan state on August 4, 2019, a day after the family arrived on holiday. After a massive search, his naked body was found Aug. 13 next to a stream on a palm oil estate about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) from the resort.
Police believed she went out the window of the house alone, with no evidence of any bad play. But the teen’s parents said she was probably abducted because she had physical and mental disabilities and would not have been lost on her own. They explained to the investigation that a third party may have left her body in the area after the search operation for her.
The coroner described the family’s suggestions as “nothing more than likely theory” without evidence.
Nora Anne was only wearing underwear when she disappeared, but her body was found naked. The coroner noted the family’s claim that this gave credibility to the possibility of sexual assault, but said an extensive autopsy could not find such evidence, nor evidence of fight marks or suffocation.
Maimoonah also said there were no suspicious circumstances prior to the teen’s disappearance, no rescue requests and no signs of intrusion into the family home.
“I decided that no one was involved in the death of Nora Anne. It is more likely than not that he died unfortunately, that is, that he left the (country house) alone and was later lost to the abundant palm oil plantation, ”the coroner said.
Nora Anne’s parents heard the verdict online from her home in London, but gave no immediate statement.
A British pathologist who performed a second autopsy on Nora Anne’s body in the UK stated that she agreed with the findings of Malaysia who died of intestinal bleeding due to hunger and stress. However, he said he could not completely rule out sexual assault due to severe body breakdown.
Maimoonah said Nora Anne, who was sleeping in the loft with her siblings, may have been awakened by the heat or loud noises of a party at another nearby cottage and gone down to look for her parents.
But the coroner said the teenager may not have been able to open the heavy sliding door in his parents’ bedroom and then could have left the house. Her mother had stated that a window in the house, with a broken lock, was found open in the morning when Nora Anne disappeared, but the coroner said she could have accidentally opened it.
Rescuers may have overlooked Nora’s body due to the thick terrain of the jungle, Maimoonah added. The autopsy estimated that he died two to four days before his body was discovered.
A total of 49 witnesses have testified for 24 days since August last year via video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic.