It’s almost a week after Nora was found dead in the Malaysian jungle, laid down beside a stream “as if she was sleeping”. We’ve not heard anything from the family since then, except to be redirected to their spokesman, and the case seems all but closed.
Given the lack of communication from the parents after Nora was found, all we really have to go on are the two press conferences given while the family was asking the world to look for their daughter, and give them money towards continuing the search for her. Money is still being raised, incidentally, and the figure raised now stands at £ 105,255.
There are at least three different camera angles for the press conference Meabh Quoirin gave on August 12th, the day before Nora’s body was found. Meabh is a skilled speaker, as her TedX videos and other marketing appearances demonstrate. This explains why she addressed the media rather than her husband Sebastien.
In the clip below we won’t do statement analysis, and we want do body language analysis in any detail. What we’re going to observe is one thing, and one thing only – the dynamic between the parents. Do they make eye contact? Do they speak to one another?
Watch carefully, and pay particular attention to the last few seconds, when the couple stands up and leaves the room.
It’s clear Sebastien looks to his left a few times, and looks at his wife and her notes. She never looks at him or acknowledges him. In the other video, he also steps forward to soothe her and rub her arm, and she also ignores him.
When the couple stand up, Sebastien tries to move his plastic chair out of the way. This is the only time Meabh seems to be aware of him. She looks down at the obstacle in her way, then wordlessly, without making eye contact, heads to the door. She later warmly shakes the hand of Zakara before the clip ends.
What are we to make of this?
In terms of optics, we see Sebastien sitting with a slight gap between himself and his wife. His wife is closer to Zakara than she is to her husband. Sebastien is barely sitting behind the table during the conference. In a sense he appears to be an outsider, or an onlooker. Yet it was Sebastien who found his daughter missing.
We also note a little emotion at one stage from Meabh, when she refers to Nora being “precious to us”, but virtually no emotion from Sebastien. This was Day 9 in their daughter’s disappearance, and neither of them seem to have shed one tear.
What are we to make of this?
More: Nora Quoirin cops ‘took desperate family to medium who pleaded with spirits to return missing teen’ during flawed search – The Sun
Police deny taking Nora Quoirin’s parents to meet mediums during search – Malay Mail
Pingback: Nora Quoirin Blame Game Heats Up in Media War | True Crime Rocket Science II
Is Nora Sebastien’s biological child with Meahb, or not?
Also why are they fundraising – to launch some kind of criminal investigation to point away from any responsibility they may have had in her wandering death?
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They have got a bit of that vibe that happens when you’ve had an argument and you’ve got to remain civilised in public but are still angry/not speaking to each other!. Also her voice is very mechanical, almost robotic like a voice synthesiser.
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No, they do not make eye contact or speak to each other.
I see what you are seeing, Julie W. It feels to me as though she is very very angry at him (I feel it might be blame. Perhaps they fought about going there? ) and he knows it, and is trying to give her a wide berth. The father looks tormented to me, His eyes look haunted, like he somehow feels responsible. Maybe they fought about Nora sleeping downstairs alone (I’m speculating) since she couldn’t maneuver the spiral staircase.
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This couple look really odd together. He looks like the incredible shrinking man next to her or as if he has to sit at the kiddie table during a dinner party. I’d like to see them together in other circumstances, at home, to see if he has the submissive role. There is much I don’t know. Why did they travel separately – where did they sleep in the vacation house – why did the father check on Nora and find her missing at 8 a.m. and not the mother, etc. Is this just a case of neglect or something more, how close were the other children to Nora – did they help with her care or was it solely the job of the father, or mother.
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He looks terrified of her.
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Seems an odd choice to keep fundraising, even after she’s been found.
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