Singapore - A 15-year-old teenager, whose body was found in a
ravine in Malaysia after a ten-day-long search, died from
gastrointestinal bleeding caused by starvation, autopsy results
showed.
"[Nora Anne Quoirin's] cause of death is gastrointestinal bleeding
due to duodenal ulcer complicated by perforation," authorities told
reporters in a press conference on Thursday.
The 12-hour-long forensic exam showed the teenager had been dead for
2 to 3 days before her naked body was discovered in a ravine 2.5
kilometres from where she went missing. The autopsy found no evidence
of rape.
Authorities also said that "for the time being" they had found no
elements suggesting the Irish-French teen was abducted or kidnapped.
Quoirin was reported missing from her hotel room by her family on
August 4 at Dusun Resort in the south-western state of Negeri
Sembilan, about 80 kilometres from Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
Her body was found on Tuesday afternoon and was subsequently taken to
hospital by helicopter for identification.
The discovery of Quoirin's body concluded a frantic search that
involved aboriginal tribe members, local volunteers, hundreds of
firemen and police forces from Malaysia, Ireland, Britain and France.
Quoirin's disappearance had baffled investigators, who initially
struggled to find concrete evidence pointing to her potential
whereabouts.
The search for the teen was hampered by the fact that she suffered
from holoprosencephaly, a disorder that causes learning and
developmental disabilities.
Quoirin lived with her family in London but carried dual Irish and
French citizenship.