PRESS RELEASE - NÓRA QUOIRIN – FAMILY RESPOND TO INQUEST VERDICT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The family of Nóra Quoirin, whose body was tragically found in Malaysia after disappearing from the family holiday resort in August 2019, today released the following statement after the Malaysian Coroner delivered their verdict.
They said;
Today is a significant day in the fight for justice for our beloved Nóra. Our legal team has worked tirelessly, against all odds, to bring the truth to light in a case previously declared as NFA (no further action).
We have fought for this Inquest because while the medical cause of Nóra’s death was never in question, it was crucial to establish, insofar as is possible, how Nóra came about her death. We wanted to truly understand the full extent of Malaysian police SAR & criminal missions but also to ensure Nóra’s story was fully expressed.
We wish to communicate that our lawyers asked the Coroner to return an Open Verdict. For clarity – this is “a verdict in its own right, indicating that the evidence is insufficient to satisfy any other conclusions. { } In other cases there may be a suspicion that foul play is involved but no proof to the required level.”
We still believe this is the only appropriate verdict because, throughout the testimonies presented in this case, layers of (professional) evidence have confirmed what we always believed – that Nóra was abducted. These layers include:
-an opened window, with unidentified foreign prints found on the outside, that has not and cannot be, explained by any other means. As we have repeatedly (ourselves, and professionals who knew Nóra intimately) testified – Nóra had neither the cognitive, nor physical means to leave our chalet by the window
-hundreds of volunteers and significant numbers of highly trained personnel searched relentlessly the surrounding area, including where Nóra was found, on the day of or immediately preceding the day of her death. They found no signs of human life
-professionally trained canines were unable to follow Nóra’s scent
-there is much lost DNA evidence including that which was due to the time lapse between Nóra’s death and her being found, her exposure to the elements and the fact that she was found in water
-there remains the possibility of sexual assault (excepting violent assault)
-Nóra’s highly submissive nature rules out any signs of a struggle
-the lack of major physical damage to Nóra’s body despite her inability to handle terrain as complex as the Seremban jungle and, as a related point, Nóra’s total fear of leaving any familiar adult or surroundings
In any major case of conscience, such as this, there always comes a point when it is important to do what is right, not what is easy. We have always recognised that there was no physical evidence to aid our Inquest. Nonetheless, we are utterly disappointed by the Coroner’s verdict of misadventure. We witnessed 80 slides presented to the court today, none of which engaged with who Nóra really was – neither her personality nor her intellectual abilities. The verdict focused exclusively on physical evidence and physical mobility – which we believe, presents a very incomplete/select theory on how Nóra came about her death.
The Coroner made mention several times of her inability to rule on certain points due to not knowing Nóra enough. It is indeed our view that to know Nóra would be to know that she was simply incapable of hiding in undergrowth, climbing out a window and/or making her way out of a fenced resort in the darkness unclothed (all of which were presented today as probable theory).
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 Nóra.
We believe we have fought not just for Nóra 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 Nóra’s unique legacy and we will never let it go.”
The charity for British nationals in crisis overseas, LBT Global, has been supporting the family since Nóra’s disappearance and continues to do so. The charity’s Chief Executive, Matthew Searle MBE, said;
“This is a hugely disappointing day for the family. It is clear that Nóra could not have physically carried out the movements suggested. It is crucial that to deliver a comprehensive verdict the coroner would have to have fully taken into account Nora’s condition – that they did so is not immediately apparent. We will support the family tirelessly as they move forward.”
ENDS