Nora Quoirin mystery deepens as post-mortem is ruled ‘inconclusive’ and French launch ‘kidnapping’ investigation
THE cause of Brit teenager Nora Quoirin's death is still a mystery after a postmortem examination proved inconclusive today and will continue tomorrow, cops have revealed.
The 15-year-old's naked remains were discovered by hikers yesterday near an isolated jungle waterfall nine days after she vanished from the resort where she was staying.
The initial post-mortem results will give no comfort to Nora's parents who are desperate for answers over their beloved daughter's death, amid claims she could have been abducted and her body dumped later.
Parents Meabh, 45, and Sebastien, 47, identified the body as that of their missing eldest daughter and later paid an emotional tribute.
It comes as:
- Hikers who found Nora's remains say 'she looked like she was sleeping'
- Her family demand to know whether her body had been dumped in ravine
- Cops admit they may have missed her on first search of Malaysian jungle
- A volunteer believes her body must have been moved as it was left out in open
The devastating discovery came more than a week after Nora went missing on August 4.
Nora’s parents are also asking questions as to why police may have initially missed her body and if it could have been moved there at a later date.
A volunteer hiker who was part of a group of who found the body said it must have been dumped there after an initial sweep by search parties failed to spot it.
Local media reported that a forensic team also went back to the area where the body was found to comb for evidence.
Paying tribute to the teenager who had "truly touched the world", her family said: "The cruelty of her being taken away is unbearable. Our hearts are broken."
MYSTERY DEEPENS
Police said they will provide another update outside the hospital tomorrow morning.
Speaking outside Tuanku Jaafar Hospital, Negri Sembilan police deputy chief SAC Che Zakaria Othman said: "Since the four-member team are still carrying out their work, there is nothing we can say for the moment.
"So we will only make an official announcement tomorrow."
Earlier today, prosecutors in France begun a probe into whether Nora was kidnapped before her body was found in the jungle.
The 15-year-old's dad is French and the launch of their investigation comes as a hiker who found her body at a waterfall said he believe she must have been dumped at there.
Timeline of Nora's disappearance
August 3: Nora arrives in Malaysia with her parents and siblings
August 4: Nora found to be missing from bed
August 5: More than 120 officials are deployed to search for teenager
August 6: Nora's family reveal they suspect she was abducted
August 7: Search is upped to include helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs and more than 215 people
August 8: Recordings of Nora's mother's voice played into jungle
August 9: Drones equipped with heat detection deployed
August 10: Police narrow search area
August 11: Hotline activated in Malaysia for public tip-offs
August 12: Family offer £10,000 reward donated by Belfast businessman
August 13: Nora's naked body is found near waterfall
August 14: Postmortem examinations begin
The officer who has been leading the hunt, Datuk Mazlan Mansor, earlier said Nora's body was discovered in a stream running through a ravine "and she was found completely naked”.
Nora's parents are an Irish-French couple who have lived in London for about 20 years.
The teen had only arrived the day earlier with her parents and two siblings at the resort - in a nature reserve near Seremban, 39 miles south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
It was the start of a two-week "trip of a lifetime", a family friend said.
Nora's parents discovered her missing from her room at the Dusun resort last Sunday morning after putting her to bed the night before wearing only her undergarments.
The Dusun is a 12-acre orchard resort next to the Berembun Forest Reserve - 4,000 acres of protected virgin forest rising to 3,900 feet.
There are two small villages near the resort where the majority of residents work in farming of the local land.
Nearly 350 people were involved in a massive search operation that included sniffer dogs, elite commando forces and thermal detectors.
Police officers from the UK, Ireland and France also went to Malaysia to help in the search, for Nora, who was born with a brain defect.
Shamans were even brought in to pray for her safe return and video footage showed them praying cross legged on the jungle floor.
The desperate search for Nora
August 4: Nora is reported missing after her father discovers she is not in her bedroom at the Dusun Resort at around 8am on Sunday.
The window was also open in the room that Nora had been sharing with her two siblings.
August 5: Missing persons charity The Lucie Blackman Trust says that Malaysian police are treating Nora's disappearance as a potential abduction, but officers deny there is any foul play involved.
August 6: Nora's family say they believe her to have been abducted.
"She never goes anywhere by herself. We have no reason to believe she wandered off and is lost."
August 7: Police say they are analysing unidentified fingerprints an open window and in a downstairs hall found in the family's hotel suite.
August 9: Police investigate whether footprints found in the forest where Nora went missing belong to the missing teen. Her family say she wouldn't have wandered off on her own.
August 10: Nora's family thank the search teams involved since the teenager's disappearance.
August 11: Hundreds of rescuers still involved in the search operation a week after she disappeared.
August 12: A visibly emotional Mrs Quoirin makes a further appeal for her daughter to return home.
"Nora is our first child. She has been vulnerable since the day she was born.
"She is so precious to us and our hearts are breaking. We are appealing to anyone who has information about Nora to help us find her."
A reward of £10,000 - donated by an anonymous Belfast business - is made available for information leading to Nora's safe return.
August 13: A body is found and police said Nora's parents confirmed it was her .