TEENAGER Nóra Quoirin had no injuries to suggest she was attacked or restrained, an inquest into her death in Malaysia has heard.
The 15-year-old, whose mother is from Belfast, vanished from an eco-resort near Seremban, about 40 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, on August 3 last year.
Her body was found in a palm-oil plantation around 1.5 miles away on August 13.
Nóra's family, who live in London, have always insisted she would not wander off alone. She was born with holoprosencephaly, a disorder which affects brain development.
A pathologist in the UK who carried out a second post-mortem examination said there were "superficial scratches" on her limbs but no "superimposed wounding".
He added it was likely she had died of natural causes.
A post-mortem examination carried out by Malaysian authorities the day after her body was discovered found that Nóra had died from internal bleeding, probably caused by hunger and stress.
A second examination was then carried out in the UK by Dr Nathaniel Cary at the request of the family, the inquest was told.
The senior consultant forensic pathologist told the inquest Nóra's body had been "severely decomposed" by the time he saw it on August 28 but he had found "no evidence of any injuries of assault or restraint".
Dr Cary told Seremban Coroner's Court the state of the 15-year-old's body had meant he could not independently confirm a cause of death.
However, he said he was "satisfied" there was evidence of "ulceration, perforation and haemorrhage" to Nóra's intestine which could have been caused by "starvation and physiological stress".
The cause of death given by the Malaysian forensic pathologists was "reasonable and well argued", he said.
Dr Cary said the cause of death was straightforward to him, But he said the difficulty was in the circumstances of the death.
The inquest continues.
