Malaysian court rejects coroner’s verdict in Nora Anne Quoirin’s death

A Malaysian high court on Wednesday found that a coroner erred in ruling that the death of a French-Irish teenager whose body was found near a jungle resort was likely due to a misadventure that did not involve other people.

High Court Judge Azizul Azmi Adnan agreed with Nora Anne Quoirin’s parents that it would not have been likely for the 15-year-old to venture out on her own, navigate the steep terrain and evade detection for days due to her mental and physical disabilities.

He ruled that “the verdict of misadventure ought to be vacated in the interest of justice and substituted with an open verdict”, which would mean there was suspicion of foul play but inadequate proof.

The ruling is a legal victory for Nora Anne’s parents, who believe she was likely kidnapped and had appealed the coroner’s verdict, issued in January. They listened to the online verdict from their home in London.

The teen disappeared at the Dusun eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state on August 4, 2019, a day after the family arrived for a holiday. After a massive search, her body was found on August 13 beside a stream on a palm oil estate about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) from the resort.

The coroner had ruled out homicide, natural death and suicide and said she likely got lost after leaving her family’s cottage on her own, and that no one else was involved. Police have said there was no evidence of foul play, but her parents said she would not have wandered off on her own.

They told the inquest that a third party could have dumped her body in the area following the search for her. The coroner had described the family’s suggestions as “nothing more than probably theory” with no evidence.