Judge in Malaysia overturns inquest verdict of misadventure in Nóra Quoirin case

Clara Kelly

Her family believe she was abducted with her body being subsequently “placed in the jungle”.

A Malaysian judge has overturned an inquest verdict in the case of the death of 15-year-old Nóra Quoirin to an open ruling.

Nóra was discovered dead in a Malaysian jungle while on holiday with her family, nine days after she went missing from an eco-resort in August of 2019.

The change in verdict leaves open the possibility of criminal involvement in the case as the Quoirin family have continued to campaign on Nóra’s behalf following her tragic death.

Nóra’s mother has said that she believes her daughter was abducted, with her body being subsequently “placed in the jungle”.

Overturning the original ruling, High Court Judge Azizul Adnan said there was “no creditable evidence to support any other verdict”.

“I am of the view the verdict of misadventure ought to be vacated in the interests of justice and substituted as an open verdict,” he said.

The initial verdict returned in January indicated that Nóra’s death was accidental.

According to a coroner, the Irish teenager who was born with holoprosencephaly, a disorder that affects brain development, died of “misadventure”.

15-year-old Nóra was reported missing last August and her remains were discovered 10 days later, approximately two kilometres from where she was last seen. An autopsy showed she died from prolonged hunger and stress.

At the time, Malaysian police closed the case and deemed “no further action” was to be taken. An inquest was later called as Nóra’s parents, Meabh and Sebastian, looked for “more answers”.

The inquest found that there was “no one involved in the death of Nora Anne,” as coroner Maimoonah Aid ruled that “it is more probable than not that she died by misadventure”.

She added that the inquest found no evidence of homicide or sexual assault and that Nora likely wandered outside her room in a “strange and new place”.

Nóra’s family said at the time that they were “utterly disappointed” by the inquest’s verdict.

“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,” they said.

“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.”

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