Nora Quoirin: No third party involved in British teen's death, coroner says 'she died by misadventure'
A Malaysian coroner has ruled that there was no foul play behind London student Nora Quoirin’s death whose remains were found ten days after she vanished. The verdict has left the British teenager’s parents “extremely disappointed”, The Sun reported. Quoirin — who had learning difficulties — was on a family vacation in Malaysia in August 2019 when she went missing. Though her parents Meabh and Sebastian believe someone had kidnapped their daughter, cops investigating the case suggested no third party involvement and an autopsy stated starvation and internal bleeding were responsible for her death.
Malaysian coroner Maimoonah Aid has now declared that the reason behind the 15-year-old’s death was "misadventure" after she wandered in an abandoned plantation before getting lost. "After hearing all the relevant evidence, I rule that there was no one involved in the death of Nora Anne. It is more probable than not that she died by misadventure,” the coroner told a court in the city of Seremban. She also added that Quoirin got outside of the family accommodation “on her own and subsequently got lost in the abandoned palm oil plantation”. “For me to speculate and presume of her actions and involvement of a third party without any proof, that would be a breach of my duty and so the inquiry is hereby closed,” the coroner mentioned.
Aid deliberated over the case for around two hours, and the process included taking reference from more than 40 witness statements taken during the inquest. Before ruling out an "open verdict", something that Quoirin’s family had pushed for, the coroner also saw there was no proof to back the theories of homicide or sexual assault. The teenager vanished a day after she along with her family arrived at the Dusun eco-resort in Malaysia on August 4, 2019. After she was found missing, a huge search and rescue operation was launched that included hundreds of rescuers, helicopters and sniffer dogs. However, ten days later on August 13, her naked body was discovered near a stream about 1.6 miles away from the resort.
While declaring the verdict, Aid also took into consideration the fact that the long-hour travel and activities at the Dusun resort on the day of their arrival left Quoirin and her family members extremely tired, so the girl who was in a "strange and new place" left the place on her own to wander outside. "The family (were) all jet-lagged and tired. Nora Anne had also shown her level of tiredness increase,” the coroner stated.
Lawyer S. Sakthyvell, who represented the devastated family, said after the ruling, “the parents who followed the live stream of proceedings were extremely disappointed with the ruling. We spoke soon after the live stream ended and they were advised on options available. They are expected to further speak to the media in London." While Meabh and Sebastian said, “Once again we see that justice struggles to support the most vulnerable in society, only engaging with special needs at a surface level, and not at the level that truly reflects children like Nora. We believe we have fought not just for Nora but in honor of all the special needs children in this world who deserve our most committed support and the most careful application of justice. This is Nora’s unique legacy and we will never let it go.”