A Dutch model who died after a drug-fuelled swingers party in a luxury high-rise in Malaysia was dead before she fell from a 20th floor apartment, a coroner has ruled.
The naked body of Ivana Smit, 18, was discovered on the sixth floor of an upmarket high rise in Kuala Lumpur on December 7, 2017.
She had been partying at the home of US tycoon Alexander Amado Johnson, 45, and his wife Luna Almaz, 31, who claim they had been having sex with the teenager in the hours before her death.
A Malaysian coroner today said there was evidence of a struggle, including trauma to the back of her head and the DNA of Mr Amado Johnson being found under her fingernails, but still ruled no crime had been committed.
This was slammed by the Smit family’s lawyer, who told reporters: ‘Surely a dead body can’t walk over and take a dive? Somebody threw her body down.’
Found dead: The naked body of Ivana Smit, 18, was discovered on the sixth floor of an upmarket high rise in Kuala Lumpur, having fallen from an apartment on the 20th floor
Intimate relations: Alexander Amado Johnson, 45, and Luna Almaz, 31, claimed they had assumed Ms Smit had left their apartment – despite her belongings remaining there
Seen together: At 5.22am on December 7, 2017, cameras in a Kuala Lumpur club appear to show Johnson carrying Ms Smit in his arms through the hall toward an elevator bank
Handing down her ruling in Kuala Lumpur today, Coroner Mahyon Talib acknowledged there may have been a struggle between Smit and the couple, but ruled no one was criminally involved in causing the model’s death.
‘Grip marks on her arm, the trauma at the back of her head, the broken bottles and (American man) Alex’s DNA under Ivana’s nails suggest that there might have been a possibility that there was a struggle,’ she said.
The coroner also agreed with a Dutch pathologist, who had concluded Smit likely died in the apartment, before her body was found on the sixth floor balcony.
‘We cannot know what actually happened between the three of them,’ the coroner said, adding that the death was being classified as ‘misadventure’, meaning it was likely an accident.
Her ruling was the conclusion of an inquest prompted by Miss Smit’s family’s complaints about the local police investigation.
Findings: A Malaysian coroner today said there was evidence of a struggle, including trauma to the back of Miss Smit’s head, bruising, and the DNA of Mr Amado Johnson was found under her fingernails, but still ruled no crime had been committed
Final moments: Police believe Ivana fell from the couple’s balcony at around 10am. Her naked body was not found for another five hours, at around 3pm
Critical: The Smit family’s lawyer criticised the ruling, questioning how the coroner had accepted that the 18-year-old was likely killed in the apartment and then concluded the death was ‘misadventure’
Johnson and Almaz, who admitted to having sex with the teenager, have left Malaysia and are believed to be in the United States
Kuala Lumpur police ruled her death an accident or suicide, but Ms Smit’s family believe she was murdered, resulting in the inquest being opened in 2018.
The family’s lawyer has slammed the police investigation and accused the investigating officer of being biased towards Johnson and Almaz.
Johnson, who is originally from Houston, Texas, and Almas are believed to be in the United States, having left Malaysia via Singapore in March 2018.
On the evening and morning before her death Ms Smit spent several hours in the home of Johnson, who works in cryptocurrency, and Almaz.
Almaz and Johnson claim they both had sex with Ms Smit, and that they had been having intimate relations with the Dutch model in the weeks leading up to her death.
Almaz claims the 18-year-old had told them she was 26.
At 5.22am on December 7, cameras in a Kuala Lumpur club show Johnson carrying Ivana in his arms through a hallway.
At 7.30am, Ms Smit sent her boyfriend a selfie of herself with Luna, telling her she was ‘chilling’.
Police believe that around two hours later, at 10am, Ivana plunged from Johnson’s 20th-story balcony and landed on a six-story roof.
Her body, which was naked, was not found until around 3pm that day.
Two subsequent autopsies, carried out in Malaysia and in the Netherlands, found alcohol, ecstasy and cocaine in her system.
Timeline: At 7.30am, Ms Smit, right, sent her boyfriend this selfie of herself with Luna Almaz, left, just a few hours before her death
Kuala Lumpur police ruled her death an accident or suicide, but Ms Smit’s family believe she was murdered, prompting an inquest to be opened in 2018
Inquest: Ms Smit’s grandparents, left, are accompanied by her uncle Fred Agenjo, centre, as they arrive at the Coroner’s court in Kuala Lumpur at the opening of the inquest last year
The Dutch autopsy also found significant head bruising and multiple bruises on her arms.
‘Something happened before she fell from the balcony. Maybe she slipped or maybe someone hit her on the head. Bruises like this one are only possible when the heart is still beating,’ Pathologist Frank van de Goot said.
Speaking to Dutch media last year, Dr van de Goot said the lack of blood at the scene of the fall suggests the young model was dead before she fell.
Her father, Marcel Smit said he saw bruises on her neck ‘like fingerprints, as if someone had grabbed her there’ when he identified her body.
He told Dutch media: ‘At about 10am she would have fallen from the balcony at 20 floors high. How is that possible? It is strange that she was not found until 3pm.
‘She is tall, 1.81 meters (5ft 11in), but the barrier is also 1.20 meters (4ft). Only when you bend over, do you fall off. She did not fall and did not jump either.’
Ms Smit was born in Sittard, in the Netherlands but grew up in Malaysia with her grandparents Hendrik Smit, 78, and Susan, 77, before returning briefly to the Netherlands as a teenager.