Parents of Nóra Quoirin: ‘There was a criminal element to what happened’

Nóra Quoirin’s parents have spoken out for the first time since her death in an interview with RTÉ News, and have said they want “truth and justice” over the death of their daughter.

Meabh and Sebastian Quoirin told RTÉ that they want “truth and justice” for their daughter, and called on the Malaysian authorities to carry out an inquest into her disappearance and death.

Speaking publicly in an interview with RTÉ News for the first time since Nora was tragically found dead, her parents say she deserves justice and highlighted a number of inconsistencies that occurred during the investigation into her disappearance.

Irish citizen Nóra Quoirin went missing on Sunday, August 4th, after arriving at The Dusun resort near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Related: Everything we know so far about the Nóra Quoirin case

Her disappearance sparked a massive 10-day search in the jungle. It sadly came to a tragic end on Tuesday, August 13th when her body was discovered in a ravine beside a stream 2km from the resort.

Malaysian police have revealed that, according to an autopsy, teenager Nóra Quoirin died of internal bleeding in her intestine, which was likely caused by “hunger or extreme stress” but her parents have said that all evidence doesn’t point to it being so simple, due to Nóra being born with Holoprosencephaly – a rare congenital disorder which left her struggling to walk and balance normally.

Related: What the tragic loss of Nóra Quoirin has reminded us about sisterhood

Meabh Quoirin told RTÉ that it would have been “impossible physically and mentally to imagine that she could have got any distance at all.”

The parents of Nóra Quoirin have told RTÉ News that they want “truth and justice” for their daughter – @jackiefox_ reports | https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/1217/1101725-we-want-truth-and-justice-for-nora-quoirin-family/ pic.twitter.com/Mz3eMjnzkX

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 17, 2019

“We have insisted from the beginning that we believe there was a criminal element to what happened… and crucially we’re struggling because it was difficult to get resources in place fast enough to explore a criminal angle.

Related: Autopsy finds that Nóra Quoirin died of ‘hunger or extreme stress’

“We believe that crucial time and evidence was lost in the beginning”

“While a postmortem when it comes through may give us answers, and has already given us some basic answers around what caused Nóra’s death, it doesn’t explain any of how she could possibly have got to where she was found.

“We really believe that is going to be difficult to get the whole truth on, but it’s important to try.

“We will carry Nóra with us forever. She’s with us here every day. I talk to her every day. She holds my hand. We hear her, we see her in all that we do at home.”

Main photograph: The Lucie Blackman Trust/ the Quoirin family