AN INQUEST into the death of 15-year-old Nora Quoirin has been opened in Malaysia, one year after she died while on a family holiday.
The French-Irish teen, who had learning difficulties and a mental age of around six years old, disappeared from the holiday resort on 4 August 2019, the day after she and her family arrived.
Her disappearance sparked a massive search operation in the jungle where the resort was situated, but after nine days of searching, Nora's body was tragically found in the jungle about 2.5 kilometres away.
An autopsy showed the teenager died from intestinal bleeding caused by starvation and stress, and Malaysian police said there was no sign of foul play in her disappearance and subsequent death, and that there was "no further action" required in the investigation.
However, her parents, Sebastien and Meabh, have always maintained that their daughter would not have wandered from their cottage due to her physical and mental disabilities and believe she was abducted.
Nóra Quoirin vanished from the Malaysian resort in which she and her family were staying in August 2019.The inquest, which opens today and will run until 4 September, will involve 64 witnesses including a British doctor who performed a second autopsy on the teenager, The Irish Times reports.
The family's lawyer, S Sakthyvell, confirmed Nora's family and the doctor coould not travel to Malaysia for the inquest due to coronavirus restrictions, but will testify via video link.
Meabh and Sebastien Quorin have sued the Malaysian resort for alleged negligence, citing a lack of security at the resort and a window, found ajar with a broken latch, found on the morning of their daughter's disappearance.
They said the inquest will be "crucial in determining the fullest possible picture of what happened to Nora and how her case was deal with", according to AP.
