Since following this case, there’s been a frustrating lack of information. Very few photos of the resort were released, and very little information has been made freely available to contextualize the scene. Has this been by accident, or by design?
The images released by the authorities of the window [the imputed exit point when Nora supposedly wandered off] were from such a wide angle, it was difficult to see any artifacts either on the inside or outside of the windows. There was also only a limited view inside the bungalow.
As a result of extensive digging and dogged research it’s been a slow process to start piecing the Quoirin accomodations together.
Having done so, it now appears unlikely that Nora slept upstairs at all. The parents and siblings told police Nora slept close to them, upstairs [see screengrab below]. But is this accurate? If it is, why didn’t they hear her move out of the room? The bungalows upstairs have wooden floors. So if she was sleeping right beside them, how couldn’t they hear her?
We also know the children were later not allowed to communicate any further with investigators as a result of “legal advice”. The family lawyered up as early as Day 2 of Nora’s disappearance. Missing from the British or Irish coverage of the case was this snippet of intelligence published in the Malay Mail on August 7th, and sent to me courtesy of @McCannCaseTweet [who’s also been cautiously studying this case].
These [see below] are the upstairs living quarters. Enough to sleep two or three people. [Nora was on holiday with her parents, and two younger siblings, a brother and a sister as reported in The Mirror on August 7th].
With her spatial difficulties, she would have struggled to navigate the spiral staircase between the upstairs and downstairs level, especially at night.
It was never explicitly stated where Nora slept, if she was upstairs with her parents or with her siblings, but one assumed it was with her siblings. It was clearly implied that she slept upstairs on August 3rd, and that she was the most tired after their long trip.
But the police believed – correctly – that Nora probably didn’t sleep upstairs, despite what the parents and perhaps Nora’s siblings had told the Malaysian authorities. This comes from The Sun, August 9th.
Below is a clear view from the inside towards the kitchen window. It shows a bedroom in the double-story Sora House. If this is accurate, Nora was left to sleep on her own, while the family – the Quoirin couple and her younger siblings – all slept upstairs.
Edit: It appears more likely one or both parents slept downstairs in this room and presumably in this bed.
If Nora woke up at night and went looking for her family, would they have heard her? And isn’t that why she might have wandered off in the first place – because she was in a strange place, in the dark, looking for her mom and dad, brother and sister, couldn’t them and horribly lost in the process?
The Sora House appears to be the biggest of the six units offered by the resort.
Was this vertiginous setup of structures connected by stilts and staircases really the ideal setting for a child with Nora’s developmental difficulties and cognitive vulnerabilities?
I think she must have slept downstairs. Surely if she had got up in the night it would have woken one or both siblings. Would she have clattered and banged about upstairs looking for her parents. I am assuming Nora would have no understanding of being quiet when she woke so would have just gone to find her parents probably making some noise.
It does look likely she couldn’t find her parents and went looking via the window. I also wondered if Nora was attracted to the sound of running water
Her body was reportedly found by a wasserfall that she was keen on visiting. It’s not unheard of for a teenager to go off on walkabout in the mid of the night, but how the *ell did she manage to find her way to that particular spot with her apparent spatial/cognitive problems? Did an abductor dump her there, and how would he have known it was a place she wanted to visit ?
“Was this vertiginous setup of structures connected by stilts and staircases really the ideal setting for a child with Nora’s developmental difficulties and cognitive vulnerabilities?”
The answer is a resounding “Absolutely not!” and I seriously wonder what was going on in those parents’ heads when they decided on *that* place for a family vacation. I simply cannot fathom deciding *that* resort was the ideal numero uno out of every possible place in the world. Just bizarre.
Where Nora was finally found, was it *downhill* from the house where the family was staying? Because that is the obvious natural trajectory if she was lost – given her poor coordination and spatial abilities, she’d simply follow the pull of gravity.
Wasn’t the Sora House open air from.sitting room to terrace to forest. You could simply walk right out or walk right in. Read comments on TripAdvisor from other guests. Also due to humidity doors and windows could not lock in other lodges.
That’s a fascinating insight. Do you think you could copy the link to that particular comment you saw about doors not being able to close? The media did report later that a downstairs door was open. Not sure if that meant unlocked or literally open.
Wouldn’t “in the water” be the best place to dump a body if there were foul play? I would think the decomposition would be hastened and it would be more likely that the remains would simply disappear than if her corpse were simply left on the ground. And “buried in a shallow grave” removes all question of whether or not there had been foul play, just as Chris Watts’ disposal of the bodies of his children and wife establishes his guilt beyond question.
Yes. In fact where children are molested, especially within families, hiding bodies in water is a typical tactic. I’m not suggesting that happened here though. On Day 10, a few hours before the body was found, it seemed unlikely that she was still in the immediate area. I suspected she may have been washed away down the river during a downpour, and was thus out of the reach of the search grid. I think I tweeted, search the water courses.
https://twitter.com/CrimeRocket/status/1161070994628517888
Literally a few hours later she was found downstream of the waterfall, not as far as I’ve imagined, but clearly the route of the stream played a factor in the topography and the span of time of the disappearance.
https://twitter.com/CrimeRocket/status/1161194382307074048
Well done, sir!
Tripadvisor review page 23 and page 10 mention not being able to close or lock windows. Manager explains humidity causes wood to expand. Open air concept hotel. One guest mentions on public notice board dispute between local residents and resort operators over noise. Review page7 Although this could be for all resorts.Tragically as Malay minister says untraditional lodgings need research from tourists.
