Nora Quoirin inquest – family disappointed by verdict

The family of a London schoolgirl found dead during a holiday in a Malaysian jungle said they were “utterly disappointed” in a coroner’s verdict of death through misadventure.

Nora Quoirin, 15, was discovered dead nine days after she went missing from the resort in August 2019.

Her family said testimony during the inquest in the south-east Asian state showed she was abducted, and branded Monday’s official findings “incomplete”.

Their statement added: “Once again we see that justice struggles to support the most vulnerable in society – only engaging with special needs at a surface level – and not at the level that truly reflects children like Nora.”

Coroner Maimoonah Aid’s verdict means Nora’s death was ruled accidental rather than criminal.

The teenager was born with holoprosencephaly – a disorder which affects brain development.

Her family added: “We believe we have fought not just for Nora but in honour of all the special needs children in this world who deserve our most committed support and the most careful application of justice.

“This is Nora’s unique legacy and we will never let it go.”

Her relatives recognised there was no physical evidence to aid the coroner.

“Nonetheless, we are utterly disappointed by the coroner’s verdict of misadventure.

“We witnessed 80 slides presented to the court today, none of which engaged with who Nora really was – neither her personality nor her intellectual abilities.

“The verdict focused exclusively on physical evidence and physical mobility – which we believe, presents a very incomplete/select theory on how Nora came about her death.”

Nora disappeared from her family’s cottage at the Dusun eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state on August 4 2019, a day after they arrived for a holiday. After a massive search, her naked body was found on August 13 beside a stream on a palm oil estate just under two miles from the resort.

Nora’s mother is from Belfast.