Nóra Quoirin death: Parents ask for UK help in inquest call
- Published
Nóra Quoirin went missing from her room on 4 August
The parents of a teenager found dead while on holiday in Malaysia have called for the UK government's support in their appeal for an inquest.
Nóra Quoirin, 15, whose mother is from Belfast, disappeared from her room at the Dusun resort on 4 August last year.
Her body was found 10 days later about 1.6 miles (2.5km) away.
The Malaysian Attorney General's Chambers has classified the case as "no further action", according to the Lucie Blackman Trust.
This means no inquest into her death will be held.
Her French-Irish parents, Meabh and Sebastien, have called for "an audible consistent call" from the Irish, French and UK governments to help them get to the truth of what happened to their daughter.
Meabh and Sebastien Quorin, pictured during the search for Nóra, say they do not believe she would have wandered off alone
They said they had been promised "total transparency" by the Malaysian authorities but had received the "complete opposite".
Speaking on Radio 5 Live on Monday, her mother, Meabh, said: "Our respective governments in France and Ireland have given us their commitment to continue to support our request.
"We would really like to call on the British authorities to lend their support to those calls for transparency and for an inquest, so that justice can be done, so that the truth can be obtained.
"We have to get up and fight every day to get answers from Malaysia which feels so unbelievably unfair," Mrs Quoirin said.
"We are absolutely shocked at how they have chosen to conduct themselves.
Mrs Quoirin said the family had discovered through the Malaysian press that the results of a post mortem examination into her daughter's death would be released soon.
Rescuers found Nóra's body near to the Dusun resort
According to an earlier report, Nóra died from internal bleeding, probably caused by hunger and stress.
Nóra was born with holoprosencephaly, a disorder which affects brain development. She had learning difficulties and a physical disability which made her vulnerable.
Her mother said a post mortem examination could only explain medically what happened to Nóra; it would not explain how she could have got to where she was found.
"We know this isn't straightforward. There aren't obvious criminal angles to pursue," she said.
"Some of that is down to not looking for evidence fast enough and not carrying out forensic checks immediately upon us raising the alarm.
"The case is complex, it won't be easy to get answers, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try."
Mrs Quoirin said she and her husband fundamentally believed that their daughter had been abducted.
"She is too vulnerable a child to have gone off anywhere by herself. She was not physically or mentally capable of doing that.
"We know that how she was found is incompatible with someone being alone and exposed in a jungle with no footwear or clothes for as long as she was.
"We absolutely believe that someone took her and we want to know how that happened."
Nora Quoirin disappearance: Timeline
3 August: The Quoirins arrive at the Dusun forest eco-resort
4 August: Nóra disappears from her room
5 August: The Lucie Blackman Trust says Malaysian police are treating Nora's disappearance as a potential abduction, but officers deny any foul play is involved
6 August: Nora's family say they believe she has been abducted
11 August: Malaysian police set up a hotline dedicated to receiving information about teenager
12 August: A reward of £10,000 - donated by an anonymous Belfast business - is made available for information leading to Nora's safe return
13 August: Nóra's body is found
The family, who live in London, had only arrived in the Malaysian resort on 3 August, a day before Nóra's disappearance.
- Published10 January 2020
- Published15 August 2019
