A Malaysian coroner opened an inquest Monday into the death of a French-Irish teenager, a year after her unclothed body was found in the jungle following her disappearance while on holiday.
Members of the Royal Malaysia Police arrive at court for an inquest in Seremban, Malaysia on Monday. Photo: AFP
Malaysian police insisted there was no sign of foul play in the death of Nora Quoirin, a 15-year-old with learning difficulties, and authorities classed the case as "requiring no further action."
But her parents, who believe there was a criminal element to her death, as they say the teen would not have wandered off alone, pushed for an inquest, and authorities agreed.
At the start of proceedings in the city of Seremban on Monday, Coroner Maimoonah Aid said: "We are here to answer a few questions - who is the dead person, when and how she died and whether anyone was responsible."
Quoirin went missing from the resort where she was staying with her London-based family, triggering a 10-day hunt involving helicopters, sniffer dogs and hundreds of searchers.
Her body was discovered close to the jungle retreat and an autopsy found that she probably starved and died of internal bleeding after spending about a week in the dense rainforest. Sixty-four witnesses are expected to be called, and the first was Mohamad Mat Yusop, the police chief of Negeri Sembilan state.
Mohamad told the court how he was informed the teen had been reported missing on August 4, 2019, and he immediately ordered a search operation. The following day, he visited the Dusun Resort south of Kuala Lumpur, where the girl disappeared from her room the day after her family had checked in.