Kuala Lumpur: The death of a teenage Dutch model who fell naked from an upmarket apartment allegedly after drug-fuelled group s*x, is being treated as murder, Malaysian police said.
Ivana Smit tumbled from the 20th floor of a Kuala Lumpur apartment and landed on a sixth floor balcony in December 2017.
Her death hogged headlines after claims emerged that 18-year-old Smit, the American living there and his Kazakh wife consumed huge quantity of drugs and alcohol and had group s*x.
Police initially dismissed suggestions of foul play and a coroner ruled earlier this year that no one was criminally involved, while conceding there was likely a struggle before she fell.
Smit’s family, however, filed 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.
On Wednesday, police announced that the death of Smit, who reportedly lived in Malaysia since childhood, had been reclassified as murder and they were re-launching the investigations.
A taskforce will be formed for the case, said Huzir Mohamed, head of the police criminal investigation department.
“We’ll recall witnesses from whom the statements have been recorded. Besides, we’ll call witnesses who were yet to be interviewed,” he said.
The couple in question is said to have left the country.
Agencies