Dutch model who fell naked from 20th-floor balcony 'was murdered'
Ivana Smit, 18, fell from a Kuala Lumpur condominium after drug-fuelled sexual activities
KUALA LUMPUR:
The death of a teenage Dutch model who fell naked from an upmarket apartment, allegedly after drug-fuelled sexual activities, is being treated as murder, Malaysian police said.
Ivana Smit tumbled from the 20th floor of a Kuala Lumpur condominium and landed on a sixth floor balcony in December 2017.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcOyhJClaz3/
Her death made headlines after claims emerged that just prior to her death plunge, the 18-year-old Smit had spent time with an American cryptocurrency dealer and his Kazakh wife consuming large quantities of drugs and alcohol and then engaged in group sex.
Police had dismissed suggestions of foul play with a coroner ruling earlier this year that no one was criminally involved, while conceding there was likely a struggle before she fell.
Model Iqra Saeed allegedly murdered in Lahore
But Smit's family lodged a legal challenge and the High Court last week overturned the coroner's decision, ruling that "persons known or unknown" were involved and ordered a new probe.
Police announced that the death of Smit, who reportedly lived in Malaysia since childhood, had been reclassified as murder and they were re-opening the investigation.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcCKPJwlok4/
A task force will be formed for the case, said Huzir Mohamed, head of the police's criminal investigation department.
"We will recall witnesses from whom we have taken statements, and call witnesses who were not previously interviewed," he said.
Police did not say who they planned to question. The couple linked to the case are reported to have left the country.
The death of a teenage Dutch model who fell naked from an upmarket apartment, allegedly after drug-fuelled sexual activities, is being treated as murder, Malaysian police said.
Ivana Smit tumbled from the 20th floor of a Kuala Lumpur condominium and landed on a sixth floor balcony in December 2017.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcOyhJClaz3/
Her death made headlines after claims emerged that just prior to her death plunge, the 18-year-old Smit had spent time with an American cryptocurrency dealer and his Kazakh wife consuming large quantities of drugs and alcohol and then engaged in group sex.
Police had dismissed suggestions of foul play with a coroner ruling earlier this year that no one was criminally involved, while conceding there was likely a struggle before she fell.
Model Iqra Saeed allegedly murdered in Lahore
But Smit's family lodged a legal challenge and the High Court last week overturned the coroner's decision, ruling that "persons known or unknown" were involved and ordered a new probe.
Police announced that the death of Smit, who reportedly lived in Malaysia since childhood, had been reclassified as murder and they were re-opening the investigation.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcCKPJwlok4/
A task force will be formed for the case, said Huzir Mohamed, head of the police's criminal investigation department.
"We will recall witnesses from whom we have taken statements, and call witnesses who were not previously interviewed," he said.
Police did not say who they planned to question. The couple linked to the case are reported to have left the country.