Nora Anne's case: UK expert concurs with post-mortem on cause of death

A forensic pathologist appointed by the United Kingdom's Coroner concurred with the Malaysian post-mortem report on Irish-French teenager Nora Anne Quoirin's cause of death - duodenal ulceration, perforation and haemorrhage as a result of starvation and physiological stress.

In his six-page witness statement, Dr Nathaniel Roger Blair Cary, 63, noted that based on his own examination of the teenager's body in the UK on Aug 28 last year, and on the findings of his Malaysian counterparts, he also found no sign of sexual assault on the teenager.

“As to the findings on the internal organs, there was no underlying natural disease that caused or contributed to death," he said adding that, however, he was unable to do more due to the body’s decomposed state, especially as he conducted the examination 15 days after the body was found.

“I have seen the copy of the pathologist report from Malaysia by Dr Siew Sheue Feng and Dr Hanif Mahmud (both forensic pathology experts), that there was a thorough examination. I was satisfied that there was evidence of duodenal ulceration, perforation and haemorrhage on the basis of a detailed description provided.”

Cary, who is the 41st witness at the inquest to determine the cause of Nora Anne's death, said this when testifying on the 20th day of the proceedings before Coroner Maimoonah Aid. The proceedings yesterday continued online.

He said initially upon examining the teenager’s genitalia, excluding sexual assault was not possible as it was decomposed.

“However, my further examination of the labia majora did not show any evidence of bruising at all and the subcutaneous tissues were well preserved,” he added.

No positive evidence of sexual assault

Asked by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Sazali Omar, who is acting as the inquest coordinating officer, whether this finding indicated that there was no positive forensic evidence of sexual assault like stated in the Malaysian post-mortem report, Cary said he agreed.

“I am unable to exclude it from my examination alone, but if one adopts the Malaysian pathologist report and in my opinion the examination had been very thorough, I agree that there is no positive evidence,” he said.

Ahmad Sazali: If there was an element of foul play, would you have found it on the body of Nora Anne?

Cary: Many types of foul play signs will be apparent in any case, but it seems to me the overriding cause of death was like what was discovered by the Malaysian pathologists, which was intestinal bleeding.

Ahmad Sazali: I mean physical assault defensive wound.

Cary: My examination was very limited due to the decomposing state of the body, but the first pathologists were in a much better position to give an opinion on that.

Nora Anne, 15, went missing on Aug 4, a day after she and her family arrived in Malaysia for a two-week holiday at a resort in Pantai, Seremban, about 60km south of Kuala Lumpur.

On Aug 13, 10 days after she went missing, her body was found near a creek at a ravine, about 2.5km from the resort where she and her family stayed, following a massive search.

The preliminary post-mortem report stated that the death of the teenager with disabilities, had no criminal element, and she was confirmed dead from gastrointestinal bleeding due to prolonged hunger and stress.

The inquest will continue on Dec 7.

- Bernama