Dutch model who died after falling from balcony was murdered: Malaysian police

The death of Ivan Smit, a teen Dutch model who fell naked from an upmarket apartment, after alleged drug-fuelled group sex, is being treated as murder by the Malaysian police. The model reportedly tumbled from the 20th floor of a Kuala Lumpur condominium and her body was found on a sixth-floor balcony in December 2017. The case garnered the attention of the media as investigations revealed that the deceased had sex with American bitcoin millionaire Alex Johnson and his wife Luna who lived there while consuming drugs and alcohol. As per reports, the Police had earlier tried to avert the suggestions of murder and a coroner ruled earlier this year that no one was criminally involved. Yet the recent reports reveal that there were signs of struggle before she fell from the high rise building.

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Case overturned

It was only after Smit's family lodged a fresh legal challenge at the High Court last week that the case has overturned. As per the coroner's recent ruling, there were "persons known or unknown" involved in the crime. He also ordered a new probe into the case. On Wednesday, the Malaysian Police announced that the death of Smit, who reportedly lived in Malaysia since childhood, had been reclassified as murder and they were re-opening investigations. Huzir Mohamed, head of the police's criminal investigation department further said a task force will be formed for the case. They will recall witnesses from whom they had earlier taken statements, and call witnesses who were not previously interviewed, he added. No further details were revealed by the Police Department. The couple involved in the incident has fled the country.

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Responding to the development, Smit's father Marcel told a media publication that the couple who had sex with her before she died would now 'have to explain how a dead body can get up and go over a balcony' - insisting that 18-year-old Ivana was already dead when she fell. He called it an excellent development and hoped that the couple could finally be interrogated. Marcel further said that the Malaysian courts have accepted the pathologist's findings that Smit was already dead when she went over the balcony of Johnson's flat. He hoped that the government will be able to bring the Johnsons back to Malaysia with the extradition treaty between Malaysia in America. 

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