On Thursday, Malaysian officials revealed that foul play likely wasn’t involved in the death of Nora Quoirin, the 15-year-old London girl whose body was discovered in the jungle on Tuesday, 10 days after her disappearance.
According to CNN, Negeri Sembilan state police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop told reporters that Quoirin had bruises on her leg but there was no evidence suggesting the teen was abducted or raped. Investigators said Quoirin, who vanished from the Dusun resort on August 4, had been dead two to three days before hikers found her body.
“The main reason for her death is intestinal damage, the intestine was punctured, which could be due to starvation for a long period of time and could also be due to prolonged stress,” Yusop explained.
The BBC reported that Quoirin was found naked and in an area that crews had previously searched.
A man who was part of the crew who found Quoirin reportedly claimed her body wasn’t obscured or covered by foliage—fueling questions about why she wasn’t found earlier.
“It looked like she was sleeping. Her head was resting on her hands,” Sean Yeap told the Daily Mail, recalling the moment he found the missing teen. “But we all knew she was dead.”
Yeap said that the place was not easy to access and that he believed Quoirin had walked to a stream to drink water.
Before the discovery of the teen’s body, her parents said she wouldn’t have wandered off alone, and feared she was abducted.
According to CNN, Quoirin’s family said she was “vulnerable” due to “learning and developmental disabilities.” The teen reportedly had holoprosencephaly, which the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) describes as a rare developmental disorder where the embryonic forebrain doesn’t properly divide into two lobes.
Yusop said the girl’s family is allowed to take her body home, adding that additional tests will be completed using samples taken from her body.
In a statement issued to The Guardian, Quoirin’s parents lamented the death of their daughter, whom they called the “truest, most precious girl.”
“We would like to thank all the people that have been searching for Nora and trying their best to find her. We thank the local people here and those far and wide for their prayers and support at this time,” they said.
“Nora has brought people together, especially from France, Ireland, Britain, and Malaysia, united in their love and support for her and her family. She has truly touched the whole world.”
[Featured image: Nora Quoirin/Family handout]
