Northern Ireland

Father of Nóra Quoirin tells inquest that his daughter would not have had the 'stamina or the strength' to be on the move for days

An inquest into the death of schoolgirl, Nora Quoirin (15), whose naked body was found in Malaysia last August while she was on holiday in the country with her family, is currently taking place
An inquest into the death of schoolgirl, Nora Quoirin (15), whose naked body was found in Malaysia last August while she was on holiday in the country with her family, is currently taking place An inquest into the death of schoolgirl, Nora Quoirin (15), whose naked body was found in Malaysia last August while she was on holiday in the country with her family, is currently taking place

THE father of Nóra Quoirin, who was found dead near a Malaysian resort after vanishing while on holiday, has said his daughter would not have had the stamina to survive for days in the jungle.

Sebastien Quoirin also told the inquest into his daughter Nóra's death that the condition of the 15-year-old's body did not support the police theory that she ventured out of the family's cottage on her own, walked and hid in the forest.

He said he had visited the area where Nóra's body was found, which involved a drive out of the resort and another hour of walking along a rocky stream in dense and slippery terrain.

The teenager, whose mother, Meabh is from Belfast, disappeared from her family's cottage at the Dusun eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state on August 4 last year, a day after her family arrived for their holiday.

A massive search took place and the schoolgirl's naked body was found on August 13 beside a stream in a palm oil estate about 1.6 miles from the resort.

Her family believes she was abducted because she had mental and physical disabilities and could not have wandered off on her own.

Police told the inquest that an investigation showed no criminal activity and no indication Nóra had been abducted. Officers believe she climbed out of a window on her own and the post mortem examination showed she had succumbed to intestinal bleeding due to starvation and stress.

Sebastien Quoirin this week told his daughter's inquest that he did not believe "she would have coped at all... she didn't have a survival instinct".

Speaking via video-link from the family home in London, he said: "I don't believe Nóra would have had the stamina or the strength to be on the move for...days.

"Nóra would not know what to eat, she would be seriously dehydrated... she would be very weak."

Mr Quoirin, who is originally from France, also said that when he and his wife identified Nóra's body, her feet "didn't seem to be particularly damaged" and were only dirty.

"I try to think how was it possible since the police told us Nóra has been on the move," he said.

"I am not an expert but to us, Nora's body didn't seem compatible of someone wandering off in the jungle, half naked without shoes," he said.