Dutch Teen Model's Family Left Malaysia In A Rush Without Claiming Her Body
Ivana Esther Robert Smit was found naked and dead on the sixth floor of a condominium in KL on 7 December.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 18 Dec 2017, 05:55 PM
Late teenage Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit's family left Malaysia without claiming her body last Friday, 15 December, because "they were in a hurry"
Ivana's mother Christina, father Marcel (centre), and brother Randy.
Image via Ahmad Zamzahuri/Malay Mail OnlineNew Straits Times (NST) spoke to a close friend of the Smit family, who said that Ivana's parents and brother left for the Netherlands at 7.55pm on Friday.
The source, who only wanted to be known as Bart, added that Ivana's father, Marcel Smit, is expected to explain the reason for their hasty departure to the press soon.
Bart told NST that the teen model's family was scheduled to leave at a later date but had changed their minds suddenly and left just days after they arrived, leaving Ivana's remains behind.
The 18-year-old's family had expressed doubts that her death was an accident, claiming that she had bruise marks on her neck
They have started a crowdfunding campaign to raise 5,000 euros (approximately RM24,079) to bring in a Dutch pathologist and an American investigator to determine what led to Ivana's untimely death on 7 December.
Marcel told Dutch news portal AD that he saw blue marks resembling fingerprints around his daughter's neck when he was asked to identify the body.
CCTV footage shows Ivana entering the condominium at about 5am on 7 December with an American man and his Kazakh wife after a night out. The couple live on the 20th floor of a high-rise building along Jalan Dang Wangi.
Ivana was reportedly dead by 10am, but her body was not found until 3pm on the sixth-floor of the same building. She was naked and police found traces of alcohol, ecstasy, and amphetamines in her system.
The teen model's last known communication was a selfie and message to her boyfriend Lukas Kramer that read, "I love you baby. I am at a girlfriend's house now. I will call you later..."
The message was sent at 7.24am. Ivana's dad told Malay Mail Online that the American man's wife was seen leaving the condominium around 8am with their child on the CCTV recordings.
"Based on the CCTV, the wife returned around 10am, about the same time police confirmed Ivana had died. What happened during that gap when Ivana was left alone with the husband in the house?
"There are too many inconsistencies and unanswered questions about her death," Marcel stressed.
He also claimed that neighbours heard shouting and arguments coming from the
American couple's condominium unit. The Dutch Embassy has asked Interpol to investigate the model's death following the concerns raised by her family.
The American man and his wife were arrested and charged after they tested positive for drug use
It was reported that the couple told investigators that they've known Ivana for about two months now and only allowed her to stay with them as she was highly intoxicated.
The couple is currently being held at the Sungai Buloh prison and the Kajang prison, respectively, after police found discrepancies in their travel documents. Ivana's body remains unclaimed in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary.
Dang Wangi police chief ACP Shaharuddin Abdullah said that the case remains classified as sudden death, with no indications of foul play, as of 17 December
He told theSundaily that the pathologists who conducted the postmortem on Ivana have sent the blood and tissue samples to the Chemistry Department. The findings will most likely be made public sometime this week.