THE PARENTS of tragic teenager Nora Quoirin have said they are "shocked" at the decision by Malaysian investigators to close the case.
In a statement today, Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin expressed their disbelief that the disappearance and subsequent death of their daughter in the Malaysian jungle in August of last year would not be investigated further, saying the decision "prevents justice being done".
The body of 15-year-old Nóra, who had special needs, was discovered ten days after she vanished from the hotel where the family was staying.
Her family have always maintained that their daughter would never have left the hotel and wandered into the jungle on her own, and believe there was a criminal element in her death.
Mr and Mrs Quoirin reiterated this belief today when they said "as a vulnerable child, with significant physical and mental challenges, we strongly refute any conclusion that Nóra was alone for the entire duration of her disappearance".
The full statement from Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin is below.
“We have today learned that the AGC of Malaysia has classified Nóra’s case as "no further action”. This essentially means that, at this time, there will be no inquest. We are shocked by this decision, not least because it is based on a preliminary report from the Coroner’s office.
“To date, we have only received a short explanation from the pathologists who conducted the post-mortem in Malaysia which confirmed the cause of death as gastro-intestinal bleeding and an ulcer (likely brought on by starvation and/or stress). We must emphasise however that this is only a brief extract of what will be the full post-mortem report, which is as yet still unavailable. It is critical that we receive this report. It may reveal other significant details that contributed to Nóra’s death, such as why a severe ulcer was triggered so quickly in her body. It is moreover utterly unacceptable that we have not received a single update from Malaysia since Nóra’s death.
Nóra Quoirin vanished from the Malaysian resort in which she and her family were staying in August 2019.“The AGC’s decision prevents justice being done. As we have stressed from the beginning of this case, it is crucial to understand how Nóra came to be found where she was. As a vulnerable child, with significant physical and mental challenges, we strongly refute any conclusion that Nóra was alone for the entire duration of her disappearance. We have repeatedly asked the police to clarify answers to our questions in this regard – and we have been repeatedly ignored. This stands in stark contrast with the promise of transparency that we received from the Deputy Prime Minister and other prominent officials whom we met in Malaysia.
“We believe it is a democratic human right to seek the truth. We have witnessed how our most vulnerable citizens in this world are all too often ignored and we are now facing considerable prejudice in our search for answers.
We cannot believe, nor understand why, any modern economy would label such a harrowing and mysterious case NFA without full process and the total refusal to communicate with us is both insulting and unfathomable. Our governments in France & Ireland support our demands for justice. We therefore now appeal directly to the highest levels of Malaysian government as well as the Attorney General’s office to assist our quest for the truth.”
Matthew Searle MBE, Trust Chief Executive of The Lucie Blackman Trust, which has been assisting the family since Nóra's disappearnce, said;
“It seems unbelievable that, in a case that looks so complex and currently unexplained, that any authority could effectively close it down without even waiting for full reports. The idea that Nóra went off, on her own, seems incredibly unlikely. This family need answers and at least deserve an investigation to the greatest lengths available. We are urgently seeking answers from various authorities – Nóra’s death needs to be explained.”
Anyone wishing to donate in Nóra’s memory can do so here.
See More: Inquest, Malaysia, Nora Quoirin, Statement
