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The family of a British teen with special needs whose body was discovered in the woods outside the Malaysian resort is suing the owner for negligence, maintaining that the young girl was abducted.
Nora Anne Quoirin, 15, was staying with her family at the Dusun eco-resort, located in a durian orchard next to a forest reserve 39 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, when she was reported missing on Aug. 4, 2019.
This undated photo released by The Lucie Blackman Trust/Family shows Nora Anne Quoirin. (The Lucie Blackman Trust/Family via AP)
Nearly two weeks later, the young girl’s body was discovered, naked, alongside a small stream roughly a mile away from the family’s cottage.
Nora’s family and police have been at odds over her death, with the family claiming she was abducted and that her mental and physical disabilities prevented her from wandering off on her own.
According to the lawsuit, which is seeking $44,000 in damages, on the morning the girl disappeared a cottage window was found open with its latch broken. The resort gate was also left open at all times without any security and there was no surveillance camera, except for the reception area, the lawsuit stated.
A member of a rescue team conducts a search and rescue operation for a missing British girl at a forest in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, Aug. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)
Nora had poor motor skills and needed help to walk. Her mental age was about 5 or 6 years old, her parents said in the claim.
“The place was not safe for the child because of the negligence ...anybody could have come in and taken the child," the family’s lawyer, Sankara Nair, told reporters outside a court in Negeri Sembilan after a procedural session on the case.
However, police have said there was no sign the teen was abducted or raped, with a preliminary autopsy showing the 15-year-old succumbed to intestinal bleeding due to starvation and stress.
She was said to have died some two or three days before her body was discovered on Aug. 14 by a massive search party.
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Nora’s family is also appealing to the government for an inquest to determine what happened to her after Malaysian prosecutors classified Nora's death as “no further action” based on the preliminary coroner's report.
“It is crucial to understand how Nora came to be found where she was. As a vulnerable child, with significant physical and mental challenges, we strongly refute any conclusion that Nora was alone for the entire duration of her disappearance," a statement from her parents read.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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