These places are wonderful to stay close to nature but I guess there are risks being so open to.elements. No staff on premises apart from.owners after 7pm. No security staff.
Thanks to MGield’s comment above, I decided to go peruse some of the reviews for this resort. Apparently “Dusun” means “durian orchard”. But here are the main comments of interest – entire review copied below:
“-the place i stayed at (Sora House) was a little run down and nothing like in the picture on the website, 2 kitchenn cabinet doors were broken, downlights dangling.”
“-Light in the second toilet is too dim, have to bring torch light in when using it at night. In the day time though its a nicely natural light lit place.”
“- As a result, there will be plenty of dead insects on the floor come morning and many get squirminsh about this.Going to washroom in the middle of the night is like the insect scene in Indiana Jones and the temple of doom.”
“- My review is confined to Sora House and i was told there are much nicer houses here that you could check out. Sora House is really open to nature with the entire front of the house facing the forest (completely open, no way to close even at night).”
In the tropics, housing is not built *tight* as it is in places that have winter. When it’s warm year round, there are cracks and crevices where bugs and critters can scurry in – I experienced this myself when I lived in the islands. From a response to this review (link at bottom):
“Our houses are designed to be open, which many guests love.”
A different review of a different lodging described:
“Our accomodation was delightful – an airy, luxury “pondok” – a traditional style cabin, well appointed with ceiling fans, mosquito nets and mosquito vape units.”
I didn’t see any mosquito netting in the photos from Sora House. What would poor Nora have thought if she’d been asleep or trying to sleep and a large flying beetle bonked into her forehead?
Here’s the whole thing – notice that this review is from May of this year:
faridology wrote a review May 2019
137 contributions40 helpful votes
Fell short, way short of what was expected
I don’t understand the 200 people who rated this place as very good or excellent. I wonder if we went to the same place of May be at different tine points. It finally struck me that they may have stayed at one of the different houses at The Dusun. I stayed at Dora House and this review us only on sora House.
The good: nature, cool(ish) weather, nice pools, friendly staff. The bed is really comfortable.It was peaceful, tranquil and i enjoyed it much to the dismay of my friends. The hosts were generous with their butter, spices are that we needed for cooking.
Areas for improvement:
-the toilets need better cleaning (there were mould marks under the toilet seat),
-the place i stayed at (Sora House) was a little run down and nothing like in the picture on the website, 2 kitchenn cabinet doors were broken, downlights dangling.
– general housekeeping needs serious attention. Mouldy extra bed left in the closet, dusty sofa which needs to be better cleaned (dust and gecko poop and dried rice in sofa crevices).
– The food in the kitchen is average at best. Its decent and simple but a shame because they could be serving up local Negri dishes instead of some strange things.
-Flies are everywhere, especially when you are preparing your food in the kitchen.
-Light in the second toilet is too dim, have to bring torch light in when using it at night. In the day time though its a nicely natural light lit place.
To be aware/take note of:
– this is nature so expect plenty of insects, moths, dragonfly the size of your thumb, cicada, beetles, bees, hornets, wasps and yes mosquitoes. Great if you want to collect moths and insects.
– As a result, there will be plenty of dead insects on the floor come morning and many get squirminsh about this.Going to washroom in the middle of the night is like the insect scene in Indiana Jones and the temple of doom.
– A side effect of the insects is the geckos- big fat geckos- waiting to devour the insects; you will see gecko poop everywhere from dusk till dawn. Time to reassess your love of the nature.
– Also, we had a run-in with rats on the forst night and there were rat droppings everywhere including dinner table, kitchen counter etc the next morning. The staff took care of it and we didnt have rat problem after that. This is normal considering rats come into the picture when foods are discarded inappropriately, which tells you something about housekeeping and cleanliness. The proprietor informed us that rats are rare but we read in other reviews that its quite common here.
– bring your own food as backup (dried noodles, etc).
– the in-roim amenities like oven etc may not be available. Ask, don’t assume. Also, the amenities are old and very used.
– My review is confined to Sora House and i was told there are much nicer houses here that you could check out. Sora House is really open to nature with the entire front of the house facing the forest (completely open, no way to close even at night).
Overall, i found the value for money to fall short. For almost MYR1000 a night i would have expected better but then again i should have read the other entries in tripadvisor (although some of them are a little too harsh). MYR500-600 a night would have been fair. I was told Awan Mulan and Tanah Aina are much better choices and thats where my next trip is going to be. Glamping could be an alternative too. I wont recommend this place to a friend. However if the hosts/management fixed all the shortcomings I would seriously think of going again with the gang of friends
Date of stay: May 2019
Trip type: Traveled with friends
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298290-d1567592-Reviews-or5-The_Dusun-Seremban_Seremban_District_Negeri_Sembilan.html#REVIEWS
Why are the media not reporting facts about the open air nature of The Desun? I have read no accurate reporting of the accommodation styles.
Only an article in the Malay Mail.from the minister talks about how resorts should be responsible for security. He also.adds that tourists need to understand where they are staying when they choose untraditional lodgings. These tragedies are rare thank god and lots of us have stayed in these great open air places. Most people and kids stay safe. Bit it is a warning that bad things can happen on holiday.
I *suppose* stupid decisions aren’t *necessarily* criminally chargeable…
Search crews had played her mother’s voice in the dense forest of the Negeri Sembilan area near where she disappeared. Quoirin could be heard saying: “Nora, darling, Nora, I love you, Mum is here,” on the recording.