Parents of Nóra Quoirin take legal case against Facebook and user

Teenager died while on holiday with her family in Malaysia last summer

Nóra Quoirin’s parents sought an inquest into the death of their daughter as they believed there is a “criminal element” to her death. File photograph: Lucie Blackman Trust/Family handout/PA Wire

The parents of Franco-Irish teenager Nóra Quoirin, who was found dead in a Malaysian jungle during a family holiday last summer, have initiated High Court proceedings against Facebook and a social media user over posts relating to their daughter's disappearance.

Nóra's disappearance from her family's cottage at the Dusun eco-resort in the southern Negeri Sembilan state in Malaysia on August 4th last sparked a massive search operation. Her body was discovered on August 13th beside a small stream about 2km from the resort.

Police said there was no sign that the 15-year-old was abducted or attacked, with a preliminary postmortem showing that she succumbed to intestinal bleeding due to starvation and stress.

It is understood that the legal case, initiated by Sebastien and Maebh Quoirin in court papers filed on Monday, against Facebook and retired solicitor Anne Brennan, relate to a number of social media posts about the young girl's disappearance.

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A postmortem examination carried out in Malaysia found that Nóra, who had a brain condition called holoprosencephaly which limited her development, died from internal bleeding, however the couple said there were question marks over the findings.

They had sought for an inquest into the death of their daughter as they believed there is a “criminal element” to her death.

Speaking on the Late Late Show in January, Ms Quoirin said: “We believe she was abducted and kept in the jungle for the time she was missing. We don’t feel it is helpful to speculate beyond that.

“What is important for us is to let the police do their job. We are hoping they will reopen the investigation... and properly examine all the angles of the case and in particular the criminal angles,” she added.

Authorities in Malaysia earlier this month agreed to grant an inquest, which is due to take place from August 24th to September 4th.

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers is Health Correspondent of The Irish Times