Nóra Quoirin’s parents say there was ‘criminal element to what happened’

The parents of Franco-Irish teenager Nóra Quoirin, who was found dead in a Malaysian jungle during a family holiday earlier this year, say they believe there was a “criminal element” involved in her death.

Meabh and Sebastian Quoirin told RTÉ that they want “truth and justice” for their daughter, who was found dead after a 10-day search around the jungle resort of Dusun in August.

Ms Quoirin said she has many questions about the death of the 15-year-old, who had a brain condition called holoprosencephaly which limited her development.

When Nora disappeared from her hotel room, her parents feared she had been abducted, insisting she would not have wandered off by herself. However, police in Malaysia said they found no evidence of abduction or kidnapping.

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Ms Quoirin said it would have been “impossible physically, mentally to imagine that she could have got any distance at all”.

“For us something very complex happened,” she added. “We have insisted from the beginning that we believe there was a criminal element to what happened.

“We believe that crucial time and evidence was lost in the beginning.

“While a postmortem when it comes through may give us answers, and has already given us some basic answers around what caused Nora’s death, it doesn’t explain any of how she could possibly have got to where she was found.”

A postmortem examination carried out in Malaysia found that Nora died from internal bleeding probably caused by hunger and stress. - PA